PA UC overpayment notice - do I have to pay it all back at once after missing CareerLink call?

Don't panic! You definitely don't have to pay it all at once. Call the UC overpayment department at 814-254-4584 (it's on the back of your notice) and request a payment plan. They're usually pretty reasonable. They can set you up with monthly payments as low as $50 depending on your situation. Just make sure you call them before the due date on your notice or they might start adding interest.

Oh thank goodness! The due date is next Friday so I'll call tomorrow morning. Do you know if they'll take the payments directly from my bank account or will I need to mail in checks?

this happened 2 me last year, missed my stupid appointment and got hit w/ overpayment. they took like $75 from each of my UC checks until it was paid off. wasnt so bad

This is not always true!!! The UC system is incredibly broken and inconsistent. I had an overpayment in December and they REFUSED to do partial payments from my benefits. They demanded FULL PAYMENT within 30 days!!! Had to borrow money from family. The whole system is designed to PUNISH people who make tiny mistakes. It's DISGUSTING how they treat us!!

Actually, it depends on whether it's a fault or non-fault overpayment. If they determined you deliberately misled them (fault), they can be much stricter about repayment terms. But if it's non-fault (honest mistake like missing an appointment), they're usually more flexible. The letter should specify which type it is.

I missed my CareerLink call too! But I called them right away and rescheduled. They were actually nice about it. Did you try explaining your situation to them?

No, I didn't even realize I missed it until I got the disqualification letter. By then it was probably too late. I had the date wrong in my calendar. :

After trying to call PA UC for three days about my overpayment (constant busy signals!), I found this service called Claimyr that got me through to an actual person in 30 minutes. They charged a fee but it was worth it to finally talk to someone who could explain my options and set up a payment plan. You can check their demo video at https://youtu.be/CEPETxZdo9E?si=WL1ZzVZWG3KiHrg2 or their website claimyr.com - honestly saved me so much frustration compared to dialing over and over.

Thanks for sharing this. I've been dealing with busy signals for weeks. Did they help you get the payment plan set up immediately or did you have to call back?

They got me through to someone who handled everything in that same call. The agent set up my payment plan and even noted in my file that I had tried to contact them multiple times before (which apparently helps if there are any deadline issues).

make sure u ask for a

That's super helpful! Thank you! I'll specifically ask for the payment plan request form when I call. Hoping I can get this sorted out quickly.

Also, going forward, make sure you never miss your PA CareerLink appointments. Those are considered part of your work search requirements. Missing them is one of the most common reasons people get disqualified for benefits. If you ever can't make an appointment, call at least 24 hours in advance to reschedule. They're usually understanding if you're proactive.

Definitely learned my lesson. I've now got all my unemployment responsibilities in a special calendar with alerts. Never going to make this mistake again!

btw they might add on a penalty if its been more than 30 days just fyi

Oh no, really? The letter just came yesterday, and the disqualification was from last month. I hope they haven't already added penalties.

The penalty clock usually starts from the due date on your notice, not from when the overpayment occurred. So you should be fine as long as you call before the due date on your letter.

My brother had to pay back like $2000 for an overpayment last year and he just sent in $50 a month. Took forever but unemployment was cool with it. Just make sure you send something every month or they get cranky.

$50 a month on $2000??? That would take over 3 YEARS to pay off!!! No way they let him do that. The PA UC system made me pay way faster. This is exactly what I'm talking about - they treat people differently depending on who you talk to. The whole system is arbitrary and broken!!!

Idk my brother doesn't make much money so maybe that's why? He just filled out some form about his income and expenses and that's what they approved 🤷‍♀️

I work with unemployment issues for a nonprofit. Here's what you need to know about PA UC overpayments:\n\n1. You can request a payment plan by calling the overpayment department\n2. The minimum monthly payment is typically $50, but can be adjusted based on financial hardship\n3. If you're still receiving benefits, you can request recoupment (where they take a portion from each check)\n4. Non-fault overpayments (like missing an appointment) don't accrue interest, but fault overpayments do\n5. If you believe the disqualification was in error, you have 15 days from the notice date to appeal\n\nHope this helps!

This is incredibly helpful information! Thank you so much! I'm definitely going to call tomorrow morning to set up a payment plan. I accept that I messed up by missing the appointment, so I won't appeal, but a payment plan would really help me out.

I wish I had known all this when I got my overpayment notice. The person I talked to made it sound like I had no options. This system is so frustrating!