Pennsylvania Unemployment
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Can't reach Pennsylvania Unemployment? Claimyr calls for you, so you don't have to wait on hold.
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- Connect you to a human agent at the PAUC
- Skip the long phone menu
- Call the correct department
- Redial until on hold
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PA UC payment delay: Direct deposit changed to ReliaCard without my authorization?
Really frustrated right now! I filed my weekly PA UC claim on Sunday like always, but it's Thursday and I STILL haven't received my payment. I've been getting direct deposit for months without any issues (usually hits my account Tuesday morning), but when I checked my payment information today, it shows that my payment method was changed to the ReliaCard a few weeks ago?? I never authorized this change! I checked the ReliaCard balance and there's nothing there either. Has anyone else experienced this? Is the system just being slow this week, or did someone mess with my account? What's the fastest way to get this fixed? I've got bills due tomorrow and was counting on this money.
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PA UC weekly claim under review after accidentally selecting 'yes' to job absence question - help!
I totally messed up my PA unemployment claim last week and I'm panicking! I accidentally hit 'yes' instead of 'no' when it asked if I was absent from my job (I don't even have a job right now - I'm in my 18th week of collecting UC). As soon as I realized my mistake, I sent an email explaining the error and have been trying to call nonstop but can't get through to anyone. Now when I filed my weekly certification yesterday, the system let me file but displayed a message saying my claim is under review. I'm really worried this one stupid mistake is going to cause me to lose benefits or delay my payments. Has anyone else done something similar? How long does the review process take? I'm stressing about bills coming due next week!
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I'm so glad to hear you got it resolved! This gives me hope for my own situation. I accidentally selected "yes" to refusing suitable work last week when I meant to click "no" - was filing on my phone and my thumb slipped. Now I'm in the same boat with my claim under review. I've been calling nonstop but can't get through. Did the Claimyr service cost anything? And how quickly were you able to get connected? I'm really stressing because rent is due in a few days and this is my only income right now.
Hey Adrian! I totally understand the stress - I was in the exact same panic mode when this happened to me. Claimyr does cost a small fee (I think it was around $20-25) but honestly it was worth every penny to avoid weeks of uncertainty. I got connected to a UC rep within about 30 minutes, which is a miracle compared to the regular phone lines. The whole call took maybe 10 minutes and they fixed it on the spot. Since rent is due soon, I'd definitely recommend trying it - much faster than waiting for an email response or hoping to get lucky with the regular phone system. Keep filing your weekly claims while you wait though!
Wow, this is exactly what I needed to see! I'm dealing with the same nightmare right now - accidentally clicked "yes" to being absent from work when filing my weekly claim three days ago. My heart sank when I saw that review message pop up. I've been calling the UC office every hour on the hour but just get busy signals or disconnected after waiting forever. Reading through all these responses is giving me some hope though. Sounds like this mistake is way more common than I thought! I'm definitely going to try that live chat option first thing tomorrow morning, and if that doesn't work I might have to bite the bullet and try that Claimyr service. Twenty-five dollars is definitely better than missing rent payments while waiting weeks for this to get sorted out. Thanks everyone for sharing your experiences - it's such a relief to know I'm not the only one who's made this stupid mistake with PA's confusing system!
You're definitely not alone in this! I just went through the exact same thing last month and was absolutely panicking too. The PA UC system seems deliberately designed to confuse people with these poorly worded questions. I also tried the live chat route but couldn't get through - it fills up so fast in the morning. Ended up using Claimyr after reading about it here and honestly, best $25 I've spent in a long time. Got connected to someone who immediately understood it was just a simple mistake and cleared the review flag. The whole process from payment to getting connected to resolution took less than an hour. Definitely keep filing your weekly claims while you're waiting though - that's super important! You'll get through this, just hang in there.
PA UC system keeps saying my birth date is incorrect when filing new claim - stuck in error loop
I'm at my wit's end trying to file a new unemployment claim in PA! The system keeps giving me an error message saying my date of birth is incorrect, but I KNOW it's right! I've triple-checked and re-entered it at least 10 times exactly as it appears on my license (MM/DD/YYYY format). Every single time I get the same error and can't proceed to the next screen. Has anyone else dealt with this? Is there some weird formatting trick I'm missing? This is so frustrating because I really need to get this claim filed ASAP as my savings are almost gone after being laid off last week.
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UPDATE: Finally got through to PA UC! Turns out there WAS a data mismatch - they had my birth year wrong by one digit in their system (had me born in 1982 instead of 1983). The rep fixed it on their end and I was able to complete my claim right away. For anyone else having this issue, definitely call them - there's no way to fix it yourself online.
That's great news! Did you use the regular phone line or that Claimyr service someone mentioned? Wondering for future reference because I've got a benefits year ending soon and will probably need to file again.
I used Claimyr and it actually worked! Got a call back within a few hours instead of spending days trying to get through. Definitely worth it for anyone stuck in my situation. Now I'm just waiting for my claim to be processed - keeping my fingers crossed there aren't any more issues!
