Thanks to the EDD, I am slowly losing my mind
Haunted by phones
Ahh, my first week of unemployment. Pure (ignorant) bliss. Still delighted to discover I was eligible for free money from the government, I boasted about filing for unemployment insurance benefits. I reveled in its simplicity. I daydreamed about receiving my checks in the mail. Well, I’m sad to report that those daydreams have now turned into one un-ending bureaucratic nightmare. Blog therapy may not be enough to cure the spiral of madness I now find myself in.
It all started out so innocently, so…effortlessly. I opened my claim online in less than an hour. Within days, I received my first worksheet (in case you are lucky enough to still have a job, this is a form you have to fill out every two weeks before getting your check). I happily ticked the boxes and sent it back.
But shortly afterwards, the cracks began to show. I got a letter saying my worksheet was “incomplete or incorrect”. I was sent a replacement form and asked to fill it out. I did so, under John’s wise, watchful eye (mind you, he had already received his first check at this point, so I trusted his judgment). He identified what he thought was the problem. Phew, I thought. Glad I got that one sorted out.
But within a week of sending in my replacement form, I received a two-line letter from the EDD saying my second form had also been “incomplete or incorrect” – still no hint as to the nature of my error. I was instructed to call their 1-800 number “immediately”. I had missed my opportunity to fill out any new worksheets. My future livelihood now depended on the efficacy of a toll free government service number. Things were not looking good.
Bear in mind I have now been unemployed for over two months, and have yet to receive my first check. My measly severance cannot carry me through. Funds are dwindling. Mom and dad are on speed dial. And too many San Francisco establishments are cash only.
Now, I understand that the unemployment offices are overloaded with patrons at this time. I don’t expect to be able to get through to someone on my first, second or third try. I’m a reasonably intelligent person, familiar with the notion of a bottleneck. So after calling the toll free number repeatedly, to no avail, I decided to attempt an in-person visit. I googled my nearest “unemployment office”. Nothing like a good old-fashioned face-to-face meeting to straighten out a silly misunderstanding!
Where is this fantasy "unemployment office"?
I had imagined long lines of disgruntled layoffees, people taking numbers, angry mobs, apathetic and/or defensive civil servants – SIGNS OF LIFE.
Instead, I found a shy receptionist (bless her heart), a couple overzealous security guards and room full of phones. There were a few desperate looking jobseekers sprinkled throughout this multi-purpose government office, but for the most part, it was empty. The receptionist informed me that there was no one I could speak to face-to-face about my issue. That this particular office did not house any unemployment insurance representatives or advisers – I am told there are no such offices in the city of San Francisco. This was simply a job center. They could, however, offer me my pick of telephones designated for calling the 1-800 number. I started laughing maniacally. Are you friggin KIDDING ME? A room full of phones? Believe it or not, I have a phone at home. Two in fact! Why would I drive to this office, pay for parking, and sign in to use a public (read: bacteria infested) telephone? I can do this just as well from my couch, while I watch Tyra and eat a gallon of ice cream in my onesie. No antiseptic necessary.
But being the curious person that I am, I decided to check out this telephone facility. After passing through two security guards and being forced to throw away my coffee (NO COFFEE NEAR THE PHONES), I was given the low down on efficient phone usage. It went something like this:
Officer: “Push English and it dials the number. If it says ‘thank you’, hang up and try again. You have not gotten through. If it says ‘welcome’, you have gotten through. Dial 12117 to quickly navigate through the menu and you might just speak to someone.”
Me: (not sure whether to laugh or cry) “I see. And what are my chances of success?”
Officer: (points to the pages of signatures on his clipboard) “Out of all these people who came in today, maybe 4 or 5 got through. They put in some serious time.”
Me: “Christ almighty. They don’t make it easy, do they.”
I begin to lose all hope. I try really hard not to take it out on this nice man, who, of course, is just doing his job.
Me: “But why come in here and call when I can call from home? I don’t understand this set-up – a room full of phones to dial the same useless automated service I have been cursing for weeks?”
Officer: “Well, every once in a while, someone ACTUALLY gets through. Then everyone waits nearby and when that person is done with their call, they hand the phone over to someone else.”
I can’t believe what I’m hearing. What might this preposterous scene look like? Grown men hovering around the golden ticket winner, waiting desperately for their turn. The golden ticket winner, upon completion of his call, crying: “Wait! Don’t hang up! SS# 459-99-0787 wants to speak to you too… I’m passing you over now… Byeeee. Muah.”
At this point I have to leave the building before I scream.
Still reeling from the experience, I drove home, determined not to lose all hope. When I got there, I began researching offices outside of San Francisco, where I might get to speak to someone face-to-face. I found one in my hometown of Sunnvyale, just 40 minutes south of here. It looked promising. I was pleased by my own persistence as I dialed their number to confirm which services they offered. But my self satisfaction quickly turned to disappointment.
