Can you cancel unemployment claim with Texas TWC after already filing?

That's exactly what I needed to know, thank you. I haven't touched the payment request section at all, so hopefully the withdrawal goes through without any issues.

Confirming this — it does require a phone call. I looked all through UBS when I withdrew mine and there's no self-service option for it.

Wait so if the claim already started on the Sunday before does that mean anything bad happens even if no payment was requested? asking because i'm in a similar spot

Good to know about the employer notice — I figured they'd still get something. My split with that job was totally fine so I'm not worried about what they'd say, I just don't want their rate going up over nothing.

This is a really good distinction. I made the mistake of just not filing payment requests on an old claim and assumed it closed. Turns out it was still technically open and caused minor confusion when I filed again later. Just call and close it out properly.

the employer notice going out is just automatic, nothing you can do about that part. but yeah no payments = no charge to their account, their rate stays the same

Appreciate the tip. I've been dreading the hold time situation. I'll check out that video and probably just do it that way since I want to make sure the withdrawal actually goes through rather than getting disconnected halfway.

The hold time thing is real, I spent most of a morning last week trying to get through. Might give that a try for my own situation.

How early in the day did you call when you used it? Trying to figure out the least awful time to get through to TWC.

So basically start fresh if I ever need it again — got it. That doesn't bother me since the new job looks stable.

wait does withdrawing affect whether you qualify for a future claim like does it reset your base period or anything?

Withdrawing a claim because you got a job doesn't hurt future eligibility. Your base period on a future claim would just be calculated from whatever quarters are relevant at the time you apply. The old claim sitting in the system doesn't count against you.

yeah i was wondering the same thing as the person who asked about the base period, glad that got cleared up

Makes sense, closing it properly is what I want to do either way.

Agreed on this. The worst that realistically happens if you just abandon it without withdrawing is some extra paperwork confusion if you ever file again. But a quick phone call now saves that headache.

It's also just good practice to close out anything with TWC that you don't need. The fewer open loose ends the better.

45 minutes is annoying but not terrible. Good to hear it resolved cleanly for her.

The hold times vary a lot depending on the day and time. Earlier in the week tends to be worse, Fridays are sometimes a bit better in my experience.

Yeah, Wednesday mornings are the absolute worst in my experience. I've had luck calling right when they open on a Thursday.

Work search activities only matter when you're actually requesting payment for a week. If you're not filing payment requests, you don't have to document job search activities for those weeks. The whole system revolves around the payment request — that's when you certify everything. So if you never request payment, there's nothing to report work searches for.

Okay that makes sense, so the work search requirement is tied to requesting payment not just to having an open claim. Good to know.

i was confused about this too, good q

Writing down the rep's name is smart, I wouldn't have thought to do that. I'll definitely note the date and time of the call.

This is genuinely good advice for any TWC call not just withdrawals. That little log has saved multiple people I know from headaches.

Agreed, I keep a little notebook just for TWC calls now. After getting burned once by a miscommunication that I couldn't prove, I never skip that step.

Withdrawing while in adjudication is still possible — you tell them you got a job and want to withdraw, and they can close it. The adjudication process is about determining eligibility, but if you're withdrawing because you're employed again, the whole question of eligibility kind of becomes moot. The rep will document the reason and close it out.

That's a relief, I was worried the adjudication had to fully resolve before you could do anything. Good to know the withdrawal can happen independently.

Exactly right. The withdrawal supersedes the adjudication in a sense — there's no point continuing to process eligibility for someone who's employed and not requesting benefits.

Ha, I can see how someone would mix those up. But yes, in my case I definitely mean withdrawing — I just don't need the benefits anymore, nothing was denied.

The confusion between those two terms is so common. I've seen people on here say they want to 'appeal' a claim they want to cancel and it causes so much back and forth.

yeah i mixed those up myself when I first dealt with TWC. thought adjudication meant they were denying me when really it just meant they were reviewing it

Good point, I'll be careful about that. I'll log out of UBS once the withdrawal is confirmed and not go back in unless I actually need to.

