Changed direct deposit info and now ESD put me in adjudication - payment pending!

Unfortunately this happens sometimes. The ESD system can flag account changes as potential fraud indicators. When you update direct deposit info, it automatically puts a temporary hold on your claim while they verify it's really you making the change. It's annoying but it's their way of preventing someone else from redirecting your benefits to their account.

THIS IS WHY ESD IS THE WORST!!! The EXACT same thing happened to me in January. Changed my direct deposit and suddenly I was in 'adjudication' for something completely unrelated. Took me 3 WEEKS to get it resolved because no one could explain why changing bank info triggered a review of my work search activities. The whole system is designed to delay payments and hope you give up!!!

This is actually a known issue in the ESD system. When certain account changes are made, it can sometimes trigger unrelated adjudication flags due to how their security protocols are programmed. The 'able and available' adjudication is likely not related to your actual eligibility but rather a default category their system applies when triggered by account changes. You'll need to speak with an ESD agent to have them manually review and release the hold. Try calling early in the morning right when they open at 8am. If you can't get through, I'd recommend Claimyr (claimyr.com). They have a service that helps you get through to ESD without waiting on hold for hours. Saved me days of frustration. They have a video demo showing how it works: https://youtu.be/7DieNd3C7zQ?si=26TzE_zGms-DODN3

did you make any other changes when you updated ur bank info? like maybe accidentaly clicked something else? when i updated my address i somehow got flagged for work search review even tho i didnt change anything about that part of my claim lol

I work in banking (not for ESD) and see this kind of thing all the time with government benefits. Direct deposit changes are one of the most common fraud vectors, so their systems are hyper-sensitive to it. The 'able and available' label might be confusing, but that could just be the generic category their system uses for certain types of holds. My advice: Submit a message through your eServices account specifically stating you recently changed your bank info and now your payment is on hold. Be sure to mention you're still meeting all work search requirements. Also try calling 360-486-5800 which sometimes has shorter wait times than the main number.

wait hold the phone are you still getting the "continue with bank of america" or "change direct deposit" screen when you file your weekly claim? Because that happened to me and it turned out my direct deposit change didn't actually save in the system! So they were trying to send $$ to an account that didn't exist anymore. Check if your profile actually shows the Chase info.

Just following up - were you able to get through to ESD? In my experience, these kinds of administrative holds can usually be removed same-day if you can actually speak with a claims specialist. The problem is just reaching someone with the authority to clear the hold.

so glad you got it fixed! thx for updating us

This is such a relief to read! I'm dealing with something similar right now - updated my address last month and suddenly got hit with a work search adjudication even though I've been doing everything correctly. The ESD system seems to flag ANY account changes as suspicious. I've been trying to get through for over a week with no luck. Definitely going to try that Claimyr service you mentioned - $20 is way better than missing weeks of payments while sitting on hold for hours every day!

Ugh, this exact same thing happened to my sister when she switched from Wells Fargo to a credit union! She was panicking because her payment got stuck for almost 2 weeks. The ESD rep she finally talked to said their fraud detection system automatically flags direct deposit changes and sometimes assigns random adjudication categories that don't even make sense. It's like their computer just picks whatever reason from a dropdown menu. So frustrating that they can't just send you a simple verification text or email instead of freezing your benefits! Glad you got it sorted out though - definitely keeping that Claimyr info handy in case I ever need it.

This is such a common and infuriating issue with ESD! I went through the exact same thing last fall when I switched from Chase to a local credit union. One day I'm getting my payments normally, the next day I'm in "adjudication" for completely unrelated reasons. What really gets me is that they don't send you any notification explaining WHY you're suddenly flagged - you just have to figure it out yourself when your payment doesn't show up. The system definitely needs an overhaul to distinguish between legitimate account updates and actual fraud attempts. At minimum they should send an email saying "we've temporarily paused your payments to verify your recent bank change" instead of leaving people in the dark wondering if they did something wrong. So glad the Claimyr service worked for you - I ended up waiting 3 hours on hold but it sounds like that's a much better option!