Governor's office told me to wait 2-3 MORE weeks for ESD payment despite approved claim - family of 5 in crisis
I'm absolutely at the end of my rope with ESD. After 5 weeks without a single payment, I called the governor's office this morning (like so many of you suggested). The lady basically blew me off! I explained that I have 5 kids to feed, I've already received an official approval letter, all my weekly claims show "processing" status, and we're about to lose EVERYTHING if money doesn't come through. Her cold response? "I can't do anything for you. Call back in 2-3 weeks if you still haven't been paid." ARE YOU KIDDING ME?? Another 2-3 weeks?? We'll be homeless by then! I've done everything right - filed on time, completed all paperwork, passed adjudication, got approved... what else am I supposed to do?? Has anyone gotten through this nightmare scenario and actually received backpay? I'm desperate for any advice.
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Yara Abboud
omg thats horrible!! i had similar thing happen but only 3 weeks of waiting. did you try contacting your state representative? they helped me get my claim moving when i was stuck
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Connor Byrne
•No I haven't tried that yet. Do you know how to find out who my state rep is? And did you just call their office or send an email?
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PixelPioneer
So sorry you're going through this. Unfortunately, the governor's office staff rarely have direct influence over individual ESD claims. What you need is to contact your district's state representative AND senator. They have dedicated staff who can escalate cases with ESD. You can find your representatives here: leg.wa.gov/findyourlegislator When you contact them, include: - Your full name - Claim ID number - Date you filed - Brief description of issue - Copy of approval letter (if possible) - Best phone number to reach you In the meantime, have you tried calling ESD directly at different hours? Early morning (7:30am) tends to have slightly shorter wait times.
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Connor Byrne
•Thank you for the detailed info! I'll try contacting both my rep and senator tomorrow. I've tried calling ESD at least 30 times over the past weeks - either constant busy signals or disconnected after 2+ hours on hold. I'll try the 7:30am trick tomorrow too.
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Keisha Williams
The system is COMPLETELY BROKEN!!! I waited 9 WEEKS last year and every single "helpful" person gave me different information. Governor's office = useless. ESD phone lines = joke. Even after approval they can hold your money for "processing" forever while your family suffers. They don't care AT ALL about real people with real problems!!!
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Yara Abboud
•this is y i tell everyone to apply for food stamps immediatly when filing for unemployment!! at least u can feed ur kids while waiting for esd to get their act together
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Paolo Rizzo
I went through this exact situation in January. Approved but stuck in "processing" for weeks. What finally worked for me was using Claimyr to reach an actual ESD agent who could see what was holding up my payments. Turns out there was a payment block that wasn't visible on my end but they fixed it immediately once I got through. Their website is claimyr.com and they have a video showing how it works: https://youtu.be/7DieNd3C7zQ?si=26TzE_zGms-DODN3 Within 2 days of talking to the agent, all my back payments hit my account at once. With 5 kids, I wouldn't wait around any longer - you need that money now.
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Amina Sy
•does this claimyr thing actually work? sounds too good to be true honestly... has anyone else used it?
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PixelPioneer
•I've recommended Claimyr to several clients. It works by essentially handling the hold queue for you. Once you get through to an agent, ask them specifically to check for payment blocks or holds that might not be visible in your eServices account. Often claims get stuck in processing because of some back-end flag that needs manual clearing.
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Oliver Fischer
If your claims are stuck in processing after approval, it's usually one of three issues: 1. Identity verification flag (most common) - sometimes this happens even after you've been approved 2. Employer response delay - your employer has 10 business days to contest your claim 3. Payment system batch processing delay - back-end system issue For immediate financial help while you wait, contact your local Community Action Agency. Most counties have emergency assistance programs specifically for families with children who are waiting on unemployment benefits. They can often help with rent/utilities while you wait for ESD to resolve the payment issue.
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Connor Byrne
•I didn't know about Community Action Agencies - I'll look that up right now. Thank you! I'm guessing it might be the identity verification issue in my case, since I had trouble uploading my documents initially.
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Yara Abboud
hey did u try calling the technical support number instead of the regular esd number? sometimes they can help with payment issues even tho theyre supposed to only do tech stuff. worth a try!
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Keisha Williams
•THIS DOES NOT WORK ANYMORE! They catch on immediately and transfer you right back to the main queue. I tried it 3 times last month! DON'T WASTE YOUR TIME!!
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Connor Byrne
UPDATE: I finally got through to someone at ESD this morning! I ended up using that Claimyr service and got a callback within 30 minutes. The agent found that my payment was stuck because of a "potential availability issue" flag that was never actually resolved during adjudication. She removed it on the spot and said my payments should process in the next 48 hours. I'm cautiously optimistic... I'll post again when/if the money actually hits my account. Thanks for all the advice everyone!
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PixelPioneer
•Great news! That "potential availability issue" flag is exactly the kind of invisible block I was talking about. Once removed, payments typically process quickly. If you don't see anything by Thursday, call back and ask specifically about payment batch processing status.
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