Pandemic overpayment balance suddenly disappeared to ZERO - Anyone else?
I'm seriously confused right now. I logged into my ESD account yesterday to check on my remaining pandemic unemployment overpayment balance (was around $4,890) and it's showing ZERO all of a sudden! No notification, no explanation letter, nothing in my correspondence section. It just vanished. Has anyone else experienced this? I'm not complaining if they forgave it, but I'm worried this is some kind of system glitch and they're going to hit me with collections later. Should I call ESD about this or just consider myself lucky and move on?
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Sofia Morales
This happened to me too! My $3,250 pandemic overpayment balance disappeared about three weeks ago. I called ESD after waiting about a week to see if any letter would come through explaining it. The agent told me there was a federal waiver program that automatically forgave certain pandemic-era overpayments if you met specific criteria. Apparently it was for non-fraud overpayments where the claimant wasn't at fault. They're supposed to send letters explaining it, but the system is slow with correspondence right now.
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Dylan Mitchell
•Oh thank you! That's such a relief to hear! Did they mention what the specific criteria were? I'm wondering if I should still expect some kind of official notification?
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Dmitry Popov
dont trust it lol. ESD systems are always glitchy. screenshot everything and keep checking. my balance disappeared for 2 weeks last year then came back with interest!!! they claimed they never recieved my appeal which I DEFINTIELY sent in.
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Ava Garcia
•Actually, there IS a legitimate pandemic overpayment forgiveness program happening right now. You're right to be cautious, but this is likely the federal waiver program being implemented. The Department of Labor authorized states to waive certain non-fraudulent pandemic-era overpayments, especially those where the claimant provided correct information but the state made a determination error.
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StarSailor}
I had something similar happen but with regular UI not pandemic benefits. My overpayment of $2,100 disappeared then came back the next day. Turned out to be a system maintenance thing. Definitely call to confirm before assuming it's forgiven! You don't want to be surprised later.
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Dylan Mitchell
•Thanks for sharing your experience. I've been checking daily and it's been at zero for 5 days now. I'll definitely follow up with ESD directly to be sure.
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Miguel Silva
CONGRATS!!! My cousin had his PUA overpayment forgiven last month too. He got a letter about 2 weeks AFTER it changed to zero in the system. Something about blanket waivers for certain claims. Don't question it, just be happy!
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Zainab Ismail
•This is terrible advice. Always follow up on unexplained changes to your unemployment account. The ESD system has too many errors to just "not question it" when money is involved. The last thing you want is to assume it's forgiven, spend that money, and then get hit with collections later. Call ESD and get written confirmation.
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Connor O'Neill
I spent 3 WEEKS trying to get through to ESD about a similar issue (not pandemic related, but an overpayment that suddently changed). Kept calling that impossible-to-reach number over and over only to get disconnected. Finally used Claimyr (claimyr.com) and got through in under 30 minutes. They have a video showing how it works: https://youtu.be/7DieNd3C7zQ?si=26TzE_zGms-DODN3. Totally worth it to actually speak to a real person who confirmed my overpayment was legitimately removed due to a redetermination. I'd never have known otherwise!
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Dylan Mitchell
•Thank you for this tip! I've been trying to call for the past two days with no luck. Will check out that service since I really need to confirm what's happening with my account.
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Ava Garcia
Here's what's likely happening: The American Rescue Plan Act gave states the authority to waive pandemic-related benefit overpayments when the overpayment wasn't the claimant's fault. Washington State ESD has been implementing these waivers in batches throughout 2025. If your overpayment was from PUA, PEUC, or FPUC and wasn't due to fraud, you probably qualified for automatic forgiveness. You should receive an official notice within 30 days explaining the waiver. If you don't, definitely contact ESD to get written confirmation.
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Dylan Mitchell
•This is really helpful information! Mine was definitely from PEUC and wasn't fraud - there was confusion about my availability for work during a week when I had a family emergency. I'll wait for the letter but will contact them if I don't receive anything in a couple weeks.
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Zainab Ismail
Anyone know if this applies to regular UI overpayments too or just the pandemic programs like PUA and PEUC? I have an overpayment from regular benefits that I've been making payments on.
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Ava Garcia
•The federal waiver program only applies to pandemic-era programs (PUA, PEUC, FPUC, etc.) not to regular UI. However, you can still request an individual waiver for regular UI overpayments by submitting a financial hardship application through your ESD account. They evaluate those on a case-by-case basis.
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Sofia Morales
Just checking back in - did you end up getting any official letter from ESD yet? When I talked to the agent, they said letters were going out in batches and some people might not get them for 4-6 weeks after the balance shows as zero in the system.
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Dylan Mitchell
•Not yet! I finally got through to ESD yesterday (used that Claimyr service someone mentioned, which worked great) and the rep confirmed my overpayment was forgiven under the federal waiver program. She said I should receive an official letter within the next 2-3 weeks. Such a relief! Thanks everyone for your help with this.
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