EDD phone options confusing me - will answering claim questions affect my payment date?

Don't worry, answering the automated questions on the status line won't recertify you. It's just identity verification to access your claim information. The system needs to confirm it's you before providing payment details. Option #1 is specifically for status checks, not certification. Regarding offices, the Torrance America's Job Center of California (which houses EDD services) is still operating at 1220 Engracia Ave. That's probably closer to you than Compton. Most EDD business can be handled online or by phone though, so you might save yourself a trip. If you absolutely need to visit, check their website for current hours - they changed a lot post-pandemic.

the phone system SUCKS!!! been calling for TWO WEEKS straight and cant get thru to anyone. press 1, press 2, press whatever - always ends with "we have too many callers goodbye" *click* u might try calling right when they open at 8am thats what my cousin did

For anyone struggling to reach an EDD representative, I finally had success using Claimyr. It's a service that helps you get through to an actual EDD agent instead of facing those endless busy signals and disconnections. Saved me days of frustration after I spent a week trying to get through on my own. They have a video showing how it works: https://youtu.be/JmuwXR7HA10?si=TSwYbu_GOwYzt9km Regarding your question about the automated system - no, it won't recertify you. Those initial questions are just to verify your identity before accessing your claim information. And as someone mentioned, the Torrance AJCC office does handle EDD matters, though calling is usually faster if you can actually get through to someone.

So here's what's REALLY happening with that phone system. When you call, those questions are just for identity verification, NOT for recertification. But the whole system is deliberately confusing! I went through this exact same panic attack last month thinking I was accidentally certifying again. What I learned from an EDD employee (who I miraculously reached after 3 days of calling) is that their phone system has different "paths" based on what type of claim you have and what stage it's in. So some of those questions might SOUND like certification questions but they're just trying to route you to the right department. About the offices - I've been to both Compton and Torrance. Torrance is DEFINITELY still open (went there 2 weeks ago) and it's much nicer than Compton. BUT honestly neither one could help with payment timing questions - they just told me to keep checking UI Online. Complete waste of a morning!!

hey i work near that torrance office and yes its open! nice people there actually. but call first cuz sometimes theres a HUGE line. my payment was late last month too, took like 9 days after certification which is crazy. usually i get it in 2 days. edd is just slow sometimes for no reason lol

Quick update on payment timelines because I've seen several posts about this lately. EDD is experiencing some payment delays in their processing system this month. Several claims (including mine) that normally would be paid within 48 hours of certification are taking 5-7 business days to process. An EDD representative confirmed this when I spoke with them yesterday. It's affecting both direct deposit and Money Network card transfers. So if your payment is delayed, it's likely part of this system-wide slowdown rather than a problem with your specific claim. The good news is that payments ARE still processing, just more slowly than usual.

my brother says if u press 2-4-1-3 instead of going thru the normal menu u get to a different department but they can still see ur payment info. ive never tried it tho

Just wanted to add my experience as someone who went through this exact same confusion last week! The automated phone questions are definitely just identity verification - I was terrified I was accidentally filing a new claim too. What helped me was writing down my SSN and PIN before calling so I could answer quickly without second-guessing myself. One tip that worked for me: if you get disconnected (which happens A LOT), don't immediately call back. Wait about 10-15 minutes because their system seems to temporarily block numbers that call too frequently. I learned this the hard way after getting auto-disconnected 8 times in a row. Also regarding your payment timing concerns - with the system delays @CosmicCaptain mentioned, you might want to check your UI Online account daily rather than relying on phone updates. Sometimes the website shows payment status changes before the phone reps even know about them. Hang in there, the waiting is the worst part but your payment will come through!