Thanks for updating us! Make sure you file your weekly certifications on time while you're waiting for the initial claim to process. Sometimes people think they need to wait for approval before filing weekly, but you should start right away.
Glad you got it sorted out! @705d260b7646 Your experience might help others - could you share roughly how long the whole process took from when you first called to when your claim was approved? I'm dealing with a similar data mismatch issue and trying to set realistic expectations for myself.
How long after winning PA UC appeal until payment hits Money Network card?
Finally won my appeal hearing yesterday after a 6-week battle with PA UC! The referee ruled in my favor, but I'm still waiting for the money to show up on my Money Network card. The backpay amount should be around $4200 for the 7 weeks I've been fighting this. Has anyone gone through this recently? How long did it take for your payments to process after winning your appeal? I'm stressing because rent is due next week and I've been surviving on credit cards this whole time.
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FINAL UPDATE: Money hit my card today! Total of 5 business days after winning the appeal. All the backpay came at once. Such a relief after weeks of stress. Thanks everyone for your help!
Fantastic! That's actually pretty quick by PA UC standards. Glad it worked out for you. Make sure to keep up with your weekly work search activities and filing even though you got paid, as any gaps could cause problems with future payments.
Congrats on getting your money! That's awesome that it only took 5 days - gives me hope for my own appeal that I'm waiting on. Quick question for everyone: does the backpay show up as one lump sum on the Money Network card, or do they break it down by week? I'm trying to figure out how to budget once mine (hopefully) comes through. Also, did anyone have issues with the Money Network card having daily withdrawal limits when you got a big backpay deposit?
PA UC Appeal won but waiting 12 weeks - how long until I get my back payments?
I finally won my appeal with PA unemployment after fighting for almost 2 months! The referee ruled in my favor last month and said I'm eligible for all those back weeks. It's been 4 weeks since the decision letter came and I still haven't received a PENNY of the 12 weeks of payments they owe me. My Money Network card is still showing $0. Does anyone know how long it typically takes for them to release funds after winning an appeal? I'm about to be evicted and can't get through on the phone. Is there something else I'm supposed to do to trigger the payments?
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I went through this exact same situation about 8 months ago and it was absolutely maddening. After winning my appeal, I waited 7 weeks for my backpay (it was for 9 weeks). What finally got things moving was filing a complaint with the PA Department of Labor & Industry's Bureau of Unemployment Compensation Benefits. You can do this online through their website. I filed the complaint on a Tuesday and got a call from a supervisor on Friday who expedited my case. Had my money deposited within 4 business days after that call. Also, make sure you're checking your UC dashboard daily - sometimes they'll add new "open issues" that need to be resolved before they can release payments, and these don't always trigger email notifications. Good luck and don't give up!
I'm dealing with almost the exact same situation right now! Won my appeal 5 weeks ago for 10 weeks of back pay and still haven't seen a dime. What's really frustrating is that my claim status online still shows the original disqualification reasons even though I have the referee's written decision saying I'm eligible. After reading everyone's responses here, I'm planning to file that Bureau of UC Benefits complaint tomorrow and also contact both my state rep AND senator's office. It's ridiculous that we have to jump through all these hoops after already proving we deserve the benefits. The system is completely broken when winning your case is only half the battle. Thanks everyone for sharing your experiences and timelines - at least now I know I'm not alone in this nightmare!
I'm so sorry you're going through this too! It's maddening that we have to become our own advocates just to get what we're legally entitled to after already winning our cases. I noticed you mentioned your claim status still shows the original disqualification - that's exactly what's happening with mine too. From what Gabrielle explained earlier, that seems to be the core issue - they have to manually update each week from disqualified to payable and there's a huge backlog in that process. Definitely pursue all those avenues you mentioned. I used that Claimyr service to get through to someone last week and at least confirmed my payments are "in process" but they're saying another 2-3 weeks still. Keep us posted on how the Bureau complaint goes - I might file one too if I don't see movement soon. We shouldn't have to fight this hard AFTER we've already won!
Anthony Young
did you fix it??? having the same problem starting this week
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Daniel Washington
AuthorYes! Finally got it resolved. Had to speak to an actual person at UC who manually fixed the payment routing issue. They reissued the payment to my correct direct deposit account, and it should arrive Monday. Used the Claimyr service to get through on the phone after days of trying unsuccessfully on my own.
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Mei Wong
Just wanted to say thanks to everyone who helped Daniel with this issue! I'm bookmarking this thread because it seems like this payment routing glitch is becoming more common. The detailed explanation from Ella about what's happening behind the scenes was really eye-opening - I had no idea the system could get stuck like that between payment methods. And good to know about the Claimyr service as a backup option if the regular phone lines are jammed. Hopefully PA gets this bug fixed soon so people don't have to go through all this stress just to get their benefits!
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