Lady on the phone: “Nope, sorry. You can’t file a claim here or discuss your claim with anyone. In fact there is no way to speak to a representative in person anywhere in California. You just have to keep trying the 1-800 number. But we DO have a room of telephones you can use.”
MORE PHONES???? At this point, I want to reach into the receiver and punch this lady in the mouth. No wonder losing one’s job and losing one’s mind are so closely intertwined. I am beginning to understand why people throw themselves in front of trains or go on killing sprees.
Always an optimist though (and with an unhealthy dose of persistence), I have now resigned myself to calling the number until I get through (from the comfort of my own couch, of course). It may take days, weeks, months, a lifetime, even – but eventually, I will get through, right? I see no other alternative. I understand the need for a mutli-pronged approach. I plan to write to my local congresswoman. I will also send a detailed letter to the EDD. If needs be, I will hire a lawyer.
But in the meantime, I spend my days dialing the 1-800 number over and over and over again. Every once in a while, I get the ever-so-promising “welcome” message. I navigate through the menu options with a glimmer of hope, and the automated message tells me I am being put through to a representative. I am elated – but only temporarily. In the end, it turns out to be a sick inside joke, orchestrated by the evil robots at the EDD. A subsequent message says “we’re sorry, we can’t take your call at this time. Goodbye” and the robot rudely hangs up on me. So what do I do? I pick up the phone and begin the process again.
I dial the same number repeatedly – each time, hoping for a different result. Isn’t this the very definition of insanity? Consider this my cry for help.
P.S. For musings not related to unemployment, check out my new blog, Lipstick & Lemonade
I applied for UI (in CA) in April, 2010. Later that month I received an “award” letter, except it had zeros for the amounts to be received and zeros for the amounts that I had earned. I call the 1800 number and miraculously get through with probably 50th attempt or so. They tell me that they could not find my earnings in the system because my former employer did not report them or something of that nature. They put an investigation on it and told me to just wait.
I waited 2 months and call them back. They told me to mail them (not fax or email) my 2009 W2 statement, which I did. A week later they send me an updated “award” letter with all amounts in place. The letter also said ” YOU WILL RECEIVE CLAIM FORMS IN THE MAIL” etc. I wait for another month, nothing.
I call and they said to expect the claim forms next week. I get them (covering a period of 3 months) , fill them out and receive my checks approx 3.5 months after filing.
A little secret on how to get through that 1800 number. First, as was mentioned earlier,dial 12117. THEN, you have to use 2 or 3 phones and call the number simultaneously, and one of them will surely get you through. I used my home phone, my cell phone and my boyfriend’s phone all the same time.
Hi Tania,
It’s amazing, isn’t it? I truely believe EDD purpously puts people through this misery because some actually decide to give up and say the hell with the unemployment benefits.
I’m currently unemployed and have done a few random jobs as an actor. I filmed a national NAPA commercial and, of course, as an actor, you’re paid residuals for whenever the commercial is aired.
Well, I filmed the commercial in August of 2010 and just recently received my first bulk residual payment at the end of October (2010). So, on my form on the question 6a “Have you worked OR earned money for the week ending..” followed by, “Please list the dates worked and the amount received.” So, I filled in YES and listed the earnings, and below that, wrote in the dates of 8/5 and 8/6, FOLLOWED by a very self-explanatorly letter telling EDD that the reason why my DATES are going back to August are due to the fact that the earnings were RESIDUAL earnings.
TWICE now I’ve done this, and both times EDD writes back and tells me that my form is incomplete cause the dates worked don’t match the week ending on the form.
I’ve sent 10 emails now through the EDD website and called and called and called and called and called (never being able to get through,) and absolutely CANNOT get this resolved.
For anyone reading this, does anyone have any suggestions as to what I should do??
Tommy
Hi, if anyone can tell me this.
Do I have to deposit the check in a CA bank or I can deposit it anywhere in the US? The thing is I will be out in Arizona at the time of receiving of the check. So I will have to deposit it in Arizona. Will the Edd call this as something that is unacceptable?
Hi Tania~
I feel your pain and have some challenging moments dealing with EDD myself.
One little known fact…. our local government offices (Assembly, Congress, etc.) have reps that deal directly with EDD on our behalf. Its amazing… and they get right through! Try your local politicians office.
I work at a Career Center, where we have two phones and 10 computers set up for people to file for unemployment and search for work. In our defense, we are not actually an EDD office. They just use us as scapegoats to make it look like they’ve set up locations with living people. Unfortunately, me dialing the 800 number is no different than anyone else giving it a shot. We have no special privilages here. We’re actually set up to 1) offer career tips and resume revisions and 2) to allocate federal funds to clients… funds which run out within 3 months of us recieving them, mind you. Efficient, I know. Phone and email are the only way to go.
