Mysterious ESD overpayment letter after 3 years - nothing shows on account online!

Omg this happened to me last month!! Got a letter saying I owed $4,780 but nothing showing in my eServices account. I spent 3 days trying to get thru to someone at ESD and kept getting disconnected or told the wait was over 2 hours. When I finally got someone, turns out it was a clerical error on their end! They had confused my account with someone else's who had similar info. Keep calling until you reach someone - do NOT ignore it even though its probably a mistake!!!

This is actually more common than you'd think. ESD sometimes does audits years after claims were paid, and their system doesn't always update the online portal immediately when they initiate an overpayment investigation. A few things to know: 1. Don't ignore the letter even if nothing shows online - the overpayment process can still move forward 2. Request a detailed explanation in writing of why they believe an overpayment exists 3. If you disagree, you have 30 days from the letter date to file an appeal 4. Collect all documentation from when you were receiving benefits (approval letters, job search records, etc.) The good news is that many of these delayed overpayment notices turn out to be errors, especially from the pandemic period when their systems were overwhelmed.

if u dont respond they will garnish ur wages just fyi. happned to my brother. he moved out of state too and thought he could ignore it. big mistake they took like 25% of his check for months b4 he got it fixed

I recommend using Claimyr to get through to an ESD agent without the endless waiting and disconnections. I was in a similar situation with a mysterious overpayment letter and spent days trying to reach someone. With Claimyr (claimyr.com), I got through to an agent in about 20 minutes instead of hours. They have a video showing how it works: https://youtu.be/7DieNd3C7zQ?si=26TzE_zGms-DODN3 The agent explained that there was a system-wide audit that flagged certain pandemic-era claims for review, but mine was actually fine once they looked at it. Worth the time saved instead of calling for days!

THE ENTIRE ESD SYSTEM IS DESIGNED TO CONFUSE PEOPLE AND MAKE THEM GIVE UP!!! I got one of these letters 2 YEARS after my claim and it turned out they had "recalculated" my benefit amount after the fact. When I finally got someone on the phone they admitted it was THEIR ERROR but I still had to go through a formal appeal process that took 4 months!!!! The whole system is corrupt and they're just trying to claw back money from people who can't fight back. DOCUMENT EVERYTHING and demand a formal hearing if they try to stick you with an overpayment.

my sister just got one of these too lol. turned out they actually owed HER money! something about recalculating pandemic benefits. def call them cuz it might actually be good news!

Update us after you call them! I've seen several cases where these letters were sent in error or where the claimant actually was owed additional benefits. The pandemic programs had so many changes and extensions that ESD is still sorting through discrepancies. When you call, ask specifically: 1. What triggered this review after 3 years? 2. What weeks/periods are they questioning? 3. What documentation do they need from you? 4. Ask them to note in your file that nothing appears in your online account Try calling right when they open at 8am for shorter wait times.

I just remembered something important!!! Check if the letter is actually from ESD and not a scam! There have been a bunch of fake ESD overpayment letters going around trying to get people to call bogus numbers or visit fake websites. Real ESD letters have your claim ID and last 4 of SSN. If those aren't on there it might be a scam.

Literally dealing with this exact thing right now. Been on the phone with ESD for THREE WEEKS trying to resolve. Their computer system automatically generated a bunch of overpayment notices for pandemic claims as part of some federal audit thing, but most are errors. The problem is they're so backlogged it takes forever to get someone to actually look at your file. The whole thing is a mess.

UPDATE: You guys won't believe this! I finally got through to ESD this morning and the agent (who was actually super helpful) looked into my account. Turns out they actually OWE ME money! There was some recalculation of pandemic-era benefits and I was underpaid by about $1,200! The weird thing is their system still makes you answer all the overpayment waiver questions even when they're the ones who made a mistake in your favor. The letter was poorly worded and confusing. So for anyone else getting these random letters years later - definitely call and check! Could be good news!