Washington ESD unemployment debit card never arrived - why have i not received my unemployment debit card?
Filed my unemployment claim with Washington ESD about 5 weeks ago and got approved for benefits. My weekly claims have been processed and show as paid on my account, but I still haven't received my unemployment debit card in the mail. The money is supposedly there but I can't access it without the card. I've been checking my mailbox every day and nothing. Has anyone else had their Washington ESD debit card take this long to arrive? Starting to worry it got lost or sent to wrong address.
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Grace Patel
The debit cards usually come from KeyBank within 7-10 business days after your first payment is processed. If it's been 5 weeks that's definitely too long. You should call Washington ESD to report it missing and request a replacement card.
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Charlie Yang
•Thanks, I'll try calling them. Do you know if there's a specific number for debit card issues or just the main Washington ESD line?
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Grace Patel
•You can call the regular Washington ESD customer service line at 800-318-6022, they handle debit card issues too. Just be prepared for long wait times.
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ApolloJackson
same thing happened to me last year, turned out my address was wrong in the system even though I thought I had updated it correctly
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Charlie Yang
•Oh no, how did you fix the address issue? Did you have to reapply or could they just update it?
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ApolloJackson
•I had to call and have them update it, then they sent a new card to the correct address. took another week after that
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Isabella Russo
Before you panic, double-check your mailing address in your Washington ESD account online. Log into your SecureAccess Washington (SAW) account and verify the address on file matches exactly where you want the card sent. Even small differences like apartment numbers or street abbreviations can cause delivery problems.
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Charlie Yang
•Good point, I'll check that right now. I moved recently so it's possible there's a mismatch.
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Rajiv Kumar
•This is so important! I had mine going to my old apartment for weeks before I realized the address was wrong in the system.
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Aria Washington
Getting through to Washington ESD by phone is nearly impossible these days. I've been trying for weeks about my own debit card issue. You might want to try using a service like Claimyr (claimyr.com) - they help you get through to actual Washington ESD agents. There's a demo video at https://youtu.be/7DieNd3C7zQ that shows how it works. I finally got my card issue resolved after using them.
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Charlie Yang
•Never heard of Claimyr before, is it legit? How much does it cost to use?
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Aria Washington
•It's totally legitimate, they just help you navigate the phone system to reach an actual person at Washington ESD. Much better than sitting on hold for hours and getting disconnected.
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Liam O'Reilly
•I was skeptical at first but Claimyr actually worked for me too. Got connected to Washington ESD within minutes instead of waiting hours.
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Chloe Delgado
THE WHOLE DEBIT CARD SYSTEM IS A JOKE! Why can't they just do direct deposit like normal people?? I've been waiting 3 weeks for mine and Washington ESD acts like it's no big deal that people can't access their money.
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Ava Harris
•You can set up direct deposit once you get your debit card and activate it. It's annoying that they don't offer it from the start though.
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Chloe Delgado
•Why do I need the stupid card first though? Makes no sense at all. This whole system is backwards.
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Grace Patel
•I agree it's frustrating, but once you have the card you can transfer the money to your bank account for free through the KeyBank app.
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Jacob Lee
Check with your local post office too. Sometimes mail gets held up there, especially if you have an unusual address or recent address change. I had to go pick mine up in person because they couldn't deliver it to my apartment complex.
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Charlie Yang
•That's a really good idea, I hadn't thought of checking with the post office directly.
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Emily Thompson
•Yes! This happened to my neighbor, the debit card was sitting at the post office for 2 weeks waiting for pickup.
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Sophie Hernandez
I work for a credit union and see this all the time. The KeyBank debit cards for Washington ESD often get flagged by mail sorting machines because of the way they're packaged. If your address has any formatting issues or if you've moved recently, they can get returned to sender without you knowing.
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Charlie Yang
•So if it got returned to sender, would KeyBank or Washington ESD know about it?
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Sophie Hernandez
•KeyBank would know if it was returned, but the information doesn't always get communicated back to Washington ESD quickly. That's why calling is important.
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Daniela Rossi
•This explains so much! I've been wondering why some people get their cards right away and others wait forever.
