Just want to add one more important detail - when you're gathering your employment information, make sure to include ALL employers from the past 18 months, even if you only worked there briefly or it was temporary work. Washington ESD uses something called your "base year" to calculate benefits, and leaving out any employment could reduce your benefit amount. Also, if you worked for multiple employers at the same time, list them all separately with their respective dates and wages. I made the mistake of combining part-time jobs on my first application and it caused delays.

Hey Miguel! I just went through this process a few months ago when I got laid off from my warehouse job. The stress is totally understandable - I was panicking about rent too. Here's what worked for me: Start by going to esd.wa.gov and create your SecureAccess Washington account first. Have your Social Security card, driver's license, and bank info ready. For employment history, write down every job from the last 18 months with exact dates and wages - even short temp jobs count toward your benefits! The application took me about 45 minutes, and I got my monetary determination in about 10 days. Don't worry if you don't have every pay stub - they can verify most wages through their system. The key is to apply ASAP since benefits start from when you file, not when you lost your job. You've got this!

Just to follow up on my earlier comment - make sure you're specifically asking to speak with the Office of Special Investigations (OSI) when you call ESD about fraud issues. Regular agents often don't have the authority to address these cases properly. And for clarity - there are two separate issues you need to resolve: 1. Getting the fraudulent 2020 claim properly documented and removed 2. Having your current claim properly processed once the fraud block is removed These often require speaking with different departments, which is why it's so frustrating. The fraud documentation has to be fully processed before your current claim can move forward.

I'm dealing with something very similar right now! Filed in February and every week shows disqualified with no explanation. When I finally got through to someone last week, they said there's a "hold" on my account but couldn't tell me why or how to fix it. Reading through all these responses is actually really helpful - I had no idea about the Office of Special Investigations or that specific form number (ESD 8028). I'm definitely going to try calling and asking for OSI specifically. One thing I wanted to add - has anyone tried reaching out to their local WorkSource office for help navigating this? I'm wondering if they might have better connections or know shortcuts for getting through the bureaucracy. @Sadie - please keep us updated on how the form submission goes! Sounds like you're getting some solid advice here and I'm hoping your case gets resolved soon. This whole situation is so stressful when you're already dealing with job loss.

I've been struggling with this same issue for over a month now! My claim has been pending since early April and I've tried calling Washington ESD probably 50+ times with zero success. The phone system is completely broken - either busy signals or I'll wait on hold for hours just to get disconnected. It's so frustrating not knowing what's wrong with my claim or how to fix it. After reading everyone's experiences here, it's clear that Claimyr might be the only realistic way to actually get through to someone at Washington ESD. I hate that we have to pay a third-party service just to access our own benefits, but when the official system is this dysfunctional, what other choice do we have? Thanks to everyone who shared their success stories - it gives me hope that my issue might be something simple that can be resolved quickly once I can actually talk to a real person. Going to try Claimyr this week!

I'm dealing with the exact same frustrating situation! Been trying to call Washington ESD for over 3 weeks about my pending claim and it's absolutely impossible to get through. I've tried every suggestion I've seen - calling right at 8am, different times throughout the day, weekdays vs weekends - nothing works. Either immediate busy signals or I'll sit on hold for 2-3 hours just to get disconnected. My claim has been stuck on "pending" for almost a month with zero explanation of what's wrong or what I need to do to fix it. The stress of not knowing if it's a simple issue that could be resolved in minutes if I could just talk to someone is really getting to me. After reading through all these comments, it seems like Claimyr really might be the only realistic way to actually reach a real person at Washington ESD these days. I hate that we have to pay a third-party service for what should be basic access to our own government benefits, but when the official system is this broken, what other choice do we have? Thanks everyone for sharing your experiences - it's reassuring to know I'm not the only one dealing with this nightmare!

Update: I FINALLY got through to ESD this morning after trying for 4 days straight! Turns out I do have an overpayment from 2021. They said I reported my hours incorrectly for 8 weeks during the pandemic (although I'm positive I entered everything correctly). Total overpayment is $2,450 and they're taking 30% of each payment until it's paid off. They're supposed to be sending me the full documentation in the mail. At least now I know what I'm dealing with, though I'm definitely going to appeal this since I don't think I made any mistakes on my claims.

This is such a widespread issue right now! I'm a newcomer to this community but dealing with the exact same problem. ESD just took $380 from my benefits last week with zero explanation. I collected pandemic unemployment in 2020 when my restaurant job was eliminated, and I was so careful to report everything correctly because I was terrified of making mistakes. Now they're saying I owe money but won't tell me why or how much total. Reading through everyone's experiences here is both reassuring (I'm not alone) and terrifying (some of you owe thousands!). Going to try calling that collections number tomorrow and also look into the Claimyr service someone mentioned. Thanks for sharing your stories - it helps to know others are fighting this too.

I'm dealing with this exact same frustrating situation! My Washington ESD claim has been stuck on pending for 4 weeks now with zero explanation. I've tried calling probably 30+ times and either get busy signals immediately or sit on hold for hours before getting disconnected. It's incredibly stressful not knowing if there's an actual problem or if I'm just supposed to keep waiting indefinitely. Based on everyone's experiences here, it sounds like speaking with an agent is really the only way to find out what's actually wrong, but their phone system seems designed to prevent that from happening. I'm seriously considering trying Claimyr after reading all these positive reviews - $20 seems reasonable if it actually gets me through to someone who can tell me what's holding up my claim. The uncertainty is honestly the worst part of this whole process!

I'm in a very similar situation - my claim has been pending for 7 weeks now and I'm getting really desperate for answers. Like everyone else here, I've tried calling Washington ESD dozens of times but can never get through. What's really concerning me after reading all these comments is how many people discovered their claims were stuck due to issues that weren't visible in their online accounts at all - employer disputes, identity verification flags, wage record problems, even system glitches. It seems like the online portal just shows "pending" regardless of what's actually wrong behind the scenes. I think I'm going to try Claimyr this week based on all the positive experiences people have shared here. At this point, $20 is a small price to pay for finally getting some answers instead of continuing to waste hours every day calling with no success. The stress of not knowing what's wrong or how long this might take is honestly affecting my mental health at this point.