ESD overpayment waiver approved - will interest I paid be refunded too?
Just got amazing news that my overpayment waiver was approved by ESD! What a HUGE relief after dealing with this stress for months. They're going to refund what I already repaid ($4,250), but I'm unclear about something - will they also refund the interest I paid on that amount? I ended up paying about $325 in interest over 6 payments before I submitted the waiver request. I know I should just be grateful the waiver went through (believe me, I am!), but wondering if anyone else who's had a waiver approved can tell me if I should expect to get that interest back too? Or is that just gone forever? Any info appreciated - thanks!
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Brady Clean
Congrats on getting your waiver approved! That's a big win. Based on my experience with ESD last year, they should refund BOTH the principal amount and any interest you paid. I had a similar situation with a $6,800 overpayment, and they refunded everything including about $560 in interest I had paid over 9 months. However, it did take about 45 days after the waiver approval for the interest portion to show up in my account, while the main repayment came back faster.
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Molly Hansen
•Oh that's great to hear! Did you have to request the interest refund separately or it just showed up eventually? I'm trying to figure out if I need to call them about it or just wait.
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Skylar Neal
my waiver got aproved to in febrary but they NEVER gave back my interest!!! only the main amount. i call 35 times and finaly somone told me interest is NOT refundable even with aproved waiver. this whole system is a SCAM.
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Brady Clean
•That doesn't sound right. The ESD policy document specifically states all payments made on an overpayment, including interest, are refundable when a waiver is approved. You might have talked to someone who didn't know the correct policy. Try calling again and ask to speak with a tier 2 specialist who handles waivers.
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Vincent Bimbach
I had my waiver approved back in January! Such a relief. They did refund my interest but it came as a separate payment about 3 weeks after the main refund. So don't panic if you just see the principal amount refunded at first. And yes getting through to someone at ESD to check on this stuff is IMPOSSIBLE. I spent half my life on hold listening to that awful music lol
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Kelsey Chin
•If you're struggling to get through to ESD, I'd recommend using Claimyr. I was in the same boat waiting on a refund after my waiver was approved, and couldn't get through on the phone. The service connects you to an ESD agent usually within 15-30 minutes instead of waiting on hold for hours or getting disconnected. It worked great for me, and the agent was able to expedite my interest refund once I finally spoke with them. You can see how it works at https://youtu.be/7DieNd3C7zQ?si=26TzE_zGms-DODN3 or go to claimyr.com. Definitely worth it when you're trying to track down money they owe you.
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Norah Quay
According to WAC 192-220-030, when an overpayment waiver is approved, ESD is required to refund all money collected on the overpayment, which includes both the principal amount and any interest charged. However, I recommend checking your eServices account carefully after receiving the refund to verify all amounts have been returned correctly. Sometimes the interest gets processed separately from the principal amount, and you may need to contact ESD if you notice discrepancies. The interest refund typically appears as a separate line item in your payment history and may take 4-6 weeks longer than the principal refund to process. Make sure to download and save documentation of all payments you made, including interest, so you have records if needed.
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Molly Hansen
•Thank you so much for the detailed explanation! I'll definitely keep an eye on my account and save all the documentation. I have all my payment receipts already saved, thankfully. I'll give it a couple months before getting worried then.
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Leo McDonald
When i got my overpayment waived back in August they refunded everything except the fees for using a credit card to make payments. Did you pay by card? Those processing fees don't get refunded cause they go to the card company not ESD.
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Molly Hansen
•Ah that's good to know! I did pay online but used direct bank transfer, not a credit card, so hopefully that means I shouldn't have any fees that won't get refunded.
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Jessica Nolan
My overpayment experience was a total nightmare trying to get hold of someone at ESD about my refund! The interest portion of my refund mysteriously disappeared and I had to call like 20 times before finally reaching someone who could help. Good luck with that part lolol. But yeah, they're supposed to refund interest too.
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Vincent Bimbach
•The phone system is the WORST. I got disconnected 8 times in one day before I finally got through. And then the person who answered couldn't even help me and had to transfer me! Why do they make everything so difficult???
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Molly Hansen
Thanks everyone for the helpful responses! I feel much better knowing that the interest should eventually come back too. I'll keep an eye on my account and give it about 6 weeks before I start trying to contact them. Fingers crossed it all goes smoothly!
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Brady Clean
•Smart plan. And congrats again on the waiver approval - that's not always easy to get!
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Angelina Farar
just wondering.....how long did it take for them to approve your waiver? i submitted mine 7 weeks ago and haven't heard anything yet. getting scared they'll deny it.
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Molly Hansen
•Mine took almost 9 weeks to get approved, so you might still have a couple weeks of waiting. I know it's stressful! I called once around week 8 just to make sure they had received everything and was told it was "in process" whatever that means. Hang in there!
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