Off the record, before I got my job here I was on unemployment. I had to jump through the same amount of hoops as anyone, but I found ways to talk to a rep every time I needed it. Again, this was before I worked here, and even if I had known of this place, it offers no perks. There are back ways to talk to EDD reps. You just have to get crafty and lose the defeatist attitude. It’s fun and theraputic to bash the system, but it’s not going to get you your checks. There’s hope. The system is designed to service millions of people. You just have to be smarter than the masses.
Tips:
Call your local politican’s office, I think I saw that mentioned.
Try the pass code: 12117 when you hear “welcome.”
Email them ALWAYS, even if it gets you nowhere with every mundane detail pertaining to your case. A paper trail is key.
Call bilingual hotlines. They get less traffic, and the reps are required to speak English.
Good luck!!
THANK GOD FOR THIS SITE!!! I considered myself to be a reasonably smart person untill I recieved the “section 1277, this does not affect your claim” LETTER OF DOOM! WTF! After reading blog after worried blog of the same questions I have with no answers I began feeling sicker and sicker dreading having to make a call to the TWILIGHT ZONE of the EDD 800# universe. I finally came across this site (the holy grail of answers) Thank you for helping me to breath easy. btw screw the edd for sending mail that makes you cry.
I’ve learned to call EDD when my claim form is due, always on a Sunday. If I wait to mail it in on Monday I have to wait awhile to get a payment. If I call on Sunday the payment is in by Tuesday or Wednesday. I haven’t sent my last few claim forms in and it’s worked just fine. I also have the edd debit card so I don’t wait for any checks. The call will ask the same questions that are on the form so be careful.
Call instead of mailing the form.
Don’t give up the money you earned (with your taxes) by getting discouraged by the phone services; email them. You’ll want to choose “unemployment insurance + claim filing + made a mistake” or to that effect
This paper trail for proof that you tried to contact them. Use the online message form, “Contact UI – Email us” is what you are looking for
currently the link is https://askedd.edd.ca.gov/asp/frmEDDCOMM.aspx?CategoryID=7
Do this before the “No later than” date to ensure that they have a record of you contacting them, thus extending your time according to their work volume.
Although this can extend the timeline of payment, at least you will receive what was entitled to you.
If you call the 800 number and you can’t get through, just keep calling them over and over repeatedly. For me, it is best to call in the afternoon maybe about an hour or two before they close. (they close at 5PM) I also found that if you make the correct options when the automated voice is telling you what you calling about, then 9 times out of 10, you’ll get through to someone. I also use my account balance and my last payment option on the phone to speak to them. When I do that, I often get through to them, even if I have another general question.
Hi Everyone,
This site has helped me so much. I too became upset when obtaining a delayed notice after filling out my Claim form. This really does work, call the 1800 # and if you hear ”
“Thank you for calling” hang up until you hear “Welcome to” type in your social or
this is when you type in either 12117 or 1230
Hope this helps!
Hi Everyone,
Thank you for all of your tips. I’m a little lost about the code thing. I heard “Welcome” and put in the code and it took me to I don’t know where.
Maybe they changed it? Any help will be greatly appreciated. It’s been over a month and no benefits.
Help!
Deborah
that code doesn’t work. I tried after “hello” got me no where and they have bad attitude too.
I am glad I’m not the only one having this experience. I had a phone interview this morning, one I was never told of. In the message the woman says to refer back to the original phone message…. the one I never received. Since I’m routing everything to my google voice number this was both amusing and frustrating for me. Is it me, or does it seem like UI Claimants who are at the maximum level of receiving UI benefits have the most trouble actually receiving their money. If I was a cynical sort of person I’d say this wasn’t an accident on the State of California’s part….
In other news, if anyone knows of any Systems Admin or experience Desktop support positions please visit my website, I am career seeking; hirevincent.info
Oh Great ! A place to vent our frustrations. . . Im in awe at the neglegence performed by the State of California and this silly system.
Isnt this money they have pulled out of our checks and this is actually OUR money ?
So ridiculious ! 1800 is some real BS!!
So upset been 30 days since lay off and 15 days since scheduled call that I missed because I pushed the wrong button and sent them to voicemail – bastards !! die die die EDD !!
OMG! I have been laughing my head off as my life has been a living hell with EDD this past week….sent my form in, it has always posted on a Monday at midnight and did not get it last week, have sent 4 emails….various types…no response…called everyday..no response. My 81 year old mother gave me the advice to call the local politicians so I have left messages for my Senator and Assemblyperson….now let’s see if they call me! LOL….this has been so stressful as this is my only income and I feel like this is the one agency that should have the employees to serve our huge population…amazing how u can do all of your DMV stuff in line that you really could do online and no offices to support those of us that have paid into the system for 30 years….unbelieveable!