This is worth flagging. The system doesn't automatically lock you out after a withdrawal — you can still log into UBS. So just be deliberate about not filing anything.

Reporting earnings you didn't actually have or requesting payments after a withdrawal would create a whole overpayment mess. Not worth the risk of a careless click.

That's reassuring. My former manager and I ended things on good terms and I'd hate to mess with their business over a claim I didn't even use.

Yep, the charge-back to the employer's account only happens when benefits actually get paid. A notice going out is just administrative — it triggers their chance to respond to the separation info, but no money moving means no rate impact.

If a payment is pending but hasn't been issued, you should still call and explain the situation. The rep can help figure out what's possible. Whether that pending payment can be pulled back or whether it'll process and then need to be repaid may depend on where in the system it is. Don't just assume it cancels with the withdrawal — make that specific point to the rep when you call.

okay that makes sense, I'll mention the pending payment specifically when I call. don't want to just withdraw and then have money show up and not know what to do with it.

If the payment does end up processing after a withdrawal you'd likely need to send it back. Keep an eye on your bank account or ReliaCard and if money shows up after you've withdrawn just call TWC right away to sort it out.

Yes it's full-time, so that makes sense. Good to know there's a natural cutoff built in. I'll still do the formal withdrawal but that's a helpful backup to understand.

This is accurate — a full-time job start date ends eligibility on that day. But as others have said, the formal withdrawal is still the cleaner path rather than relying on that automatic cutoff.

Knowing it's a routine call makes me less anxious about it. Sometimes I build these things up as complicated when they're not.

The hardest part is just getting connected, which yeah is not trivial with TWC phone lines. But the actual conversation when you get through is usually pretty short.

Basically yes — a claim that never has any payment requests filed against it just sits open for the benefit year (52 weeks from application) and then expires without any benefits being paid. No money goes out, no charges to the employer, nothing happens. It's not ideal from a clean records standpoint but it's not a disaster either. The withdrawal phone call is just the more official way to close it out.

okay so the do-nothing option isn't catastrophic, just messy. good to know there's not like a penalty for abandoning a claim you never used.

The only scenario where just doing nothing could bite someone is if they file a new claim sometime in the next year and TWC sees the open one and asks about it. It's usually sorted out quickly but it creates an extra step. Worth avoiding with one phone call.

10 minutes once connected is reassuring. It's really just the getting through part that's the battle.

Always get that confirmation number if they offer one. Some reps give them automatically and some you have to ask.

did they send you anything in writing after or was just the phone confirmation enough?

that's helpful to know, so I should watch for a letter in the mail and check UBS the next day. thanks

Good to know there's written confirmation. I'll check UBS after the call and watch the mail for the notice.

TWC sending a confirmation letter is consistent with my experience too. Their mailed communications are actually pretty prompt compared to some things they're slow about.

You'd file a completely new claim. Once a claim is withdrawn, it's closed, and a new job starting and ending creates a new separation for TWC to look at. The benefit year on the old claim doesn't carry over. The good news is if you've been working and earning wages at the new job, those might factor into qualifying for a new claim depending on timing and your base period.

Okay so it's always a fresh start, not a resumption of the old claim. That's actually pretty simple to understand, just not obvious from the TWC website.

Worth adding that the new claim's base period is calculated from when you file, not from when the old claim was. So a few months of wages at the new job could potentially strengthen a future claim.

Under five minutes is great to hear. The actual call sounds way less painful than the getting-through part.

Every agent I've spoken with has been pretty efficient once you're connected. The frustration is never the conversation, it's always the wait.

That's the correct read. Work search is part of what you certify to on each payment request. No payment request means nothing to certify to, work search included.

Good clarification. I think the confusion comes from the fact that TWC mails you work search information pretty much right after you apply, so it feels like you're supposed to start doing it immediately.

TWC mailing you that stuff early is just them front-loading the information. It doesn't mean you owe them a log for weeks before your first payment request.