This happens every other month honestly, and it's so frustrating. The most ridiculous part is that they never put any notice on their site saying "We're down for maintenance" - it just errors out. Like, how hard would it be to put up a simple message?? My system was rejecting my password earlier. I'm going to try again after midnight when there's less traffic. If it's still down tomorrow, definitely call them.

So glad to hear the website is back up and working! This is exactly why I always tell people not to stress too much when EDD's system goes down - it happens frequently but they usually don't penalize claimants for technical issues on their end. For future reference, if this happens again and you can't get through online or by phone, you can also try visiting a local EDD office if you have one nearby. They can sometimes help with urgent certification issues in person. Hope your payment comes through on schedule!

Just went through this exact same nightmare last month! The key thing that finally worked for me was being super persistent and specific about what I needed. When I called Money Network's fraud department (1-855-282-6161), I didn't just say "I need a replacement card" - I said "I need you to process a replacement card authorization request to send to EDD, and I need the reference number for that request." Then when I called EDD, I had that reference number and could say "Money Network submitted authorization request #[number] and I need you to approve it." Having that specific reference number seemed to cut through all the confusion between the two companies. The whole process still took about a week, but at least I wasn't getting bounced back and forth anymore. Also seconding what others said about direct deposit - switched to that immediately after getting my new card and it's been so much better!

I'm actually going through this exact situation right now too! Had about $400 in fraudulent charges last week and I've been stuck in the same loop between EDD and Money Network for days. Reading through all these responses is so helpful - I had no idea there was a separate fraud department number or that EDD needed to send an authorization code. I'm going to try the approach of calling Money Network's fraud line first to get that reference number, then contacting EDD through UI Online with the specific request. It's ridiculous that they don't make this process clearer when fraud happens, especially since it seems to be such a common issue with these cards. Thanks everyone for sharing your experiences - at least now I have a clear plan of action instead of just calling the same numbers over and over!

This is such a stressful situation but you're definitely not alone! I went through something similar in 2023 with 3 overpayment notices that made no sense. Here's what I learned: First, document EVERYTHING - take photos of when you received each notice (including the postmark dates). The appeal deadline is based on when you received them, not the date printed on the notice. Definitely try to get through to EDD by phone before filing appeals if possible. Sometimes these batch notices are system glitches. I've heard good things about using services like Claimyr to actually reach a human - might be worth it given the amount you're dealing with. If you do need to appeal, make sure to request your complete Payment Activity Detail report from EDD. This shows exactly what they have on record for your wage reporting vs what you actually reported. Any discrepancies there will be your smoking gun evidence. Also consider requesting a hardship waiver along with your appeals - even if some overpayment is legitimate, you might qualify for forgiveness based on financial hardship. The key is showing you reported everything in good faith. Don't let them intimidate you into just paying. $7,800 is a lot of money and if you reported correctly, you shouldn't owe it!

Wow, this is exactly the kind of nightmare I've been dreading! I got one overpayment notice last month and I'm still trying to figure out how to handle it, but FIVE notices at once sounds absolutely overwhelming. From reading everyone's advice here, it sounds like the key things are: 1. Don't panic and pay without fighting it 2. Document everything (especially when you received the notices) 3. Try to get through to EDD by phone first if possible 4. File separate appeals for each notice but request they be combined 5. Request that Payment Activity Detail report to prove your wage reporting I'm bookmarking this thread because the advice from @7007be7e7758 and @5ee7467e9ed0 about the specific forms and waiver requests is incredibly detailed and helpful. @2398240ae2f0 - Please keep us updated on how this goes! I think a lot of us are dealing with similar EDD issues and your experience could help others. Really hoping you can get most or all of these notices dismissed. The fact that some reference weeks where you didn't even receive benefits definitely sounds like system errors. Good luck with everything - you've got this! Don't let them bully you into paying money you don't actually owe.

This exact thing happened to me 8 months ago! I was so panicked when I got that disqualification notice, but I want to give you hope - I successfully got it overturned through the appeal process. Here's what worked for me: I filed the DE 1000M within a week of getting the notice (don't wait the full 30 days), included a simple one-page letter explaining it was my first certification and I confused bi-weekly vs weekly reporting, attached copies of all my paystubs for those weeks, and even got a letter from my HR department confirming my actual weekly wages. The whole appeal took about 6 weeks to process, but they completely reversed the disqualification and released all my back payments. The key is being very clear that this was an unintentional first-time mistake with solid documentation to back up your actual earnings. Don't give up - the system does have a way to fix honest errors like this!

I'm going through something very similar right now and this thread has been incredibly helpful! Made my first certification last week and accidentally entered my gross monthly salary instead of weekly wages (talk about a massive error). Got the excess income disqualification yesterday and was honestly feeling pretty hopeless until I found this discussion. Based on all the great advice here, I'm planning to file the DE 1000M appeal form tomorrow with my pay stubs and a letter from my employer. It's reassuring to see so many success stories - gives me confidence that honest mistakes can actually be corrected if you have the right documentation and don't give up. The EDD certification process really should have better guidance for first-time users to prevent these kinds of errors, but at least there's a path forward through appeals. Thanks everyone for sharing your experiences!

One last thing to consider: while waiting until July 1st will likely increase your weekly benefit amount (WBA), be aware that your claim effective date will determine your benefit year. So if your claim is effective July 1, 2025, your benefit year ends June 30, 2026. Make sure you have a clear understanding of how much higher your WBA will be to determine if the wait is worth it. You can use the EDD benefit calculator on their website with both sets of quarters to compare.

That $130/week difference definitely makes waiting worth it! Just wanted to add one more consideration - since you're waiting until July 1st anyway, might be worth using this time to get all your documentation organized. Have your W-2s, pay stubs, and severance paperwork ready to go. Also, create your EDD online account ahead of time if you haven't already - you can do that without filing a claim. That way on July 1st you're just logging in and filing rather than dealing with account setup too. The smoother your application process, the faster you'll get through their system.