ESD approved my overpayment waiver - will they refund money I already paid back?

congrats on getting approved! i had a similar situation but smaller amount. after my waiver got approved last year they did NOT automatically refund what i'd paid. had to call them (took like 8 tries to get through) and specifically request it. they made me fill out some form about refunding the money. took about 2 months after that to get the refund.

You need to explicitly request a refund for previously paid overpayment amounts. This requires an Overpayment Refund Request form (ESD form #2266) which you can download from the ESD portal under 'Forms & Publications.' Include your original overpayment ID, dates of payments made, and copies of payment receipts if you have them. Make sure you specify in your request that the overpayment was officially waived and include the waiver approval date. Be aware that refund processing typically takes 4-6 weeks after they receive your request. Also, they only refund what you actually paid - no interest is added regardless of how long they held your money.

The ESD system is UNBELIEVABLE!! They make you wait almost TWO YEARS for a waiver decision, take your money meanwhile, and then don't automatically give it back?? This is THEFT plain and simple!! I went through something similar and had to fight for MONTHS to get my refund. They "lost" my paperwork TWICE and I had to resubmit everything. Then when they finally processed it, they shorted me $340 and claimed I never made one of the payments even though I had the receipt!!!

Hi there, I work as an unemployment advocate and deal with these situations frequently. Here's what you need to know: 1. Washington ESD does not automatically process refunds after waiver approvals 2. You must submit form #2266 (Overpayment Refund Request) 3. Include all documentation showing payments you made 4. Reference your waiver approval letter date and ID number 5. Average processing time is 4-8 weeks, but can be longer One thing to note: if you received your waiver approval through eServices, download and save that notification as proof. Sometimes the approval shows in the system, but when you request a refund, different departments might not see the records. Having your own copies of everything prevents delays.

i had my overpayment waiver approved last month but im still waiting on my refund too. been 6 weeks since i submitted the form and nothing yet. called them twice but they just say "its in process" whatever that means lol. good luck!

Update: I found the form everyone mentioned (#2266) and submitted it yesterday with copies of all my payment receipts and the waiver approval letter. Now I guess I wait and hope for the best. Will update here when/if I get my refund for anyone else who might be in the same situation!

Wait I'm confused. Isn't the pandemic era UI thing completely different from regular ESD unemployment? My brother had some PUA overpayment but that was through the federal program not state ESD right? Or am I mixing things up? I thought those were processed differently.

off topic but has anyone had success getting ESD to correct wrong tax forms? they sent me a 1099G that's showing like $3k more than i actually got and I cant get anyone to call me back about it

FINAL UPDATE: Just wanted to close the loop on this for anyone who might search for this info in the future. It took almost 8 weeks, but I finally received my refund for the $1,200 I had previously paid! They sent it as a direct deposit to the same account where I originally received my unemployment benefits. No interest included, just the exact amount I had paid. The online status never updated to show the refund was processed - it just appeared in my account. So if you're waiting on a refund after an overpayment waiver approval, be patient and make sure you've submitted form #2266 with all your documentation!