If You Have Received a “Benefit Overpayment Collection Notice” or “Final Collection Notice”:
Sometimes, even years after the fact, the EDD will decide that, even though a person already received unemployment insurance benefits, they actually were not eligible for those benefits.
This begins a process where the EDD will try to make a claimant repay the benefits that EDD thinks they were “overpaid”. One of the documents that people receive when this process has started is a “Benefit Overpayment Collection Notice” or a “Final Collection Notice,” with a message that the person owes the EDD a certain amount of money.
If you have received one of these documents, it is important for you to respond and begin a plan of action as soon as possible. Even if you plan on repaying the money back to the EDD, a long delay in responding can cause interest to add up onto the overpayment. If you don’t understand why EDD is saying you owe them money, or you don’t think you should have to pay this money back, there are ways you can fight this decision, which are covered below.
Have you received a Notice of Overpayment?
An important document that the EDD is supposed to send you before they send you a collection notice is a Notice of Overpayment. This document lays out, week by week, the time periods when the EDD has decided you were not eligible for benefits, and how much money EDD thinks you owe them. If for some reason you received a collections notice, but EDD didn’t already send you a Notice of Overpayment (as happens to many people), you can still appeal the EDD’s decision that you owe them money.
Have you appealed the decision the EDD made?
If you have received one of the documents described above and you disagree with the EDD’s decision, you should fill out the appeal form that came with the Notice of Overpayment or Notice of Determination and mail it to the EDD as soon as possible. You can also find that form here. Make sure you confirm the best mailing address to send the appeal form to, and try to contact the EDD directly to ask them to re-send any notices or letters they previously sent or decisions they have made regarding your benefits.
Again, even if you didn’t get any other communications from the EDD, and only got a collection notice, if you believe that you were eligible for benefits and that you shouldn’t have to pay them back, you should start the appeals process immediately. Check out our page on how to appeal a decision from the EDD.
What happens now?
Even after you have begun the appeal process, you may still receive collection notices and letters in the mail, asking you to begin paying the amount or to set up a payment plan. In most situations, the EDD will not take financial action against you, such as garnishing your wages or tax refunds, while your appeal is ongoing. Unfortunately, despite the frustration and anxiety these letters can cause, there’s nothing we can do to stop the mailing system at the EDD. You can also call the EDD’s collections office (called the “Benefit Overpayment Collection Section”) directly, at 1-800-676-5737, to inform them you have an appeal pending and that there should be no action taken against you.
