Is unemployment down? Texas TWC website won't load for me

Thursday through Saturday still works?? That's the first reassuring thing I've heard all night. And I didn't even know you could call in to ask about site outages like that — I assumed they'd just laugh at you.

The makeup window is real, I used it once when I had a family emergency mid-week. Filed on a Saturday and it went through fine.

Genuinely good to know about the Thursday-Saturday window. My anxiety about missing a week has been through the roof every time the site acts up.

I had no idea Tele-Serv could do the full payment request. I thought it was just for checking your balance. Trying it right now.

Tele-Serv saved me twice during outages. The automated prompts walk you through every question the same way the website does, week by week.

Does Tele-Serv ask the same questions? Like the work search activities and earnings for each week?

Yep, it goes through each claim week separately and asks about work and earnings just like the website does. Same information, different interface.

That's been my experience too — any time it's been down it was back by the next morning. Never been down more than 12 hours that I can remember.

Okay that makes me feel better. If Tele-Serv doesn't work I'll try again first thing in the morning before work.

TWC really should put that in the instructions they mail out but somehow it never gets emphasized enough. The mailed instructions say request every two weeks but gloss over what happens if you can't.

Exactly. I spent 45 minutes panicking the first time it went down thinking I'd lost that whole week.

The instructions sheet they mail after you apply does mention it but it's buried in small print near the bottom. Easy to miss when you're stressed.

The main site is loading for me but no maintenance notice. Just the regular homepage. So either they didn't post anything or it's an unplanned outage.

Unplanned ones happen a few times a year in my experience. The good news is they usually fix them faster than the scheduled ones because someone's getting paged at home about it.

Had an unplanned one last spring during my claim, was back up in about four hours. Called Tele-Serv in the meantime and it worked fine.

That's it, nothing else to do. Tele-Serv gives you a confirmation number at the end, write that down, and you're done. No need to log in and confirm online.

Perfect, that actually worked. Got my confirmation number. First payment request done, somehow.

Always save that confirmation number. I keep a note in my phone with all of mine just in case there's ever a question later.

Does that mean I should take a screenshot of the error message just in case?

Honestly yes, a screenshot with the timestamp doesn't hurt. I do it whenever the site acts up. Never needed it but it takes two seconds.

Good practice in general. I screenshot confirmation numbers and error messages both. Dealing with TWC you want receipts for everything.

Mobile browser version — hadn't thought of that. Trying it right now.

Try it in Chrome on your phone, not the app. There's no official TWC app so anything calling itself that in the app store is third party.

The no-app thing tripped me up when I first started. Spent like 20 minutes looking for an official app before someone told me.

That tracks. The processing infrastructure and the web interface are probably different systems. One can be down while the other keeps running.

Right, and TWC does say payments hit within two business days of a processed request, so as long as the request got in before the outage you should be fine.

Wait, the number of work search activities changes by county? I didn't know that. I've been doing four because someone in another thread said four.

Yeah it varies by county — the letter TWC sends after you apply tells you your specific number. That letter is what you go by, not what someone online says.

Exactly what the agent told me. The mailed letter is the official word on your requirement. Bigger counties tend to have higher numbers.

Is there a specific format TWC wants or can it be anything as long as it has the basic info?

No required format from what I've seen — the important thing is that it's clear and complete. Date, employer, type of contact, position. That's the core of it.

I use the log on WorkInTexas.com because it auto-fills some of the info when you apply through the site. Makes it easier to export if TWC ever asks.

Tried it just now and it's loading for me too. Going in to do my request right now before it goes down again.

Back up here too. Got my request in. The Thursday-Saturday window would have been fine but good to get it done tonight.

Always a little relief when it comes back. Good luck with the request.

That's a really important point. A lot of people think filing an appeal puts everything on hold but it doesn't — you have to keep filing payment requests throughout.

I didn't know that until someone told me here a few weeks ago. Would have stopped filing thinking the appeal covered it.

The appeal covers the question of whether you're eligible, but requesting payment is a separate ongoing step. Both have to happen.

That's exactly what I did after my Tele-Serv request tonight. Logged in once the site came back and my request is showing as received. Such a relief.

Perfect, that's the confirmation you want. Received status means it's in the system.

Wait, they're the same login? I've been managing two separate accounts this whole time thinking they were different.

Yep, one login for both. The same User ID and password work on both sites. And you get a one-time code every time you log in as a second step.

That's going to save me so much confusion. I've been resetting one password and then wondering why the other one broke.

I thought it just paid out automatically after a certain number of weeks. Good thing I didn't stop checking.

A lot of people think that. Both conditions have to be met and if you return to work you have to actively request it — it won't just appear in your account.

I haven't gotten there yet but I'm writing this down now so I don't get caught off guard.

Agreed. Tele-Serv is kind of ugly to use but it's reliable. I'll take reliable over pretty when my money is on the line.

Exactly. I do my payment requests on Tele-Serv by default now and only use UBS if I need to look something up or update information.

The 14 days runs from the date printed at the top of the determination letter, which is the mailing date, not when it arrived in your mailbox. So check that date on the letter and count from there.

Okay that's what I was afraid of. The letter is dated four days ago so I have ten days left. Filing the appeal today.

You can file through UBS under Submit An Appeal, in person at a Workforce Solutions office, or by mail or fax. Email and phone don't count for appeals.

Doing it through UBS right now. And keeping my payment requests going while the appeal processes — I read that upthread.

That's correct and it trips a lot of people up. Every determination matters individually — a single 'cannot pay' overrides any 'can pay' ones running alongside it.

She won the appeal eventually but would have been a lot less stressful if someone had explained that upfront.

TWC sends separate determinations for separate issues and each one stands on its own. Worth reading every single letter carefully even if you think you're approved.

The 'even if it wasn't your mistake' part is brutal. I'd assumed if they made an error on their end you could dispute it and have it dropped.

You can dispute the amount through an appeal if you think the calculation is wrong, but if the overpayment itself is confirmed they're required to collect it. That's just how it works.

The payment schedule part is key though — it doesn't have to be paid back all at once. The billing statement has the schedule.