PA UC rep suddenly hung up after waiting over an hour - system emergency?

same thing happend to me last month!! they said it was a 'system wide emergency' whatever that means. pretty sure they just do this when they get too many calls or somthing. typical PA UC BS if you ask me.

This is extremely rare but it does happen. I worked for the state (not UC) and occasionally there would be building evacuations, power outages, or major system crashes that required immediate shutdown of all calls. It's not a tactic to avoid calls - trust me, agents hate this as much as you do since they have to note all unfinished calls and try to follow up later. If you're having trouble getting through again, I'd recommend contacting your state representative's office. They have direct lines to UC offices and can often get issues resolved quicker.

I had this happen during that massive ice storm back in January. They actually did call me back the next day, surprisingly. What kind of open issue are you dealing with? Sometimes you can resolve certain issues through your dashboard without calling, depending on what it is.

THIS IS WHY THE SYSTEM IS BROKEN!!! They don't care about us at all. I bet there wasn't even an emergency. I've been dealing with this garbage for 9 weeks trying to get my back payments. NINE WEEKS!!! I've sent messages through the portal, uploaded documents TWICE, and still nothing. The UC system in PA is a JOKE designed to frustrate people into giving up!!

I've been using Claimyr when I need to reach PA UC and it's worked great for me. It calls repeatedly for you and then connects you when someone answers. I was dealing with a similar issue where I got disconnected twice, then used their service and got through in about 20 minutes. They have a video demo that shows how it works: https://youtu.be/CEPETxZdo9E?si=WL1ZzVZWG3KiHrg2 Their website is claimyr.com if you want to check it out. Definitely beat spending hours redialing myself.

dont worry about it much. they have computer problems all the time. happened to my cousin twice when he was on unemployment last year. he said they were having database issues or somthing. just keep calling

For your benefit year transition issue - this is actually a common problem in 2025 since they updated their claims processing system in March. When your benefit year ends and you file a new claim while still having weeks on the old claim, the system sometimes creates a conflict. If your dashboard shows two active claims, you specifically need to ask for the "claims overlap resolution department" when you call. Regular agents aren't always trained on fixing this particular issue. The overlap team can merge the claims data correctly so your payments start processing again.

When I was trying to get through to UC last month, I waited on hold for almost 2 hours and then the call just disconnected. No explanation or anything. Had to start all over again the next day. The whole system is designed to make you give up.

After reading about your benefit year transition issue, I definitely recommend calling early in the week (Monday or Tuesday) and early in the morning right when they open. The claims overlap team that another user mentioned is usually less busy during those times. Also, prepare all your information before calling - your claim ID numbers for both claims, the exact dates of your benefit year end, and the dates of any pending payments. Having this ready will help them resolve it much faster once you do connect.