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Ryan Kim
whatever you do dont fall for those scam websites that claim they can expedite your debit card for a fee, only Washington ESD and KeyBank can help with legit card issues
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Charlie Yang
•Good warning, I'll stick to official channels only.
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Zoe Walker
•Yeah there's a lot of scammers targeting unemployed people right now, be careful out there.
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Elijah Brown
I had the same problem and it turned out my card was delivered but stolen from my mailbox. Check if your complex has had any mail theft issues recently. I had to file a police report and then Washington ESD issued me a new card.
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Charlie Yang
•Oh wow, I hope that's not what happened to mine. How did you find out it was stolen?
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Elijah Brown
•My mailman told me there had been several reports of mail theft in my area. Always worth asking them if you suspect something.
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Maria Gonzalez
•Mail theft is getting really bad in some neighborhoods, especially targeting government benefit cards.
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Natalie Chen
If all else fails, you can request expedited shipping for a replacement card but I think there might be a fee. Regular replacement cards are free though. Just make sure you get confirmation that the old card is deactivated so no one can use it if they find it.
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Charlie Yang
•Good point about deactivating the old card. I'll make sure to ask about that when I call.
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Grace Patel
•Yes, always have them deactivate the missing card immediately for security reasons.
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Santiago Martinez
Try calling KeyBank directly too, not just Washington ESD. Since they're the ones who actually issue and mail the debit cards, they might have more specific information about where yours is in the process.
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Charlie Yang
•I didn't know I could call KeyBank about it. Do you have their number?
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Santiago Martinez
•The KeyBank customer service number for Washington ESD debit cards is 866-295-2955. They're usually easier to reach than Washington ESD.
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Samantha Johnson
•KeyBank was super helpful when I called about my card issue. They could see exactly when it was mailed and confirmed my address.
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Nick Kravitz
this is exactly why I hate dealing with unemployment benefits, everything takes forever and no one can give you straight answers about whats going on
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Hannah White
•I feel you, the whole system is frustrating when you need the money to pay bills.
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Charlie Yang
•Yeah it's stressful not being able to access money that's supposedly already approved and waiting for me.
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Michael Green
Update us when you figure out what happened! I'm dealing with a similar issue and want to know what works. Hope you get your card soon.
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Charlie Yang
•Will do! I'm going to try calling both Washington ESD and KeyBank tomorrow to see what they can tell me.
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Mateo Silva
•Same here, following this thread because I'm in the exact same situation.
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Victoria Jones
I got my Washington ESD debit card after 6 weeks, turns out there was a processing delay on KeyBank's end that they didn't tell anyone about. Sometimes these things just take longer than they're supposed to unfortunately.
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Charlie Yang
•6 weeks?! That's crazy long. At least you eventually got it though.
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Victoria Jones
•Yeah it was stressful but once I got it everything worked fine. Hang in there!
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Cameron Black
Make sure you activate the card as soon as you get it and set up online access through the KeyBank app. That way you can transfer money to your regular bank account instead of having to use the debit card for everything.
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Charlie Yang
•Good advice, I'll definitely do that once I finally get the card.
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Jessica Nguyen
•The KeyBank app is actually pretty good for managing the unemployment debit card once you get set up.
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Isaiah Thompson
I used Claimyr when I couldn't get through to Washington ESD about my missing debit card. Worked great and I talked to someone within 20 minutes. Way better than the hours I spent on hold before that.
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Charlie Yang
•Multiple people have mentioned Claimyr now, I might have to give it a try if I can't get through on my own.
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Ruby Garcia
•It's worth it just for the time savings alone. Washington ESD phone system is impossible otherwise.
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Alexander Evans
Quick update for anyone following - I finally got through to Washington ESD and they confirmed my card was mailed but to the wrong zip code somehow. They're sending a replacement to the correct address now. Thanks everyone for all the helpful suggestions!
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Charlie Yang
•That's great news! How long did they say the replacement would take?
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Alexander Evans
•They said 7-10 business days for the replacement card. At least now I know what happened to the first one.
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Evelyn Martinez
•Glad you got it sorted out! Address issues seem to be pretty common with these cards.
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