I'm in almost the exact same situation as you Emily! Been trying to reach EDD for about 3 weeks now and I've probably made close to 500 calls with only 2 successful holds that both ended in disconnects after 2+ hours. It's absolutely maddening. Reading through all these responses has been so validating - I was starting to think I was doing something fundamentally wrong, but clearly this is just how broken their system is now. The success stories with callback services like Claimyr are really compelling. Multiple people reporting 20-40 minute connection times vs our hundreds of failed attempts is pretty hard to argue with. I think I'm going to bite the bullet and try it today. Like others have said, I'm already losing way more than $20-30 by being stuck on the phone all day instead of working or job hunting. Thanks for starting this thread - it's been more helpful than weeks of searching for EDD advice online!

Just wanted to add my experience to this incredibly helpful thread! I've been dealing with the same EDD calling nightmare for about 2 weeks now - probably close to 400 attempts with nothing but busy signals and one dropped call after a 3-hour hold. Reading everyone's stories here has been both validating and eye-opening. The fact that people are making 800+ calls and still not getting through really shows how completely broken this system has become. I'm definitely going to try Claimyr based on all the positive testimonials here. The success rate people are reporting (20-40 minutes vs our hundreds of failed attempts) is just too compelling to ignore. Like others mentioned, I'm already losing more money sitting by the phone all day than these services cost anyway. Thanks to everyone for sharing real experiences instead of just complaining - this community has been more helpful than anything I found googling EDD advice!

Smart choice waiting for your new ID! I went through this exact situation last year and learned the hard way that EDD's ID.me system is incredibly strict about expiration dates. Even being expired by just a few days caused my claim to get stuck in verification limbo for over a month. The automated system flags expired documents immediately and then you're dealing with manual review processes that take forever. When I finally got my new ID and refiled, everything went through smoothly in just a few days. The peace of mind is worth the short wait!

Just wanted to add another data point - I had this exact situation happen to me about 6 months ago. My ID expired literally the day before I needed to file my new claim (talk about bad timing!). I was so anxious about losing benefits that I tried to file anyway, thinking maybe the system wouldn't catch it or I could figure it out later. Big mistake! The ID.me verification failed immediately and my claim got stuck in "pending identity verification" status. I ended up waiting 5 weeks for them to manually review everything, even after I got my new ID and re-verified. The EDD rep I finally spoke to said if I had just waited the extra week for my new ID from the beginning, it would have been processed normally. So yeah, definitely wait - those extra days of waiting are nothing compared to weeks of being stuck in the system!

¡Ánimo Isaiah! Estoy viendo todos los consejos increíbles que han compartido aquí y quería agregar algo que me funcionó recientemente. Además de todo lo que han mencionado, te recomiendo que también intentes contactar al 2-1-1 - es un servicio gratuito donde te conectan con recursos locales y a veces tienen líneas directas especiales para el EDD que no están públicamente disponibles. También, si tienes cuenta en las redes sociales, he visto que algunos han tenido suerte enviando mensajes directos a las cuentas oficiales del EDD en Twitter (@CA_EDD) - no siempre responden, pero cuando lo hacen suelen ser más útiles que las llamadas telefónicas. Una cosa más: si después de probar todas estas estrategias sigues sin resultados, considera contactar a los medios de comunicación locales. Muchas estaciones de televisión tienen segmentos de "problema resuelto" donde ayudan a la gente con problemas burocráticos, y el EDD tiende a responder rápidamente cuando hay presión mediática. ¡No pierdas la esperanza! Con toda la información valiosa que han compartido aquí, tienes muchas opciones para explorar. ¡Mantennos al día con tu progreso! 💪✨

¡Isaiah, qué situación tan desesperante! Yo pasé por algo muy similar hace 8 meses y entiendo perfectamente esa frustración de no recibir ninguna comunicación del EDD. Una cosa que me funcionó después de leer todos estos consejos increíbles fue combinar varias estrategias al mismo tiempo. Primero, contacté a mi asambleísta estatal usando findyourrep.legislature.ca.gov - llenaron un formulario especial y a los 5 días ya tenían respuesta del EDD sobre mi caso. Mientras esperaba esa respuesta, también usé el truco de llamar al (833) 978-2511 exactamente a las 8:00 AM con redial automático, y al mismo tiempo intenté el (714) 736-3000 presionando 1 para español y diciendo "claims" - ese segundo número me funcionó mejor. Lo más importante: revisa TODA tu correspondencia física y digital, incluyendo spam. Yo descubrí que tenía una carta del EDD de hace 6 semanas pidiendo verificación de identidad que nunca vi, y por eso mi caso estaba pausado. También documenta todo en una hoja de cálculo como sugirió @a56355fb2c70 - fechas, números de confirmación, con quién hablaste. Y cuando logres hablar con alguien, pregunta específicamente si tu caso está marcado como "pendiente" por algún motivo. ¡No te rindas! Con toda la información valiosa que hemos recopilado aquí entre todos, tienes muchas herramientas para resolver esto. Estamos contigo en esto 💪✨

i heard theres a new program for restaurant workers who lost jobs bc of minimum wage increases but my cousin applied and never got approved so maybe its not real

Just wanted to add that while the COVID programs are definitely gone, there are still some other resources that might help supplement your unemployment benefits. Look into CalFresh (food stamps) and your local food banks - many don't have strict income requirements right now. Also check if your county has emergency rental assistance programs. I know LA County and some others still have funds available for people who recently became unemployed. It won't replace those pandemic benefit amounts, but every little bit helps when you're trying to cover $2,100 rent on regular UI. Hang in there!

That's such great news! I'm so glad you were able to get through and get some clarity on what was happening. It's honestly ridiculous that EDD's system just automatically disqualifies everything without any warning when you update your address. Thank you for sharing the update - this thread is going to be so helpful for anyone else dealing with out-of-state moves. Fingers crossed the questionnaire process goes smoothly and you get those disqualifications reversed quickly!

Wow, what an ordeal! I'm so glad you were able to get through to someone and get some answers about what was happening. This thread is going to be incredibly valuable for anyone facing a similar situation with out-of-state moves. The fact that EDD's system just automatically disqualifies everything without any warning when you change your address is absolutely insane - they really need better safeguards and clearer communication about these policies. I'm keeping my fingers crossed that your questionnaire gets processed quickly and those disqualifications get reversed. Make sure to keep detailed records of everything you submit, and thanks for sharing your experience with Claimyr - sounds like it was a game changer for actually reaching a human being at EDD. Please keep us updated on how the final resolution goes!