Can't reach PA UC by phone - Is there an official email contact option?
I've been trying to call the PA unemployment office for 2 weeks straight about an issue with my benefit payments suddenly stopping. I get nothing but busy signals or the automated message saying call volume is too high. I've tried calling right when they open, late in the day, different days of the week - nothing works! Is there an actual email address we can use to contact them? I sent a message through the dashboard but it's been 8 days with zero response. My rent is due next week and I'm getting desperate. Has anyone successfully reached them through email or found another way to get through?
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Amina Toure
they dont have email. dashboard message is all u can do besides calling. try calling at 7:59am exactly
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Paolo Ricci
•I've tried the 7:59 thing three days in a row! Still get the busy signal. This is so frustrating.
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Oliver Zimmermann
Unfortunately PA UC doesn't offer direct email support. I was in your same position last month - couldn't get through for almost 3 weeks. The dashboard messaging system is technically supposed to get you a response within 5-7 business days, but in my experience it's more like 2-3 weeks right now. Have you tried contacting your state representative's office? That's what finally worked for me - they have special channels to reach UC on your behalf.
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Paolo Ricci
•I didn't think of contacting my state rep! That's a good idea. Do I just look them up online and call their office? What info will they need from me?
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Oliver Zimmermann
•Yes, just Google "[your county] PA state representative" and call their district office (not Harrisburg). They'll need your full name, contact info, claim number if you have it, and brief description of your issue. They usually have a staff person who handles UC cases. Mine called me back in 2 days and had UC contact me directly the day after that!
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Natasha Volkova
PA UC is the WORST!!! Been dealing with them for 6 months and still have open issues!!! They DELIBERATELY make it impossible to reach anyone - it's all by design to make people give up!!! I've called 387 TIMES in one week (yes I counted) and never got through. The dashboard messages are a JOKE - they never respond!!! This system is RIGGED against workers!!!!!
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Javier Torres
•exactly!!!!! happened to me too. my cousin waited 4 months to get hers fixed and almost got evicted
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Emma Davis
I had the same problem trying to get through about my open issue. After two weeks of constant calling, I discovered Claimyr.com - it's a service that gets you through to a PA UC rep by holding your place in line and calling you back when you're next up. They have a video demo at https://youtu.be/CEPETxZdo9E?si=WL1ZzVZWG3KiHrg2 showing how it works. I was skeptical at first but I had a call with an actual PA UC agent about an hour after trying it. Saved me so much frustration.
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Paolo Ricci
•I've never heard of this. Does it actually work? I'm getting desperate enough to try anything at this point.
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Emma Davis
•Yes, it worked for me and my brother-in-law. The video explains it better than I can, but basically they use a system to navigate the phone tree and hold your spot, then call you when they have an agent. I was able to get my issue fixed in one call.
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CosmicCaptain
this hapens to evryone i think. my brother was on unemployment last winter and never reached anyone on the phone but eventually they fixed his issue just took like 5 weeks. sucks but what can you do. they claim to have like 200 people answering calls but no way thats true
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Natasha Volkova
•EXACTLY!!! There's NO WAY they have 200 people answering phones. I bet they have like 5 TOPS!!! And they probably take 2-hour lunch breaks!!!
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Oliver Zimmermann
I want to add something else that might help others reading this thread. If you're having trouble with your PA UC claim and can't get through by phone, you can also try these options: 1. Contact your state rep (as mentioned) 2. Try the UC live chat feature on the website during business hours (limited availability) 3. Visit a PA CareerLink office in person - they sometimes have UC staff on certain days 4. If your issue is urgent (like facing eviction), ask about the UC emergency escalation process through CareerLink Also make sure you're continuing to file your weekly claims even while waiting for issues to be resolved. Missing weekly certifications can cause bigger problems down the road.
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Malik Johnson
•Wait, there's a live chat option? Where do you find that on the website? I've been all over it and never saw that feature.
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Oliver Zimmermann
•It's not always available - they only activate it when they have staff available to monitor it. You'll see a chat bubble appear in the bottom right corner of the dashboard when it's operational. In my experience, it shows up most often on Tuesday and Wednesday mornings.
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Paolo Ricci
UPDATE: I wanted to let everyone know what worked for me. I tried several of your suggestions. The state rep office was helpful but said they had a 2-week backlog of UC cases. I ended up using Claimyr and got through to an agent yesterday! They fixed my issue (turns out my claim had a verification flag that needed to be cleared). My payment is now being processed! Thanks so much to everyone who offered advice - this community saved me from a really bad situation.
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Amina Toure
•thats good news! glad u got it fixed
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CosmicCaptain
•nice! what was the verification flag thing? now im worried my claim might have that too
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Paolo Ricci
•They said it was an income verification flag that got triggered because I had a part-time job for a few weeks. The agent was able to verify everything while I was on the phone and removed the hold. Might be worth checking if you had any work or income changes recently.
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Ella Harper
I'm dealing with a similar situation right now - been trying to reach them for over a week about my claim status. Reading through all these responses, it sounds like the state representative route might be my best bet since I can't afford to wait weeks for a dashboard response. @Oliver Zimmermann thanks for the detailed breakdown of options, really helpful! I'm also curious about that Claimyr service @Emma Davis mentioned - has anyone else here tried it successfully? The phone situation is absolutely maddening.
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