Why does EDD not answer the phone - been calling for 2 weeks straight

That's insane though. How can a government agency just not answer their phones? There has to be some accountability here.

There's no accountability because they know people have no other choice. It's a monopoly situation.

400 times?? How do you even have time for that? This is consuming my entire life.

I had to take time off work just to call EDD. It's ridiculous that we have to choose between working and getting our benefits.

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

Yeah, it's at claimyr.com - they dial for you automatically and call you back when they get an agent. Costs money but saved my sanity.

I was skeptical about paying for something like that but honestly it's worth every penny. Got through same day I tried it.

Are you serious? The whole call center shuts down for lunch? That explains why I never get through around noon.

Yeah and don't bother calling after 4pm either. They stop taking new calls even though they're technically open until 5.

Those numbers are insane. How is this legal? We pay taxes for this service.

It's not legal in any meaningful sense but there's no enforcement mechanism. What are you gonna do, call and complain?

You keep a spreadsheet? That's dedication. What's your overall success rate?

About 1 in 85 calls actually gets me to a human. And that's after I learned all the timing tricks.

Thank you! I've been alternating between both numbers thinking it would help. Good to know I was wasting my time.

Yeah that's a common myth. Also ignore anyone who says there's still a 'specialist line' - that ended after the pandemic.

Only 1 in 20? No wonder I can't get through. This system is completely broken.

Your friend is being generous. I think it's more like 1 in 50 based on my experience.

87 attempts in one day? How long did that take you?

About 6 hours of solid dialing. I was literally calling non-stop from 8am to 2pm with a 30 minute break.

So we're stuck with a system designed for normal times but dealing with crisis-level demand?

Exactly. And there's no political will to fix it because unemployed people don't have a strong lobby.

What causes calls to drop like that? Is it the phone system or the hold system?

Usually it's the phone system timing out after too long on hold. The system wasn't designed for 2+ hour hold times.

It's ridiculous that we have to pay a third party to reach our own government. But at this point I'm desperate enough to try anything.

I felt the same way but honestly Claimyr was the best money I ever spent. Check out their demo video at https://youtu.be/JmuwXR7HA10

So what can we do? Is there anyone we can complain to that might actually care?

You can contact your state representatives but honestly they get these complaints constantly and nothing changes.

I didn't even think about phone bill costs. This whole thing is costing us money we don't have.

Yeah I switched to unlimited calling just because of EDD. It's insane that we have to restructure our phone plans to reach unemployment.

40-60 attempts even at the 'best' time? This is absolutely insane.

Yeah and that's just to get ON HOLD. Then you wait 2 hours and hope the call doesn't drop.

32 minutes vs months of calling? That's actually incredible. I think I need to just bite the bullet and try it.

Same here - used Claimyr and it worked exactly as advertised. Sometimes you just have to accept that the free option doesn't actually work.

That's a terrifying thought but it makes sense. Wear people down until they stop trying.

Exactly. Every person who gives up calling is money saved in their budget. There's no incentive to make it easier.

I'm so sorry you're dealing with that. This whole situation is inhumane.

Same boat here. I've missed so much sleep trying to call EDD. It's affecting every aspect of my life.

Simple but infuriating. We deserve better than this from our government.

Agreed, but deserving better and getting better are two different things unfortunately.

Thanks for the tips. At this point I'll try anything, even though the whole situation is ridiculous.

It is ridiculous but those tips will at least give you a slightly better chance of getting through.

I'm so sorry you're dealing with this nightmare too. The identity verification flag is particularly brutal because it literally locks you out of everything until you can talk to someone. Have you tried contacting your state assembly member's office? Sometimes they can help escalate these issues when the normal channels are completely broken. It's ridiculous that we have to go through political offices to get basic services, but at this point it might be worth a shot while you're also trying other methods.

@Cass Green I feel your pain so much. The identity verification thing happened to my brother and it took him 6 weeks to resolve because he couldn t'get through to anyone. He finally had to use one of those paid calling services that everyone s'been mentioning here. I know it sucks to pay for something that should be free, but honestly at this point if you re'facing eviction it might be worth the cost just to get it resolved quickly. The stress alone isn t'worth continuing to bang your head against this broken system.

@Cass Green This is heartbreaking to read. The identity verification freeze is the worst possible situation because you literally can t'do anything online until it s'resolved. I went through something similar last year and it nearly broke me financially. One thing that helped me was documenting everything - every call attempt, what time, what happened - because if you do eventually get through or escalate to a supervisor, having that record shows the severity of the situation. Also, if you haven t'already, try calling your local representatives offices.' I know it sounds like a long shot, but some of them have staff specifically trained to help with EDD issues. The whole system is absolutely criminal and I m'furious that people are going through this.

