How long after winning PA UC appeal hearing until back payments arrive?
Finally got some good news today! After 3 months of fighting, I won my appeal hearing for my PA unemployment claim (the issue was about my employer claiming I was fired for misconduct when I was actually laid off). The referee agreed with my side during the hearing two days ago, but now I'm wondering how long before I actually see the money? I'm owed about $8,400 in back payments (14 weeks worth) and my bank account is literally on fumes right now. My landlord has been patient but that's running out fast. Has anyone here won an appeal recently? How long did it take for your back payments to hit your Money Network card? Do I need to contact someone to speed things up or just wait? Thanks for any help!
24 comments
Maya Diaz
congrats on winning!! i went thru similar thing in january, took about 2 weeks for my payments to start after the referee decided in my favor. hang in there!!
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Isaac Wright
•Thanks! 2 weeks is better than I feared. Did you have to do anything special or it just showed up?
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Tami Morgan
Congratulations on winning your appeal! From my experience helping claimants navigate the PA UC system, there are a few things to know about post-appeal payments: 1. The decision typically takes 5-7 business days to be processed in the system after your hearing 2. Once processed, back payments generally begin within 1-2 weeks 3. They may release payments in batches rather than all at once, especially with 14 weeks worth I recommend checking your payment status daily on the PA UC portal. If nothing appears after 10 business days from the decision date, you should try contacting the UC service center. However, getting through on the phone can be extremely difficult.
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Isaac Wright
•Thank you for the detailed info! I'll start checking the portal daily. Really hoping they don't release in batches because I need to catch up on rent ASAP, but at least having a timeline helps.
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Rami Samuels
THE SYSTEM IS BROKE AND CORRUPT!! I won my appeal in december and STILL fighting to get my money!!! been 6 weeks since the hearing and all I get is "processing" when I call. they make it impossible on purpose so people give up!!!!!
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Haley Bennett
•That's awful, have you tried contacting your state representative? Sometimes they can help push things along when UC is being unresponsive. My cousin had a similar issue and her state rep's office got it fixed within 2 weeks.
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Douglas Foster
I used to work for PA UC (back in 2022), so I can offer some insight. After an appeal decision, the referee's office sends the decision to the UC Service Center for processing. They need to remove the disqualification from your claim and recalculate your eligible weeks. Typically this takes 2-3 weeks, but can sometimes take longer if: - Your case has multiple issues that needed resolution - The system flagged other potential issues with your claim - There's a high volume of appeals being processed You won't see any updates until a claims examiner processes the referee's decision. Unfortunately, there's no way to expedite this through the normal channels, and calling usually doesn't help since regular agents can't process appeal decisions.
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Isaac Wright
•Thanks for the insider knowledge! That makes sense - my case did have multiple issues they were reviewing. Crossing fingers it's closer to 2 weeks than 3 or more.
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Nina Chan
I struggled with getting through to someone at UC after my appeal too. Kept getting busy signals for days and almost gave up. Then I found this service called Claimyr (claimyr.com) that got me through to a real person at PA UC in about 20 minutes. They have a video showing how it works: https://youtu.be/CEPETxZdo9E?si=WL1ZzVZWG3KiHrg2 After I finally got through, the agent was able to tell me exactly what was happening with my payments and gave me a timeframe. Might be worth it if you're not seeing any movement after a week or so. The peace of mind was definitely worth it for me.
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Ruby Knight
•does that actually work? seems sketchy to me but i might try anything at this point because ive been trying to call for 3 weeks now
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Diego Castillo
Ugh, I remember this stress. When I won my appeal last year it took exactly 17 days before I saw the money. And yeah they did it in two batches - first 6 weeks then the rest about 3 days later. But I've heard from people who got it faster AND slower so seems like it really depends on your specific case and maybe who processes it? Good luck!
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Isaac Wright
•Thanks for sharing your experience! 17 days isn't great but at least it's not months. The batch thing makes me nervous though - did they tell you in advance it would be in batches or did it just happen that way?
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Diego Castillo
•No warning at all - just randomly saw the first payment hit my account and then the rest came a few days later. I think they have some limit on how much they process at once or something? Never got a clear answer on why.
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Haley Bennett
The key thing after winning an appeal is making sure your weekly certifications are all properly filed, even for the past weeks. Did you already file for all those back weeks? Sometimes people win appeals but don't realize they still need to file for those weeks retroactively. Just checking because that can delay things even further.
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Isaac Wright
•Oh wow, I didn't even think about that! I did file every week even though I was denied, just in case I won the appeal. Sounds like that was the right move. Thanks for pointing this out - would have been devastating to win and then face more delays.
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Maya Diaz
make sure ur checking ur Money Network card not just ur bank account. they sometimes load it there even if u asked for direct deposit. happened to my roomate lol
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Isaac Wright
•Good point! I'll check both. Would be just my luck to have the money sitting on a card I'm not checking 😂
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Tami Morgan
Just a follow-up on the timeframe - I checked my records from helping clients with appeals, and among 23 cases I handled in the past year, the average time from favorable decision to payment was 12.6 business days. The fastest was 5 business days, the longest was 31 business days. If you're approaching the 15 business day mark with no updates, I would definitely recommend trying to contact them. And as someone else mentioned, continuing to file your weekly claims during the entire process is essential.
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Isaac Wright
•I really appreciate you checking your records! That gives me a much better sense of what to expect. I'll mark my calendar for 15 business days from now and plan to try contacting them if nothing has happened by then.
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Ruby Knight
did you have to pay rent during covid??????? the moratorium SHOULD still be in effect but the gov wants us all homeless while they bail out the banks!!!!
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Haley Bennett
•The eviction moratorium ended a long time ago - I think back in 2021. This post is about unemployment benefits after winning an appeal, not about COVID-era protections.
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Isaac Wright
UPDATE: Just wanted to let everyone know that my payments started arriving today - took exactly 11 business days after the hearing decision! They're doing it in batches like some of you mentioned - got 6 weeks worth today, hopefully the rest will come soon. Thanks for all your help and advice!
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Diego Castillo
•That's great news! So happy it worked out and thanks for updating us. It really helps to know what timeframes are realistic.
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Tami Morgan
•Excellent! Thank you for sharing the update - this information will help others in similar situations. Keep an eye on your account for the remaining payments, which should arrive within the next few business days.
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