EDD call attempts failing - tried 65 times today, need help getting through
I've been trying to make an EDD call since 8am this morning and I'm at attempt number 65 with no luck. Every time I get the 'too busy' message or it just hangs up on me. I'm following the 1-wait-1-1-*** pattern but nothing is working. My claim has been pending for 3 weeks and I desperately need to talk to someone. Has anyone found a reliable way to actually get through when you call EDD? I can't keep burning entire days on this.
44 comments
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Amaya Watson
65 attempts is actually pretty normal unfortunately. I usually don't get through until I'm past 80-100 tries. The key is calling right at 8am sharp - like start dialing at 7:58am so you're ready when they open.
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Tristan Carpenter
•I did start at 8am but maybe I need to be even earlier. Do you literally call before 8am or just have your phone ready?
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Amaya Watson
•I start dialing at 7:55am. Sometimes they answer a few minutes early, sometimes right at 8. But definitely don't wait until after 8am to start.
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Grant Vikers
The frustration is real. I spent 4 days straight doing this before I found a better solution. Are you calling during lunch by any chance? They literally all go to lunch from 12pm to 1:30pm and won't answer any calls.
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Tristan Carpenter
•Wait, the ENTIRE call center takes lunch at the same time? That's insane! No wonder I couldn't get through around noon yesterday.
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Grant Vikers
•Yep, complete radio silence from 12-1:30pm. They should really announce this but they don't. Total waste of time calling then.
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Giovanni Martello
After going through this exact same nightmare for weeks, I ended up using Claimyr to get through. Cost me $20 but I got a callback with an EDD agent in 25 minutes instead of spending another full day redialing. Sometimes you just have to admit defeat and pay for help.
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Tristan Carpenter
•Is that legit? I'm getting desperate enough to try anything at this point. How does it actually work?
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Giovanni Martello
•Yeah it's real - claimyr.com. They basically use software to dial for you and stay on hold, then call your phone when they get an agent. I was skeptical too but it actually worked.
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Savannah Weiner
•I used them last month too. Took about 35 minutes and boom, I was talking to an EDD rep. Way better than the 6+ hours I was spending manually calling.
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Levi Parker
Pro tip: Don't call on Mondays (everyone calls after the weekend) and don't bother after 4pm any day. Wednesday afternoons around 2pm seem to be the sweet spot in my experience.
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Tristan Carpenter
•Good to know about Mondays - I was wondering why yesterday was so impossible. I'll try Wednesday afternoon next.
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Libby Hassan
•Wednesday and Thursday afternoons are definitely better. Fridays after 3pm are pointless because even if you get through, you probably won't resolve anything before the weekend.
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Hunter Hampton
Make sure you're pressing the menu options before the prompts finish. You can shave off like 30 seconds per call by pressing 1 as soon as you hear the first menu option start. Every second counts when you're making 100+ attempts.
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Tristan Carpenter
•I didn't know you could do that! I've been waiting for each prompt to finish. That would definitely save time.
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Hunter Hampton
•Yeah, as soon as you hear 'Press 1 for English' just hit 1 immediately. Same with all the other options. The system registers it right away.
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Sofia Peña
I hate to be the bearer of bad news, but even if you get through to the hold queue, there's like a 40% chance the call will just drop after you wait for 2 hours. Their phone system is garbage.
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Tristan Carpenter
•Are you serious? So I could wait 2 hours on hold and then just get disconnected?
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Sofia Peña
•Happened to me 3 times last week. 2+ hour holds each time, then just dead air. It's absolutely infuriating.
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Aaron Boston
•This is exactly why I paid for Claimyr. At least when they get me through, I know it's going to work and not drop randomly.
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Sophia Carter
Have you tried calling the 833 number instead of the 800 number? I've heard some people say it's better but honestly I think they're the exact same line. Just different numbers routing to the same place.
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Chloe Zhang
•They are the same line. I've tested this extensively. 833-978-7353 and 800-300-5616 go to the exact same place. Don't waste time switching between them.
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Sophia Carter
•Good to know, thanks for confirming. I was wondering if I should be trying both numbers.
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Brandon Parker
Don't fall for the 'specialist line' nonsense people talk about online. That was only during the height of the pandemic and it's been shut down for over a year now. You have to go through the main line.
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Tristan Carpenter
•I was actually looking for info about that! Good to know it doesn't exist anymore.
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Adriana Cohn
•Yeah, a lot of outdated info floating around. The main unemployment line is your only option now.
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Jace Caspullo
I finally got through yesterday after 6 days of trying. Called at 2:15pm on Wednesday, got through on attempt 47, waited on hold for 1 hour 50 minutes. The agent was super helpful once I got through though.
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Tristan Carpenter
•That gives me hope! What day of the week seems to work best in your experience?
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Jace Caspullo
•Wednesday and Thursday afternoons for sure. I tried Monday morning once and made 120 calls without even getting to the hold queue.
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Melody Miles
If you're spending full days on this like I was, just use an auto-dialer service. I used Claimyr and got through in 15 minutes. Yeah it costs money but I was losing more money taking days off work to call manually.
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Tristan Carpenter
•That's a good point about the opportunity cost. Missing work to call EDD isn't sustainable.
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Melody Miles
•Exactly. Twenty bucks to save 8+ hours of calling is a no-brainer when you think about it that way.
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Nathaniel Mikhaylov
Make sure your phone is fully charged if you're doing this manually. I've had my phone die right when I got into the hold queue. Also use a landline or wifi calling to avoid using your cell minutes.
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Tristan Carpenter
•Good tip about the phone dying! I didn't think about that but it would be devastating.
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Eva St. Cyr
•I burned through my entire month's cell minutes in 3 days calling EDD. Wifi calling saved me from huge overage charges.
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Kristian Bishop
Keep a detailed log of when you call and what happens. I noticed I had better luck on certain days/times and it helped me optimize my strategy. Data doesn't lie.
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Tristan Carpenter
•That's actually really smart. I should start tracking my attempts to see if there are patterns.
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Kristian Bishop
•I found that 1:45pm-3:30pm on weekdays (except Monday) gave me the highest success rate. Tuesday through Thursday specifically.
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Kaitlyn Otto
I was in your exact same situation 2 weeks ago. After 3 days of manual calling hell, I broke down and paid for Claimyr. Got connected to an EDD agent in 22 minutes. Sometimes you just have to cut your losses.
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Tristan Carpenter
•I'm really considering it at this point. The manual calling is just not working for me.
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Kaitlyn Otto
•Check out their demo video at https://youtu.be/JmuwXR7HA10 if you want to see how it works. That convinced me it was legit.
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Axel Far
Don't give up! I got through on day 4 of trying. The key is persistence and good timing. Avoid lunch hours and try early morning or mid-afternoon.
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Tristan Carpenter
•Thanks for the encouragement. I'm going to try the Wednesday afternoon strategy and see if that works better.
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Axel Far
•You got this! Just remember that every 'too busy' message gets you one step closer to that successful call.
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