California woman shares hack for getting through EDD's overloaded unemployment helpline
AUBURN, Calif. (KGO) -- What if there is a secret way to get through to the EDD?
And once through, you could get your problem solved?
CALIFORNIA EDD: The most commonly asked questions we get about unemployment and PUA
7 On Your Side's Michael Finney helped a woman who now wants to help you.
Kelly lives in Auburn. Recently she has been active on my Facebook page advising others -- giving back, she says, because 7 On Your Side helped her so much.
She was among the thousands who joined in on my July EDD Digital "Town Hall." The information she picked up there lead to her first EDD check arriving this past Monday.
"When you did the town hall meeting," Kelly told me, "the people who said they got through were the ones who persistently called and didn't let up."
WATCH: 7 On Your Side and experts answer EDD, unemployment benefit questions in town hall
So Kelly got persistent, calling hundreds of times a day and noting the difference between the EDD telephone pick ups. She says there are two types. The ones that answer instantly and another with a short delay.
So to make sure I understood, I asked Kelly, "You call and if they immediately go, 'Hello, thank you for calling the EDD', you hang up?"
Kelly: "Yup."
Finney: "If you call and there is a little bit of a delay, and then it says, 'Hello, welcome to the EDD', then you hang around?"
Kelly: "Right and the second one is a different voice."
FAQ with EDD: From getting through on the phone to $600 payments, 7 On Your Side gets your questions answered
She says the second one also offers instructions in Spanish. Kelly says when you hear Spanish, the call could lead you to a live person.
I ask her, "You will get through with the 'delay' or just the chance of getting through?"
"The chance," Kelly says. "I got through 12 times in 600 calls over three days, and 11 of those times I did not get through."
That twelfth call got her in touch with a very nice and well-trained EDD representative who straightened out Kelly's account.
RELATED: Unemployed workers share how they got through EDD system to finally receive benefits
Kelly says all those hours on the phone helped her figure out a new acronym for the EDD.
"I think EDD stands for 'Every Damn Day,' because that is how often people have to call in," she says.
RELATED: Florida man erroneously receives 12 letters from the California EDD
Take a look at more stories and videos by Michael Finney and 7 On Your Side.
