Great question and glad to see you got it sorted out! Just wanted to add one more tip for anyone else in this situation - when you're starting a new part-time job while on UI, it's really helpful to let your new employer know you're on unemployment benefits. Most employers understand this situation and some will even help by giving you a written confirmation of your start date, hours, and pay rate that you can reference when certifying. Also, if your work schedule varies week to week (which is common in retail), keep a simple log of your actual hours worked each day. I learned this the hard way when I couldn't remember if I worked 6 or 8 hours on a particular Tuesday three weeks later! The EDD certification questions are very specific about which days you worked during their certification period (Sunday through Saturday), so having that daily record makes certification much less stressful.

Hey @NebulaNinja! Congrats on starting your new job! I went through this exact same situation about 8 months ago when I started a part-time warehouse job while on UI. The advice everyone gave you is spot on - definitely report the work when you performed it, not when you get paid. One thing that helped me a lot was creating a simple spreadsheet to track everything: date worked, hours, estimated earnings, and then later the actual earnings from my paystub. This made certifying so much easier and gave me peace of mind that I was being accurate. Also, don't be surprised if EDD takes a bit longer to process your payments now that you're working - it's totally normal for them to review claims more carefully when work is first reported. Mine was pending for about 4-5 days the first couple times, but then it got back to normal processing speed. You're doing everything right by being honest and reporting accurately!

Thank you everyone for the helpful responses! I'm definitely going to continue keeping detailed records and doing legitimate job searches. The potential consequences aren't worth the risk. I'll check out CalJOBS and set up that email folder system too. Better safe than sorry!

Smart decision to keep doing everything legitimately! I've been on unemployment twice and always kept meticulous records - it's definitely worth the extra effort for peace of mind. One tip that helped me: I started using a simple Google Form to log my job search activities in real-time instead of trying to remember everything later. You just fill it out right after applying somewhere and it automatically creates a spreadsheet with timestamps. Way easier than manually maintaining records and you'll never forget the details. Plus having that timestamp data could be really helpful if you ever need to prove when you applied somewhere.

¡Hola Zara! Te entiendo perfectamente - yo pasé por exactamente lo mismo hace unos meses y sé lo desesperante que puede ser esperar cuando necesitas el dinero urgentemente. Te voy a dar el consejo que me funcionó a mí: **llama YA al 1-866-333-4606** (línea directa de tarjetas EDD). Sé que las esperas son largas, pero es absolutamente necesario. Aquí te van mis tips: 🕐 **Mejor horario**: Llama exactamente a las 8:00am cuando abren, de lunes a miércoles 📋 **Ten preparado**: Tu SSN, número de solicitud, y dirección completa 🔍 **Pide que verifiquen**: Tu dirección EXACTA (incluyendo números de apartamento), si hay algún "hold" en tu cuenta, y el estado actual de tu tarjeta En mi caso, tenían un error pequeño en mi código postal que causó que la tarjeta se devolviera. Una vez que lo corrigieron, me enviaron una nueva con entrega expedita sin costo. También puedes crear una cuenta en el sitio de Bank of America EDD para rastrear tu tarjeta mientras esperas en línea. Normalmente tarda 7-14 días, pero últimamente puede ser hasta 3 semanas. Si ya pasaron más de 2 semanas desde tu aprobación, definitivamente hay que investigar qué pasó. ¡No te desanimes! Con persistencia se resuelve. Mientras tanto, sigue certificando tus semanas. ¡Mantennos al tanto de cómo te va! 💪

¡Hola Zara! Entiendo completamente tu frustración - yo estuve en la misma situación hace solo 2 meses. Después de ser aprobada, esperé casi 4 semanas sin recibir nada y estaba súper estresada porque necesitaba el dinero para el alquiler. Lo que finalmente resolvió mi problema fue llamar al **1-866-333-4606** (línea directa de tarjetas EDD) exactamente a las 8:00am un miércoles. Después de esperar como hora y media, logré hablar con una representante que descubrió que tenían mal mi número de apartamento en el sistema - solo faltaba un dígito, pero eso fue suficiente para que el correo no pudiera entregar la tarjeta. **Mi consejo principal**: No esperes más tiempo. Llama mañana temprano y pídeles que verifiquen tu dirección COMPLETA, letra por letra. También pregunta si hay algún "hold" o flag en tu cuenta - a veces Bank of America pone las tarjetas en espera por razones de seguridad. Mientras tanto, puedes crear una cuenta en el sitio web de Bank of America EDD para ver si tu tarjeta aparece en el sistema. Y muy importante: sigue certificando tus semanas porque todos los pagos se van acumulando. En mi caso, una vez que corrigieron la dirección, me enviaron una nueva tarjeta con entrega expedita gratis y la recibí en 5 días hábiles. ¡No te rindas - con persistencia se resuelve! Esperamos que tengas buenas noticias pronto 💪

