Can't reach California Unemployment? Claimyr connects you to a live EDD agent in minutes.
Claimyr is a pay-as-you-go service. We do not charge a recurring subscription.
Using Claimyr will:
- Connect you to a human agent at the EDD
- Skip the long phone menu
- Call the correct department
- Redial until on hold
- Forward a call to your phone with reduced hold time
- Give you free callbacks if the EDD drops your call
If I could give 10 stars I would
If I could give 10 stars I would If I could give 10 stars I would Such an amazing service so needed during the times when EDD almost never picks up Claimyr gets me on the phone with EDD every time without fail faster. A much needed service without Claimyr I would have never received the payment I needed to support me during my postpartum recovery. Thank you so much Claimyr!
Really made a difference
Really made a difference, save me time and energy from going to a local office for making the call.
Worth not wasting your time calling for hours.
Was a bit nervous or untrusting at first, but my calls went thru. First time the wait was a bit long but their customer chat line on their page was helpful and put me at ease that I would receive my call. Today my call dropped because of EDD and Claimyr heard my concern on the same chat and another call was made within the hour.
An incredibly helpful service
An incredibly helpful service! Got me connected to a CA EDD agent without major hassle (outside of EDD's agents dropping calls – which Claimyr has free protection for). If you need to file a new claim and can't do it online, pay the $ to Claimyr to get the process started. Absolutely worth it!
Consistent,frustration free, quality Service.
Used this service a couple times now. Before I'd call 200 times in less than a weak frustrated as can be. But using claimyr with a couple hours of waiting i was on the line with an representative or on hold. Dropped a couple times but each reconnected not long after and was mission accomplished, thanks to Claimyr.
IT WORKS!! Not a scam!
I tried for weeks to get thru to EDD PFL program with no luck. I gave this a try thinking it may be a scam. OMG! It worked and They got thru within an hour and my claim is going to finally get paid!! I upgraded to the $60 call. Best $60 spent!
Ask the community...
- DO post questions about your issues.
- DO answer questions and support each other.
- DO post tips & tricks to help folks.
- DO NOT post call problems here - there is a support tab at the top for that :)
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I went through this exact situation about 6 months ago and totally understand your anxiety about the timeline! Here's what actually happened in my case: The good news is that since you've already completed ID.me verification and have been consistently certifying, you should be in better shape than most people. My certifications took about 8 business days to flip from "Disqualified" to "Paid" after I received my appeal decision letter. However, I ran into the same issue that Abigail mentioned - only got partial payment initially. Turns out there was an automatic "overpayment hold" on my account from when they originally denied my claim. The system thought I owed money back even though I'd never received any payments! I had to call specifically to get that removed. Since you're cutting it close with rent, I'd recommend calling EDD tomorrow and asking these specific questions: 1. Are there any payment holds or block codes on my account? 2. Can you expedite my Money Network card due to financial hardship? 3. What's the exact timeline for my back payments to be released? Also, once you do get the card, you can instantly transfer up to $1,000 per day to your bank account through the app, which might help if you need to pay rent quickly. The transfer usually shows up in your bank account within a few hours. Hang in there - you've made it through the hardest part!
This is incredibly helpful, Sean! I hadn't even thought about the possibility of payment holds or overpayment issues - that would be such a nightmare on top of everything else. I'm definitely going to ask about those specific block codes when I call. The $1,000 daily transfer limit through the app is good to know too, that should be enough to cover rent if the timing works out. Really appreciate you sharing your actual timeline - 8 business days for the status to flip gives me a realistic expectation instead of just hoping it happens overnight. Did you have to call multiple times to get the overpayment hold removed, or were they able to fix it in one call once you reached the right person?
Just wanted to add my experience since I went through this exact same situation about 8 months ago. After winning my appeal, it took exactly 9 business days for my certifications to change from "Disqualified" to "Paid" in UI Online. The Money Network card arrived 6 days after that status change. One thing that really helped me was calling EDD the day after I received my appeal decision letter and asking them to put a note on my account about my financial situation. I explained I was at risk of losing my housing and the rep was actually very understanding. She couldn't guarantee faster processing but said she added a "hardship flag" to my account. Also, definitely keep screenshots of your appeal decision letter and check UI Online multiple times per day. When those certifications flip to "Paid," that's when you know the money is actually coming. The waiting is absolutely brutal when you're down to your last few dollars, but you're so close to the finish line now! If your status doesn't change by early next week, definitely call and ask specifically about payment blocks or holds on your account. Sometimes the appeal decision doesn't automatically trigger the payment release and it needs manual intervention. You've got this - congrats again on winning your appeal!
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This is why I'm terrified of taking any side gigs while on unemployment... the reporting is so confusing and if you make a mistake they act like you committed fraud. Anyone else feel like the system is designed to trap people??