@Cass Green I m'in almost the exact same situation - identity verification flag for 2 months now and completely locked out. The financial stress is absolutely crushing and I m'starting to have panic attacks just thinking about calling EDD again. I ve'been documenting everything too and I m'up to over 200 failed call attempts. At this point I m'seriously considering one of those paid services everyone keeps mentioning because I can t'afford to wait any longer. It s'absolutely criminal that our own government has created a system where people facing financial crisis have to pay private companies just to access the benefits they re'entitled to. This isn t'just broken - it s'deliberately cruel.

@Ravi Kapoor I completely understand that breaking point feeling - I m'right there with you. After reading everyone s'experiences here, it s'clear that the manual calling approach just doesn t'work anymore. The system is so overwhelmed that even the best "strategies" only work 1-2% of the time. At some point you have to weigh the cost of these paid services against the cost of continuing to waste weeks or months of your life trying to get through. Your mental health and financial stability are worth more than the principle of not paying for government services. I m'probably going to try one of those calling services too because this is literally consuming my entire existence and I can t'keep living like this.

@StarSurfer Your comment really hits home - this whole experience has been genuinely traumatic for so many of us. The fact that we're all here developing elaborate strategies and tracking statistics just to reach our own government shows how completely the system has failed. What really bothers me is that this isn't some technical glitch that happened overnight - this is years of deliberate neglect and underfunding that has created this nightmare scenario. They know people will eventually give up or find workarounds, so there's no incentive to fix it. I'm also seriously considering those paid services at this point because my sanity is worth more than holding onto principles about free government access. It's heartbreaking that we're all being forced into this impossible situation, but at least we can support each other through it. Thanks for putting into words what so many of us are feeling.

@Diego Vargas I m'reading all of this and feeling sick to my stomach because it s'exactly what I m'going through too. The fact that we re'all here sharing horror stories and comparing call attempt numbers like we re'some kind of support group for EDD survivors is just insane. I m'also at that breaking point where I m'ready to pay for one of those services just to end this nightmare. What really bothers me is how this whole system seems designed to break people down mentally and financially until they just give up. It s'not just bad customer service - it feels deliberately cruel at this point. The fact that they can get away with answering maybe 1% of calls while people lose their homes and go hungry is absolutely unacceptable. I hate that we re'being forced to pay private companies for basic government access, but honestly my mental health can t'take much more of this endless calling cycle. At least knowing we re'all going through the same hell makes me feel slightly less crazy. This whole system needs to be completely rebuilt from the ground up.

@Zainab Ali Reading your comment brought tears to my eyes because it s'like you re'describing my exact life right now. I m'also three weeks into this nightmare and I feel like I m'losing my mind. You re'absolutely right that this isn t'normal - no government service should require us to become experts in phone system manipulation just to get basic help. I ve'also been looking at those paid services and honestly, at this point I think we have to accept that the free "option" simply doesn t'work. The system is so broken that paying someone else to navigate it for us has become the only realistic solution. It s'heartbreaking and infuriating, but our mental health and financial survival have to come first. We shouldn t'have to choose between our principles and our ability to pay rent, but here we are. Thank you for putting into words what so many of us are feeling - this whole situation is traumatic and we all deserve so much better from our government.

@Diego Flores I m'so sorry you re'dealing with this impossible situation. Reading about everyone s'experiences here has been eye-opening - I had no idea the EDD phone system was this completely broken. The fact that people are tracking hundreds of failed attempts and still can t'get through is absolutely unacceptable. I m'relatively new to dealing with EDD issues, but seeing all these stories about identity verification flags and people facing eviction while unable to reach anyone is genuinely terrifying. It sounds like those paid calling services might be the only realistic option at this point, which is heartbreaking because government services should never require us to pay third parties just for basic access. I hope you re'able to get through somehow - whether through one of those services or maybe through contacting your representatives like others suggested. This whole system needs to be completely overhauled because what s'happening to you and everyone else here is just cruel.

@Diego Flores I ve'been following your situation throughout this thread and my heart goes out to you. Two weeks of constant calling with no results while facing potential eviction is absolutely devastating. After reading everyone s'experiences here - the spreadsheets, the hundreds of failed attempts, the people taking time off work just to call - it s'clear this system is intentionally broken. I know paying for government access feels wrong on every level, but at this point those calling services might be your lifeline. Your housing is too critical to keep gambling on a system with a 1% success rate. I ve'seen multiple people here say Claimyr worked for them within 30 minutes after months of manual calling failed. Sometimes you have to choose survival over principles, especially when the system has completely abandoned us. The fact that we re'all here supporting each other through this bureaucratic nightmare shows how badly the system has failed, but at least we re'not alone in this fight.