I work in banking and see this issue pretty frequently with prepaid debit cards like the Money Network cards. What's happening is likely that your card has different authorization settings for different transaction types. ATM withdrawals use a different processing network than point-of-sale (POS) purchases at merchants. When you call Money Network tomorrow, here's exactly what to say: "My card works at ATMs but is declining at all retail locations. Please check if my card is restricted to ATM-only transactions and enable full POS/merchant purchases." Also ask them to verify there are no daily spending limits that might be different for retail vs ATM transactions. This is almost always a quick fix once you get the right person on the phone who knows how to toggle those settings. The early morning call strategy others mentioned is spot on - 8-9 AM tends to have the shortest wait times. Good luck!

I've been dealing with this exact same issue for the past two weeks! My Money Network card works perfectly at ATMs but gets declined everywhere else - Target, Safeway, gas stations, you name it. Reading through all these comments has been so helpful because I had no idea this was such a common problem. I called Money Network twice already but clearly didn't ask the right questions. Tomorrow I'm going to call at 8 AM sharp and specifically ask them to "enable POS transactions" and check if my card is stuck in "ATM only" mode. It's so frustrating having to withdraw cash every time I need to buy anything, especially when the app shows I have plenty of funds available. Thanks to everyone who shared their experiences and the exact phrases to use when calling - this thread is a goldmine of information!

I'm also new to this community but wanted to share my experience since it sounds so identical to what many of you are going through. I had my eligibility interview just three days ago and immediately saw the "disqualified" status appear on my UI Online account, even though the conversation with the EDD representative seemed completely routine. Like others have mentioned, I was initially panicking because I really need those benefits to cover my rent and basic expenses while I'm job searching. But after reading through all these detailed experiences, especially from Brooklyn Knight, Grace Patel, Emma Wilson, and others who had their disqualifications reversed, I'm feeling much more hopeful. The pattern everyone's describing is so consistent - normal interview, immediate disqualification status, determination letter arrives within a week, and then often gets resolved with additional documentation. It really does seem like EDD's system automatically updates with temporary disqualifications during their review process, which is incredibly misleading and stressful for claimants. I'm following everyone's advice and using this waiting time to organize all my documentation: detailed job search logs with specific company names, dates, position titles, screenshots of applications, email confirmations, and my layoff paperwork. I've also been continuing to certify for benefits as recommended, just in case the disqualification gets overturned. Thank you to everyone who shared their experiences and timelines - it's been incredibly valuable for understanding what to expect. This community support makes such a difference during what could otherwise be an isolating and anxiety-inducing process. I'll definitely update when I receive my determination letter to add to the collective knowledge here!

I'm new to this community but wanted to share my experience since I'm currently going through the exact same thing. Had my eligibility interview yesterday and saw the "disqualified" status appear on my UI Online account within a couple hours, despite what seemed like a completely normal conversation about my layoff. Reading through all these responses has been incredibly helpful and reassuring! The pattern is so consistent across everyone's stories - routine interview followed by immediate disqualification status, then often resolved after the determination letter arrives. It really seems like EDD's system has this automatic process that shows "disqualified" during review periods, which is terribly misleading. What's been most valuable is learning about the typical timeline - determination letters arriving within 5-8 days, and then many cases getting resolved quickly once additional documentation is provided. I'm taking everyone's advice and organizing all my records now: detailed job search logs, application screenshots, layoff paperwork, etc. The waiting is definitely nerve-wracking when you're already stressed about finances, but seeing so many success stories gives me hope that this might just be part of EDD's confusing process rather than a final decision. Thank you to everyone who shared their experiences - it makes such a difference to know we're not alone in navigating this system! I'll definitely update when I receive my determination letter.