ESD refund process after winning overpayment appeal - anyone actually get their money back?

Yes, I went through almost this exact situation! Won my appeal after fighting an overpayment notice for about $18,000. They found me not at fault in December. I had paid about $5,200 through garnishments and payment plans.\n\nIt took almost 2 months after the final decision to get my refund. The key was to send a secure message through your eServices account with \

That's so helpful, thank you! I've been focusing all my energy on calling and getting nowhere. I'll send a secure message right away with all that information. Did they send you any kind of notification before the refund came, or did it just show up in your account one day?

ur lucky u won!! i lost my appeal and now i owe $42k that i DONT HAVE and they wont even talk to me about it anymore. the whole system is rigged against us. when will the govt stop punishing ppl who were just trying to survive???

I'm so sorry that happened to you. Did you go all the way to the Commissioner's Review Office? Sometimes people stop at the first or second appeal level, but you can keep going higher. Also, even if you have to pay, you can request a financial hardship reduction - it's buried deep in their website but it exists. I helped my brother get his reduced by almost 40% after he lost his appeals.

I had the same thing happen but smaller amount. ESD basically ignores you after they decide in your favor. I waited 4 months with zero communication and no refund of the $3,400 I'd paid. Called over and over.\n\nFinally used Claimyr (claimyr.com) to get through to an actual agent. Cost a little but saved me hours of frustration. The agent told me my refund was

I've heard about Claimyr but wasn't sure if it actually worked. I'll have to check this out! Really don't want to wait 4 months when I could actually use that money now.

This is a common issue after winning overpayment appeals. Important things to understand:\n\n1. Refunds are processed by a completely different department than the one that handled your appeal. There's often poor communication between them.\n\n2. You need to formally request the refund - it's not automatic despite what the letter says.\n\n3. According to ESD regulations (WAC 192-230-100), they have 30 days from receiving your refund request to process the payment.\n\n4. Document EVERYTHING. Keep copies of all communication, payment records, the decision letter, etc.\n\nTo expedite this, I recommend both sending a secure message AND mailing a certified letter to the Benefits Payment Control unit specifically requesting the refund. Include your claim ID, appeal number, and detailed payment history.\n\nIf you don't see action within 30 days of your request, contact your state representative. They can often get quick results through legislative inquiry.

Thank you for this detailed information! I didn't realize I needed to make a formal request beyond what the appeal decision stated. I'll definitely follow your advice about the secure message AND certified letter to cover all bases. I'm documenting everything meticulously at this point.

my cousin had an overpayment of like $15k and just ignored it lol. they been sending him letters for 2 years but nothing else happened yet

That's really risky advice. ESD can and does eventually send accounts to collections, garnish wages, take tax refunds, and even place liens on property. They don't forget about overpayments - they have a 10-year collection period. Your cousin might just not have reached the enforcement stage yet.

I worked through this exact situation last year. After winning my appeal (took 5 rounds!), I had paid about $12,300 toward a $38,500 overpayment.\n\nHere's exactly what worked for me to get my refund:\n\n1. Get a copy of your official payment history from ESD (request through eServices)\n2. Submit a formal refund request via secure message AND certified mail\n3. Include the appeal decision number, dates of all payments, and total amount\n4. Reference the specific law requiring refund (RCW 50.20.190(4))\n5. Follow up every 10 business days\n\nIt took me 6 weeks to get my refund after submitting all this. One thing to note: if any of your repayments were from tax refund intercepts, those take longer because they have to coordinate with the Department of Revenue.\n\nIf you keep getting the runaround after 30 days, contact the Office of the Unemployment Insurance Ombuds (https://esd.wa.gov/unemployment/UI-ombuds). They can often cut through red tape faster than regular channels.

This is incredibly helpful! I had never heard of the Ombuds office before. I'm going to follow your exact steps and hopefully get this resolved. Thank you so much for sharing your experience and giving such specific advice about what worked!

I've been waiting NINE months for my refund after winning my appeal!!! Every time I call they say it's \

Unfortunately, there's no mechanism to charge ESD interest on delayed refunds. However, if it's been 9 months, you may want to consider filing a petition for judicial review in superior court. While this is a more advanced step, courts can issue orders compelling the agency to act. There are legal aid organizations that might be able to help with this. The Northwest Justice Project sometimes takes these cases if you meet their income requirements.

Update: I took everyone's advice here and sent a detailed secure message with \

That's great news! The system works sometimes, just very slowly. Definitely post when you get the actual refund - it helps others to know the timeline. I've found that ESD is generally honest about these things once you can actually get their attention.