EDD support line keeps hanging up after I wait 2+ hours - anyone else?

40%?! That's insane. How is this even legal? We're talking about people's livelihoods here.

The EDD phone system has been notorious for dropped calls since the pandemic started. They never fixed it.

What's Claimyr? Is that some kind of calling service?

Yeah it's an auto-dialer that calls EDD for you and forwards the call when they get an agent. Check out claimyr.com - they have a demo video too.

I was skeptical about paying for this but after wasting 3 full days calling manually I tried it. Worth every penny.

Wednesday afternoons are definitely better than Mondays. I've noticed Friday after 3pm is completely pointless too.

Exactly! And don't even bother calling during their lunch break from 12 to 1:30. The entire call center goes dark.

I tried the early morning thing for two weeks straight. Got through to hold 4 times, all 4 calls dropped after 90+ minutes.

This is exactly my experience. The early calling works to get on hold but then you just waste more time when it drops.

Wait 70 seconds? I've been waiting the full menu. This could save me tons of time on my redials.

Yeah, you can start pressing 1 right after the first menu option starts. Just don't go too fast or it won't register.

I press the buttons about 5 seconds into each prompt and it works perfectly. Saves maybe 30 seconds per call attempt.

Really? I've been switching between them thinking one might be less busy. That's frustrating to know they're identical.

Yep, completely identical. I wasted weeks alternating between them before someone told me the truth.

You've been tracking this? That's actually really helpful data. I thought I was just unlucky.

Yeah I'm obsessive about it now. Best success rate is Wednesday 2-4pm. Worst is Monday mornings and Friday afternoons.

This is why I gave up on manual calling. The math just doesn't work out when half your successful holds end in nothing.

They should really announce this somewhere. I wasted so many attempts calling at 12:30 thinking that would be a good time.

Right? It's like a secret that everyone has to learn through trial and error. Very frustrating.

67 attempts in one day or over time?

67 attempts just yesterday! I was literally redialing for 4 hours straight before I got on hold. Then another 2+ hours waiting.

That's dedication but also kind of insane. 6+ hours for one phone call seems unreasonable.

How much does that cost? I'm getting desperate enough to pay someone to deal with this hassle.

It was like $20 something. Totally worth it considering I was missing work to sit on hold for hours. They have info at claimyr.com

At this point I'm seriously considering this. My boss is getting annoyed with me taking so much time off to deal with EDD.

Which service do you use? There seem to be a few options out there.

Claimyr. They have a demo video at https://youtu.be/JmuwXR7HA10 that shows exactly how it works. Pretty straightforward.

Thank you for saying this! I wasted days trying to find some secret specialist number that doesn't exist.

Yeah it's frustrating how much outdated info is still floating around online. The current system is just the two main numbers, same queue, same dropped call issues.

This is exactly my situation. I hit my plan limit last month from EDD calling and had to pay overage fees. The whole system is broken.

That's awful. The state shouldn't force people to rack up phone bills just to access their benefits.

34 attempts is actually pretty good! I've never gotten on hold in less than 50 tries.

I was shocked. Usually it takes me 70+ attempts just to hear hold music.

That's encouraging at least. It's just the phone system that's the nightmare, not necessarily the actual service.

Same experience here. The agents are competent when you can reach them. It's just that getting there is nearly impossible.

I do 7:55am and sometimes get into queue before they officially open. But you're right, the drops still happen regardless of when you call.

That's the conclusion I came to after my third 2-hour hold that ended in a dropped call. Some problems are just worth paying to solve.

Yeah I think I'm at that point too. This thread has been really helpful in showing I'm not alone in this frustration.

Good tip! Every second counts when you're making 50+ attempts. I also put my phone on speaker so I don't have to hold it to my ear all day.

Exactly! Some transparency about the technical issues would go a long way. At least let us know they're working on fixing the dropped calls.

That would be nice, but I'm not holding my breath. Seems like they've just accepted this as the new normal.

This is why I ended up using Claimyr. I couldn't keep taking time off work for a phone call that might not even work. Now I just get a callback when they reach someone.

That's a really good point about the work situation. I've been lucky my boss is understanding but that won't last forever.