Tips for getting through to a live body @ California EDD (verify, labor)

[Ariadne22]

So interesting. You can't get through on the regular EDD English line to save your life - but the Vietnamese line never appears to have a wait. Hmmmm...............

[patcasey]

Thank you very much. After weeks of trying to contact EDD as to why I have not received any payments since I registered over 45 days ago, it was discovered my interview data was entered wrong by a EDD representative. It is now corrected and I look forward to putting food on my table again.

[wolterclan]

Thank you so much for this information.
I called the (619) 525-4995 # AND IT WAS IMMEDIATELY ANSWERED!! Don't know which area it is for, but not San Jose.

OK, so for my San Jose area, I was told it was the wrong #, but she quickly gave me the following:
(909) 383-4663 which WAS ALSO ANSWERED IMMEDIATELY. Nice, nice, nice lady answered my question, corrected my mistake, and told me to look for $$ in my account within 48 hours!

BEWARE: I got a guy at the regular 800 # after about 24 tries, and he was unbelievably rude, short and when I tried to answer his question, he cut me off and told me to be quiet. When I tried to ask what I did wrong (and I mean, I was NICE...), he said, good bye lady, and hung up on me . I'D LIKE TO HURT HIM RIGHT NOW, except that I found this site, and got a very nice lady.

HINT HINT HINT - DON'T TALK TOO MUCH - THEY DON'T WANT TO HEAR IT. ANSWER THEIR QUESTIONS POLITELY AND CONCISELY AND THEY WON'T HANG UP

[Ariadne22]

Thanks for the feedback. It is very helpful.

[whitrose02]

San Francisco direct office line is (415) 351-7200. The Los Angeles (213) 744-2137 also works! Good luck everyone!

[scurtis4242]

I was finally able to get through on this line and still having a hard time getting my payments! My claim started in June of this year, I qualified for my extension since I started working in March at a temporary position that ended in June. EDD has taken forever to process everything and I have received letters stating I qualify for the extension and payments and was told two weeks ago when I finally got through that my payments would begin last week. Nothing, and this lady today told me they had to RE-FILE for the extension! She said she can't give me a time frame, needless to say I am so frustrated. I just imagine my paperwork sitting on someones big pile of papers on their desk. There has to be a quicker system.

[djspf]

Everyone - I know your frustration! I've been working with the EDD on an issue to get it straightened out for two months and finally had to do an appeal which actually went in my favor!

Not to belabor the point - but if you want to get through to EDD's 1-800-300-5616 phone system and actually speak with someone - this is the REAL way to do it:

Get through the initial prompt and select your language (1 for English).

Select the option for 1099 - I know this sounds crazy, but do it. Wait for the long explanation - it takes about 3 or so minutes. Finally hit 0 (that's Zero!) to speak with someone - this works!

They will ask for your SSN - enter it - then verify that it is correct by hitting 1 (that's a One).

They will put you on hold.

****MOST IMPORTANT****Do not tell them that you have a problem with your claim or anything. Simply answer the questions they ask - which should be to verify your name, address, and birthday.

At this point they'll ask you how they can help you. This is where it gets tricky, but try and keep a level head and explain what is going on. They will probably say they can't help you with your claim but if you're lucky you will get someone who will say they can transfer you to claims - I've done this three times in the last few days - first time she was great and transferred me and got disconnected! The second time I immediately started talking to try and get her to help with my claim - DON'T DO THIS - see above - just answer the questions they ask. The last time I just answered the three questions - she asked me how she could help - I explained - she said she could transfer me to claims - I asked them to PLEASE not to disconnect me. Once I got to claims I asked again not to be disconnected - she said she had my number and would call me back if we got disconnected (I almost had a heart attack at that point!!!!).

Once I was connected to claims everything got worked out correctly.

I hope this helps you guys. I know this is INCREDIBLY frustrating for everyone.

Good Luck!!!

[jasonmsum]

Just tried the Vietnamese number and followed the steps and it worked for me. Got through first try and the lady I spoke with was nice and helped me resolved my issue.

[owl69]

After weeks of not being able to get through, I read on this forum to try the Vietnamese number. And, it worked! You don't need to know Vietnamese --just wait until the pause press 1 , wait until the pause press 1 and keep doing that until you are placed on hold with the music.

Thank you to the people who posted this great tip--I am actually making progress now.

[moved]

Here are some updates to two EDD phone numbers.

408-436-5606 – not taking messages at this time.
909-383-4663 - Not in service at this time.