UPDATE: Payment just hit my account (9:30pm)! Much later than usual but finally got it. Hope everyone else sees theirs soon too!

Did anyone else have to restart their work search log after getting the payment? I'm so confused by all this. My uncle told me TWC sometimes resets your work search activities when payments get delayed but that doesn't sound right???

Just wanted to add - make sure to prepare for your fact-finding interview like it's a job interview. Be professional, stick to facts, don't badmouth your former employer (even if they deserve it), and focus on the specific incidents with dates and documentation. Having it all organized made a huge difference in my case.

Thank you everyone for all this helpful information! I feel much more prepared now. I'm going to organize all my documentation tonight and file my initial claim tomorrow morning. I'll update this thread once I hear anything about my claim status.

After reading through this thread, I want to emphasize a few important points about your specific situation: 1. The "COVID question" misunderstanding was extremely common and many people have won appeals on this basis. Particularly the question about "refusing work due to COVID concerns" confused thousands of claimants. 2. For your late appeal defense, make sure to emphasize that you attempted to appeal IMMEDIATELY after receiving the determination, not after receiving an overpayment notice. This distinction matters to the hearing officer. 3. Present your evidence in chronological order: determination received on X date, phone attempts on these dates (show call log), email attempts on these dates, and finally when your appeal was accepted. 4. If possible, bring a witness who can testify that they observed your attempts to contact TWC during that period. The fact that your hearing is happening now indicates TWC has at least accepted your appeal for consideration, which is already a positive sign.

Just make sure you dress professionally for the hearing (even if it's over the phone or video) and be SUPER respectful to the hearing officer. My husband won his appeal even though he was like 3 weeks late filing it, but he had documentation showing he tried calling multiple times. The hearing officer was actually pretty understanding about how hard it was to reach TWC during that time. Good luck!

Has anyone else noticed that these problems with TWC ALWAYS happen right around the time your payment request is due??? Seems mighty suspicious to me! Three times now I've had "system issues" right when I'm supposed to get paid. The whole system is designed to make us give up!!

UPDATE: I tried the Claimyr service that someone recommended and IT WORKED!!! After a week of constant calling, I got through to TWC in about 35 minutes. Turns out my account was locked because there was an "identity verification discrepancy" that they needed to clear up. The lady I spoke with was super helpful and unlocked my account right away. The correspondence was about my work search activities - apparently they were reviewing them. All sorted now and I can access everything again. Thanks everyone for the help!

One important update: if your DUA claim is still active when you apply for regular UI, TWC will automatically evaluate whether you qualify for regular benefits. If you do, they'll switch you to the program that pays the higher amount. Make sure you continue requesting payment for DUA until you're officially notified about your regular UI approval. And remember, once you start regular UI, you MUST complete and document at least 3 work search activities each week - this isn't required for DUA but is mandatory for regular benefits.

My disaster benefits werent even enough to cover my bills so maybe regular ui will be better?? Idk. This whole unemployment system is SO COMPLICATED. Why cant they just make it simple?? Good luck with everything!!

my cousin moved here from oklahoma last year and had the same issue. he ended up going to get a texas id first because he got tired of dealing with the website problems. took him like 2 weeks to finally get his claim submitted correctly.

Just to follow up on everyone's advice - yes, you can use your SSN in place of the Texas ID number. And since you mentioned you're in temporary housing, make sure you provide an email address that you check regularly, and set up your correspondence preferences to electronic if possible. Also, don't forget that after you file, you'll need to request payment every two weeks on your assigned day, even if your initial claim is still being processed. Your first payment request will be available 2 weeks after you file your initial claim.

This system is RIGGED against us regular people!!! I swear TWC just automatically sides with employers no matter what evidence you have. I fought an appeal for 5 months only to win and then they STILL took 3 more weeks to resume my payments. The whole thing is designed to make you give up.

I was in a somewhat similar situation with incorrect reporting from an employer. I tried for weeks to get through on the TWC phone lines with no success. I finally used Claimyr (claimyr.com) and got connected to a TWC representative in about 15 minutes. The agent was able to review my documentation immediately and flag my case for expedited review since it was clearly an employer reporting error. Saved me potentially months of waiting for the formal appeal. They have a video showing how it works: https://youtu.be/V-IMvH88P1U?si=kNxmh025COIlIzKh

As a follow-up to my earlier comment, I want to clarify something important: When TWC schedules appeal hearings, they typically send notice both electronically and by postal mail at least 10 days before the hearing date. They're required to make a reasonable attempt to notify all parties. The fact you didn't receive any notification could indicate a system error or mail delivery issue. When you submit your appeal, request a "Finding of Good Cause for Failure to Appear" due to lack of notification. This is a specific procedure for situations exactly like yours. Also, be aware that you're entitled to request a full copy of your claim file through an open records request. This will show exactly what notifications were supposedly sent to you and when. This documentation will be crucial for your case.

you should talk to a lawyer some do free consultations for unemployment stuff. this is a lot of money were talking about!

When my hours got cut I had to deal with the work search requirement too which seemed silly since I was trying to get more hours at my main job. I ended up getting a second part-time job because of it. Just tell her to be prepared that TWC might contact her employer to verify the reduction in hours. My manager tried to claim I was "just on a temporary reduction" even though it had been over a month, so documentation of her old schedules vs new ones could be helpful.

One last thing to remember: if your daughter gets approved for partial unemployment and then her employer suddenly gives her more hours again, she needs to report that accurately when requesting payment. If she earns more than her weekly benefit amount plus 25% in any given week, she won't receive benefits for that week, but her claim stays open in case hours get reduced again. Also, make sure she creates an account on WorkInTexas.com as part of her application process. It's required, and TWC uses this to track some of the work search activities.

My cousin's boyfriend had the exactt same thing happen after his factory closed for Baryl. It took them forever to process but he did get paid eventually. The whole system is confusing.. I think he had to call them like 3 times to fix something with his dates tho.

Thank you all for the helpful information! I've made notes about everything. He'll definitely continue with the payment request process and make sure to accurately report his return-to-work date. It's a relief to know this is normal handling for disaster claims. If we don't see any updates in the next week, we might try that Claimyr service to get through to TWC directly. I really appreciate everyone taking the time to explain how this works!