100% agree!! my cousin got disqualified for 5 weeks bcuz he reported a 1-day gig wrong. whole system is a joke
Thank you all for the helpful responses! Just to update - I reported the earnings for the week I did the work as suggested, and put down the contracting company as the employer. I'll keep track of everything in case there are any issues down the road. It's definitely stressful navigating this system but I feel better now knowing how to handle it correctly.
You did exactly right! One more tip: take screenshots of your certifications after you submit them. They're good to have if there's ever a dispute about what you reported.
Smart move getting this sorted out quickly! I'm new to dealing with 1099 work on unemployment too and this whole thread has been super educational. Thanks for sharing your experience and congrats again on landing the contract work - that's awesome news even if the reporting part is confusing!
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I'm a social worker and deal with this issue regularly when helping clients access their benefits. One method that's worked well is contacting your local Legal Aid office - many have EDD specialists who can help navigate these bureaucratic issues for free. They often have direct contacts at EDD offices and can sometimes get information requests processed faster than individual requests. Also, if your father is over 65, some Area Agency on Aging offices have benefit counselors who specialize in helping seniors with EDD problems. They're familiar with all the workarounds and can sometimes advocate directly with EDD on your behalf. It might be worth calling around to see what resources are available in your area. The system is definitely frustrating, but there are advocates out there who deal with this stuff daily and know how to get results.
This is such valuable information! I had no idea that Legal Aid offices and Area Agency on Aging had specialists who could help with EDD issues. My father is actually 67, so the Area Agency on Aging option sounds perfect for our situation. Having someone who deals with this regularly and knows the system could make all the difference. I'm going to look up our local offices tomorrow and see what kind of help is available. Thank you for sharing these resources - it's amazing how many options we have that we never would have known about without this community. Really appreciate everyone's help and suggestions!
I'm going through this exact same situation with my mom right now! Reading through all these suggestions has been incredibly helpful. We've been stuck for weeks trying to get her payment amount, but I didn't realize there were so many different approaches we could try. The notarized letter idea and contacting Legal Aid are things I never would have thought of. Has anyone had success with the Area Agency on Aging route that Maya mentioned? My mom is 71 and this whole process has been really stressful for her. It would be great to have an advocate who knows the EDD system help us navigate this mess.
I actually used the Area Agency on Aging route for my grandfather last year and it was a game changer! They assigned us a benefits counselor who knew exactly how to navigate the EDD system. She had direct contacts at the local EDD office and was able to get his payment history within a few days instead of the weeks we were told it would take. The best part is that she handled all the paperwork and phone calls - my grandfather just had to sign a few forms giving her permission to act on his behalf. I'd definitely recommend calling your local AAA office first thing Monday morning. Many people don't know these services exist, but they're specifically designed to help seniors with exactly these kinds of bureaucratic nightmares. The stress relief for both you and your mom will be worth it!
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are u reporting ALL ur income?? cuz if u dont they will find out and make u pay everything back plus penalties. my roomate got caught and now owes like $8k
Yes, I'm reporting everything accurately. Not worth the risk of getting caught and having to pay it all back with penalties. That's terrible about your roommate!
Hey Isaiah, I'm in a similar boat - been on UI since August and my balance is getting low too. One thing that helped me was calling EDD super early in the morning (like right when they open at 8am) - I actually got through after only 30 minutes on hold instead of the usual hours. The rep told me that if you're still actively looking for work and certifying, you can definitely file a new claim once your benefit year ends. Just make sure to keep documenting all your job search activities because they might ask for proof. Also, have you looked into any local workforce development programs? Some of them offer additional support or training that might help bridge the gap. Hang in there!
Julia Hall
Bottom line: EDD has no official callback system. Your options are manually dial 50-100+ times hoping to get through, or use a third-party service that handles it for you. That's literally it.
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Arjun Patel
•Sad but accurate summary. It's 2024 and we're still dealing with phone systems from the 1990s.
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Jade Lopez
•At least now we have options like auto-dialers. Better than nothing I guess.
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Oliver Wagner
Unfortunately, there's no official EDD callback number or system. I've been dealing with this nightmare for months now. The reality is you have three options: 1) Keep manually dialing and hoping you get lucky (I'm at 200+ attempts with maybe 3 successful connections), 2) Use a third-party service like Claimyr that does the calling for you and calls you back when they reach an agent, or 3) Try to time your calls perfectly (avoid lunch hours, call early morning or mid-afternoon on weekdays). It's absolutely ridiculous that in 2024 we don't have basic callback functionality, but that's the broken system we're stuck with. Save yourself the frustration and either commit to spending entire days calling or just pay for a callback service.
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Paolo Rizzo
•This is such a comprehensive breakdown, thank you! I've been banging my head against the wall trying to find some magical EDD callback number that doesn't exist. Your three options summary is exactly what I needed to hear - even though it's depressing. I think I'm going to have to bite the bullet and try one of those third-party services since I can't afford to spend entire workdays calling. The fact that we have to resort to paying external companies to navigate our own state's unemployment system is absolutely insane.
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