People might call the California Department of Employment Development to apply for benefits, check the status of payments or get help finding a job. When I called 800-229-6297, a customer service number for the California Department of Employment Development, I assumed I could get information on job training programs.
When the voice response system answered the call, I heard a greeting identifying the agency, followed by instructions to press 1 for English and 2 for Spanish. The system indicated that this customer service number was a fraud hotline and would not answer any questions about applications, claims or benefits. The voice emphasized again that this was a dedicated line to assisting the public with inquiries regarding fraud. Hearing this might be a reason for a caller to hang up immediately, especially if they are not concerned with fraud. I stayed on the line to see if the automated system might offer additional guidance.
Next, the system told me to select one of the following options: 1 for unemployment claims, 2 for disability claims, 3 for paid family leave, 4 to reach the Tax Branch with tax-related questions and 5 to report fraud. The voice said I could press star (*) to hear the menu again. I listened to the menu again to see if I missed a prompt for what I wanted to know, but the system repeated the same information. The voice then offered alternatives for reporting fraud, including filing a complaint online or visiting the fraud office between 8 a.m. and 5 p.m., Monday through Friday.
I hung up but called the number again to see where the system would take me if I pressed 1. It told me if I had applied for benefits, it could take up to three weeks to process the application. It also offered a website address to check the application status online.
The response from this customer service number confused me because the voice response system stated emphatically that the line was for reporting fraud. However, it offered a menu of options a caller could select to get information on issues unrelated to fraud, including unemployment claims, disability claims, paid family leave and tax-related questions. The system provided a web address for filing a complaint.
Since this line appears to connect callers to services in addition to fraud reporting, I don’t understand why the system focused on it being a fraud hotline. Callers like me, interested in other services like job training programs, might expect the agency to provide a menu option for that information.
Many customer service numbers invite callers to stay on the line if they have other questions or offer a number to press for inquiries about other issues. This system did neither. It would have been helpful if I could have spoken to a person who could have answered my question. Someone should look at ways to make this customer service number more user-friendly.
This California Employment Development Department (EDD) phone number is ranked #2 out of 7 because 28,428 California Employment Development Department (EDD) customers tried our tools and information and gave us feedback after they called. The reason customers call 800-229-6297 is to reach the California Employment Development Department (EDD) Fraud Detection department for problems like Re-open a claim, Speak to an agent, I'm currently out of state, Where is my claim?, File a claim. As far as we can tell, California Employment Development Department (EDD) has call center locations in California and you can call during their open hours 24 hours, 7 days. California Employment Development Department (EDD) has 7 phone numbers and 10 different ways to get customer help. We've compiled information about 800-229-6297 and ways to call or contact California Employment Development Department (EDD) with help from customers like yourself. Please help us continue to grow and improve this information and these tools by sharing with people you know who might find it useful.
Calling California Employment Development Department (EDD) at this number should be pretty straightforward. Also important is what you do once you call, or what your other phone number options are. Unfortunately, our call-you-back tool is not available for 800-229-6297. For companies that we support, we call for you, press the right buttons to get through the phone menus, wait on hold, and call you back when California Employment Development Department (EDD) Fraud Detection agents can talk. It's not available here, but keep an eye out for it when future customer service issues arise with companies other than California Employment Development Department (EDD) Once on the phone with California Employment Development Department (EDD)'s Fraud Detection department, you may need to provide them with information that identifies you as a customer, like your full name (or name on the account), email address, phone number, or an account number. It's usually worthwhile to gather this information before you call.
While 800-229-6297 is California Employment Development Department (EDD)'s #2 most popular phone number, it's not the only way to get a hold of their customer care team. You already know from reading above that 800-300-5616 is their best customer phone number overall, and we have put together a comparison of their 10 total ways to contact support for you to look at as well. One thing to keep in mind as you try to reach California Employment Development Department (EDD) help by calling them, is that other customers give their customer support at this number a 65% score for their communication skills and a 78% score for the overall help they received. That could be indicative of their abilities to help you resolve your problem overall, regardless of whether or not you call this number.