PA UC payment stuck in limbo since December - $3000 owed and had to borrow for rent
I'm at my absolute wits end with the PA unemployment system! Been waiting since DECEMBER for my benefits to come through - that's over 3 months of absolutely nothing. My claim shows 'eligible' but no payments have been issued. They owe me around $3000 at this point, and I've had to borrow money from family just to cover rent for February and March. I can't keep doing this. I've tried calling literally hundreds of times (no exaggeration), sent messages through the portal, and even tried emailing. It's like shouting into a void. HOW is there no way to talk to an actual human being about thousands of dollars they owe me? I paid into this system with every single paycheck! Has anyone managed to get through to a real person? Any tricks or suggestions? I'm desperate here and about to lose my apartment if I can't figure this out soon.
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Declan Ramirez
I was in the same boat last year - waited almost 4 months for my payments! The system is completely broken. I finally got through by calling EXACTLY at 7:59am, right before they open, and somehow got in the queue. The agent told me there was an "identity verification issue" that nobody bothered to tell me about. Check if you have any open issues on your dashboard that might be holding things up. But honestly the ONLY way to resolve it is to actually speak with someone.
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A Man D Mortal
•Thanks for responding! I've checked my dashboard obsessively and it shows no open issues, which makes it even more frustrating. Did you just keep calling that main UC number or is there a better one to try? I'll definitely try the 7:59am trick tomorrow.
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Emma Morales
have u checked ur payment method? my friend didnt get $ for weeks cuz they were sending it to wrong bank acct she had to update in portal
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A Man D Mortal
•Yeah, I've triple-checked all my payment info. I'm set up for direct deposit to my checking account and all the details are correct. The system shows my claim is approved, but the payments just never come through. It's like they've forgotten about me completely.
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Katherine Hunter
This happens way too often with PA UC. There are several possible issues: 1. Identity verification problems (IDme or other verification failures) 2. Employer protest that hasn't been resolved 3. Quarterly wage review triggering an automatic hold 4. System glitch where your claim is approved but stuck in pre-payment verification Unfortunately, none of these will resolve without speaking to a representative. The system is designed to be frustrating. Your best approach: 1. Try calling 888-313-7284 every day at 8:00 AM sharp and press options for payment issues 2. Send a message through your UC portal specifically mentioning financial hardship 3. Contact your state representative's office - they have special channels to UC and can often get things moving I know it's incredibly stressful, but keep documentation of every attempt to contact them. This will be important if you need to file an appeal for backdated payments.
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A Man D Mortal
•Thank you for the detailed advice! I never thought about contacting my state rep - that's a great idea. I'm going to try calling at 8am sharp tomorrow and also reach out to my rep's office. The quarterly wage review timing actually makes sense because my claim initially processed in December right around that transition.
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Lucas Parker
This system is DESIGNED to make us give up!!! I waited 11 weeks last summer and had to borrow money from everyone I know just to survive. The UC office doesn't care AT ALL about our suffering. They hope we'll just go away. Don't give up because THATS WHAT THEY WANT!!
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Donna Cline
•So true! The whole thing is set up to discourage people from getting benefits they've literally paid for. Absolutely infuriating when you think about it.
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Harper Collins
After facing similar frustrating issues with reaching PA unemployment, I discovered Claimyr (claimyr.com) and it was a complete game-changer. They actually got me connected to a real UC agent within about 20 minutes after I'd spent weeks trying on my own. The agent fixed my payment issue right away and my backpay hit my account 2 days later. They have a video showing how it works here: https://youtu.be/CEPETxZdo9E?si=WL1ZzVZWG3KiHrg2 Definitely worth checking out if you're desperate to reach someone. It saved me from potentially losing my car when I couldn't make payments.
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Kelsey Hawkins
•Does this actually work? I'm nervous about using third-party services with something as important as my unemployment claim. Did you have to provide them with your claim information or anything?
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Harper Collins
•@confused_claimant I was skeptical too, but they don't need any of your UC information. They just help you bypass the phone system to get connected with an agent. After that, you talk directly with UC like normal. All the claim info stays between you and the unemployment office.
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Katherine Hunter
One other thing to check - make sure you haven't missed any weekly certifications. If you miss filing for even one week, your claim can get flagged and payments paused. You'd then need to reopen your claim, which creates another delay. If you're showing as eligible with no payments, it could also be a Money Network card issue. Even if you selected direct deposit, sometimes their system defaults to the debit card. Have you received a Money Network card in the mail? Worth logging in to check if payments have been going there instead.
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A Man D Mortal
•I've definitely filed every single week without missing any. The frustrating part is seeing all these weeks show as "payable" with the correct amount but with no actual payments processed. I haven't received a Money Network card - I thought those were only issued if you specifically requested one? I'll double check the payment method again just to be sure.
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Emma Morales
my cousin works for the dept of labor & industry (not in UC tho) and says they're SUPER understaffed right now. like they lost half their people since covid ended but claims are going up again. doesn't help u now but explains why its so bad
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Declan Ramirez
Any luck getting through? I'm wondering if you tried the early morning call technique and if it worked for you.
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A Man D Mortal
•Update! I finally got through yesterday! Tried the 7:59am trick and still got busy signals for 3 days straight. But I took the advice about contacting my state rep, and their office actually reached out to UC on my behalf. Got a call from a UC supervisor yesterday who said there was an employer protest that got stuck in the system without being assigned to an examiner. They're expediting it now and should have a determination within a week. So relieved to finally know what's happening!
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Donna Cline
This happened to me! I think I know what might be wrong. Check if your claim spans a benefit year ending date - claims that start in one benefit year and continue into a new one often get stuck. They require manual processing but nobody tells you this. You just have to wait in limbo until they do it.
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A Man D Mortal
•That could definitely be part of it! My claim did start in December which would be near the end of a quarter. Now that I've spoken to someone, they said there was an employer protest plus some quarterly review issues. Such a relief to finally know instead of being completely in the dark.
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Lucas Parker
did they promise to release all your backpay at once? make sure they dont try to only give you some of it!!!
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A Man D Mortal
•Yes, they said once the determination is made (assuming it's in my favor), all backpay would be processed at once. I made sure to get the rep's name and ID number just in case I need to reference this conversation later. I've learned my lesson about documentation through this whole ordeal!
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