TWC taking months to process claims - people losing homes while waiting!

Unfortunately, this is super common right now. TWC is severely backlogged with claims. I waited 9 weeks for my determination letter back in January. What helped me was contacting my state representative - I filled out their constituent services form explaining my situation, and their office reached out to TWC directly. My claim was processed within 5 days after that. Google your district rep and try reaching out to them!

Thank you!! I'll try that today. Did you just use the contact form on their website? And did you need to provide any specific info from your claim?

OMG THIS IS MY LIFE RIGHT NOW!!!! 10 weeks and counting!!! TWC is BROKEN!!!! I've called 32 times TODAY ALONE!!!

I feel for both of you. The system is completely overwhelmed since the tech layoffs hit Austin. Have either of you tried requesting an emergency payment? If you can prove imminent eviction (sounds like you can), you can submit the Emergency Payment Request form through your TWC portal. It's under \

Wait what?? I had no idea this was even an option! Going to check my portal right now. Thank you so much for mentioning this!

what kind of job did u have? sometimes that matters for how fast they process it. my roommate got his restaurant claim approved in 3 weeks but my office job took 2 months bc they had to verify with HR

I was in healthcare administration. My employer confirmed the layoff right away (I have the email they sent to TWC), but it's still stuck in this endless review cycle.

I work as an employment counselor and see this daily with my clients. Here's what you need to know:\n\n1. Current TWC average processing time is 6-10 weeks (yes, it's terrible)\n2. Claims requiring adjudication (like separation issues) take even longer\n3. Your best options are:\n - Contact your state representative (as mentioned)\n - Call TWC at exactly 7:00 AM when their lines open\n - Submit an emergency payment request through your portal\n - Make sure you're still doing your 3 required work search activities weekly\n\nAlso, even while waiting for approval, you MUST continue requesting payment every two weeks on your assigned day. If you miss these, you'll have to start the whole process over.

Thank you for this detailed info. I've been doing the payment requests religiously every two weeks, but didn't know I needed to record work search activities while still pending. I'll start tracking those immediately!

I tried calling for 2 weeks straight couldnt get thru then i found this service called Claimyr (claimyr.com) that gets you thru to an actual TWC agent. It worked for me after i was waiting 8 weeks for my claim to be processed. They got me connected to TWC in 30 mins when i couldnt get thru for weeks trying myself. They have a video showing how it works here: https://youtu.be/V-IMvH88P1U?si=kNxmh025COIlIzKh\n\nThe agent told me my claim was stuck because of a small discrepancy with my last employer's statement. They fixed it right on the phone and my payments started a week later.

That sounds really helpful - at this point I'll try anything! Did they explain what was actually happening with your claim when you got through?

Yeah the TWC rep said my claim was sitting in a queue waiting for manual review because my employer reported a different last day than I did (by just 2 days!). Once they verified the correct date, they were able to move my claim forward right away. Probably would've sat there for another month if I hadn't gotten through.

Don't forget to check your correspondence inbox in your TWC portal DAILY. Sometimes they send requests for additional information with short deadlines, and if you miss them, it causes more delays. I missed one because I was only checking email, not the actual portal, and it set me back 3 weeks.

Great point - I've been checking both email and portal daily. There's nothing there asking for more info, it just says

Has anyone else noticed that when you DO finally get through to TWC, each agent tells you something completely different?? One told me my claim was approved, another said it was pending, a third said there was a problem they couldn't explain!! MAKE IT MAKE SENSE!!!!

This happens because different departments at TWC handle different aspects of claims, and their internal communication isn't great. Always ask the agent to put detailed notes in your file about what they told you. Then if you get a different answer next time, you can reference those notes. Also, request a specific claim ID number for any issue they say they're resolving for you.

wish i knew this 8 weeks ago 😭

UPDATE: I used the Claimyr service mentioned below and actually got through to TWC after trying for weeks! The agent found that my claim was waiting for wage verification from my previous employer, who apparently never responded to TWC's inquiry. She expedited it and said I should see movement within 3-5 business days. Also submitted the emergency payment request form. THANK YOU everyone for the advice - I'll update again when I know more.

That's great news! Definitely keep us posted. The wage verification issue is really common, especially with larger employers who have centralized HR departments. Glad you're making progress!

my cousin waited 12 weeks last year and when he finally got approved they backpaid him for everything. so at least when ur finally approved you should get all those weeks at once. doesn't help now tho with bills due i know.

That's somewhat reassuring. I just hope I can hold off eviction until then. Going to try calling some local assistance programs tomorrow too.

FINAL UPDATE FROM THREAD: For anyone finding this post later with similar issues - the emergency payment request combined with finally getting through to TWC made all the difference. I received a determination letter approving my claim yesterday, and they said back payments for all 8 weeks will be deposited within 3 business days. \n\nBest advice from this thread:\n1. Submit emergency payment request if facing eviction/utilities shutoff\n2. Contact your state representative\n3. Use a service to get through the phone lines if you've been trying unsuccessfully\n4. Check your TWC portal correspondence inbox daily\n5. Continue requesting payments every two weeks even while waiting\n6. Document all work search activities (3 per week in Texas)\n\nGood luck to everyone still waiting!

Excellent summary and great news about your claim! This will be really helpful for others in the same situation. The system is frustrating, but I'm glad you found a path through it.