Need alternative PA UC phone number - 888-313-7284 never answers!
Been trying to reach PA unemployment benefits for TWO WEEKS straight and cannot get through on 888-313-7284! Just constant busy signals or it hangs up after the automated message. I've called at 7:59am, tried midday, even late afternoon - nothing works!! My claim has an issue that needs resolved ASAP and I'm about to miss rent payment. Does anyone know any secret backdoor numbers or extensions to get through to an actual human at the PA UC office? Getting desperate here...
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Emma Wilson
The 888 number is literally the only one they have now for regular UC claims. I spent 4 days calling last month and finally got through around 10:30am on a Wednesday. Just gotta keep trying sadly
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Javier Mendoza
•4 DAYS?! I can't wait that long, my landlord is already threatening eviction notices 😩
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Malik Davis
Try calling your state rep's office!! They have specific contacts at UC and can help push your claim through. I did this when I couldn't reach anyone for 3 weeks and they helped me resolve my open issue within 5 days.
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Javier Mendoza
•Oh wow, never thought of that. Do I just google my local state representative and call their office? Do I need to know who they are first?
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Isabella Santos
OMG THIS IS SO TYPICAL of PA UC!!! The whole system is DESIGNED to make you give up! They don't answer phones, they don't respond to messages in the portal, and then they blame US for not following up!! I've been dealing with this garbage system for 6 months and still have an unresolved overpayment issue they created!
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Ravi Gupta
•Actually theres a reason they dont answer. PA UC is severely understaffed since they cut like 30% of workers after covid ended but claims are still higher than pre-pandemic. The systems outdated too. Not making excuses but thats why its so hard to get through
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GalacticGuru
I had the same issue last month. After 30+ calls with no luck, I tried Claimyr and got through in about 20 minutes. It's a service that connects you with a PA UC rep when a line opens up. Costs money but was worth it for me since I had an urgent issue with my benefit year ending. They have a video showing how it works: https://youtu.be/CEPETxZdo9E?si=WL1ZzVZWG3KiHrg2 and their website is claimyr.com. I was skeptical at first but it actually worked when nothing else did.
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Javier Mendoza
•Never heard of this before! Did you have to give them your personal info? I'm desperate enough to try anything at this point
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GalacticGuru
•They just need your phone number to call you back when they get a UC agent on the line. You still talk directly to the UC people to handle your claim issues. It was the only thing that worked after weeks of trying.
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Freya Pedersen
have u tried using the chat function on the PA UC website? sometimes its faster than calling, but u might need to try it right when they open at 8am
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Javier Mendoza
•I tried the chat 3 times and kept getting a message saying 'all agents are busy please try again later' ðŸ˜
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Omar Fawaz
I went through this nightmare back in February. One trick I found - call EXACTLY at 8:00am, but instead of choosing option 1 for claim questions, choose option 3 for employer services, then when a person answers (usually much faster) explain you pressed the wrong option but PLEASE transfer you instead of making you call back. Worked for me twice!
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Javier Mendoza
•This is genius! Will definitely try this tomorrow morning. Thanks for the tip!
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Emma Wilson
Anyone else notice they seem to answer more on Tuesdays and Wednesdays? Mondays are impossible and Fridays they all leave early I swear
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Isabella Santos
•YES!!! I've noticed this pattern too! They're probably all nursing hangovers on Monday and planning their weekends on Friday! Meanwhile we suffer trying to get OUR MONEY that WE PAID INTO THE SYSTEM!!
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Ravi Gupta
For your specific situation where you need immediate help, I'd recommend trying these approaches in order: 1. Call right at 8:00am and use the extension trick mentioned above 2. Contact your state representative's office (find yours at https://www.legis.state.pa.us/) 3. Try the chat function multiple times throughout the day 4. Consider using a service like Claimyr if you're still stuck after trying everything else Also, make sure you're still filing your weekly claims while trying to resolve whatever issue you have. Missing weekly certifications will cause more problems.
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Javier Mendoza
•Thank you so much! I'm going to try all of these starting tomorrow. And yes, I've been making sure to file my weekly claims even though I haven't received any payments yet. Fingers crossed something works!
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Omar Fawaz
Did you ever figure this out? I'm curious which method ended up working for you because I might be in the same boat soon 😬
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Javier Mendoza
•Update for anyone who finds this thread later: I ended up using the Claimyr service after trying everything else for another week with no luck. Got connected to a rep in about 30 mins and they fixed my issue (turned out I had answered a question wrong on my initial application which flagged my account). First payment hit my Money Network card yesterday! Relief!!
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