PA UC Referee missed my phone hearing today - what are my options now?

Same thing happened to me last month!! The UC hearing ref never called at the scheduled time. I waited for 2 hours and nothin. I called the UC service center right away but of course couldn't get thru to a person. I ended up sending an email through my dashboard explaining what happened and they actually rescheduled my hearing for the next week. Make sure u document EVERYTHING - take screenshots of your phone showing no incoming calls during that time if u can.

This happens occasionally with the PA UC appeal system. Here's what you need to do immediately: 1. Call the UC Appeals office at 717-787-5122 (not the regular UC number) 2. Explain that your scheduled phone hearing never occurred 3. Follow up with written documentation through your dashboard 4. Request a "reopening" of the hearing due to failure of the referee to contact you PA regulations allow for reopening a hearing when the party had "proper cause" for not attending - which in your case is clear since they failed to call you. You have 15 days from the date of the missed hearing to file this request. Don't panic - this is a fixable situation.

i had this happen 2 me too they said my phone was busy but it wasnt! check ur mail cuz theyll send u a letter saying u missed ur hearing and then u gotta appeal that right away. the whole system is designed to screw us over

Hey I just went through this exact nightmare scenario with PA UC last month! After the referee no-show, I tried calling for DAYS with no luck - constant busy signals and disconnects. I finally used Claimyr (claimyr.com) to get through to a live person at UC. Their service connected me to an agent in about 20 minutes when I'd been trying for days. The agent confirmed there was a system error on their end and rescheduled my hearing. Check out their demo video if you're frustrated trying to reach someone: https://youtu.be/CEPETxZdo9E?si=WL1ZzVZWG3KiHrg2

make sure you act fast!! my cousin had this happen and she waited too long to contact them and they ruled against her automatically!! the letter said she "failed to appear" even tho they never called her either!!

Slightly different perspective here - sometimes the referee calls from a blocked or private number. Did you by chance reject any unknown calls during your wait time? Many people have call blocking apps that might prevent these calls from coming through. Just something to consider when you talk to the appeals office.

Honestly, this might be a blessing in disguise. The same thing happened with my hearing, and when they rescheduled, I got a different referee who was MUCH more understanding than the one initially assigned to my case (I learned this from my advocate later). Use this time to better prepare for your case - gather any additional documentation about your overpayment situation. When they reschedule, make sure to mention you were available at the originally scheduled time and never received a call.

one more thing - when they DO reschedule ur hearing, I recommend logging in to the WebEx link even if you requested a phone hearing (they'll send it in the new notice). That way if they try to claim there's another "technical difficulty" you can point out that you're THERE on the WebEx session AND available by phone. Cover all bases!!!

Just to update with current PA UC procedure: After you contact the appeals office, they'll issue a new hearing notice. When you receive it, I recommend accepting both phone AND virtual WebEx options if offered. The virtual option provides more documentation that you were present and waiting. Also, be aware that under PA UC regulations, the referee should attempt to call you at least twice during your scheduled window. Make sure to note in your follow-up that you received no calls whatsoever during the entire scheduled period.