Which ESD phone number actually gets you to a REAL person?

There's no 'secret' number unfortunately. The main Claims Center (833-572-8400) is the right one, but it's notoriously difficult to get through. Some tips though: 1. Call right when they open at 8:00 AM 2. If you get the 'high call volume' message, hang up and immediately redial 3. Try calling on Wednesday or Thursday - slightly less volume than Monday/Tuesday 4. Make sure your phone number isn't blocked - sometimes ESD blocks numbers that call too many times in a row The issue is that they're still understaffed compared to the volume of claims they're processing.

same boat here. been tryin 4 weeks. my claim says adjudication but no 1 will tell me why or talk to me. ive left 6 messages in there stupid message system

I was in your exact situation last month! My claim was stuck pending for almost a month and I couldn't get through on the phone either. After weeks of frustration, I finally used this service called Claimyr that got me through to an ESD agent in under 15 minutes. Their system basically navigates the phone tree and waits on hold for you, then calls you when they have an agent on the line. I was skeptical at first but it actually worked! You can see how it works in their video demo: https://youtu.be/7DieNd3C7zQ?si=26TzE_zGms-DODN3 Their website is claimyr.com if you want to check it out. It was definitely worth it to finally get my claim unstuck and start receiving benefits.

THE ENTIRE ESD SYSTEM IS DESIGNED TO PREVENT YOU FROM GETTING BENEFITS!!! It's all a scam to save the state money by making it impossible to actually complete a claim. I had to call 127 TIMES in one week before I finally got through, and that was after my claim was pending for SIX WEEKS with no explanation!!! The phone system is deliberately broken - hang up or cut you off after waiting, agents who can't help with 'your specific issue,' transfers that disconnect you. I'm convinced it's all intentional to discourage people from collecting the benefits THEY PAID FOR through payroll taxes!!!

One thing that helped me was calling my state representative's office. They have liaisons who work directly with ESD and can sometimes get things moving. Look up who represents your district and call their office explaining your situation. They can sometimes work miracles when the normal channels fail. Also, make sure you're still filing your weekly claims even while your initial claim is pending. If you miss weeks, that creates even more problems to fix later.

my neighbor told me she got thru by pressing 2 then 1 then 3 in the menu instead of going thru the regular options. said it worked for her last week. worth a try maybe?

Update on my situation since a few people asked - I did end up getting through to ESD last month using that Claimyr service I mentioned. The agent I spoke with was actually super helpful and found that my claim was flagged for identity verification (which nobody told me about). She sent me a link to upload my documents and my claim was approved 5 days later. The most frustrating part was that there wasn't actually any complicated issue - they just needed to verify my ID and nobody bothered to tell me! Could have been resolved in 10 minutes if I'd been able to talk to someone sooner.

wats adjudication mean anyways? my claim says that but nobodys telling me what it means