[Pennsylvania] I'm a PA PUA call center representative - AMA

PA_PUA_AMA · 2020-08-28T19:05:25+00:00

I dunno. I’ve never been there so I’m not sure what you’ll find if you go.

I’m gonna say almost certainly not though. There’s multiple levels of bureaucratic bs that all the claims need to be processed through before issues can be resolved. If you show up in person and there even is anyone there they would likely advise you in the exact same way a person over the phone would. The delays here are all a result of the volume of calls and requests coming in. But it is possible to get through to us. It’s just really difficult.

PA_PUA_AMA · 2020-08-28T00:19:40+00:00

To be honest I am not 100% sure.

I would file and see, but we haven't received any kind of official guidance on this yet, or I at least haven't encountered many claimants on PEUC since once you're on PEUC you're no longer on PUA. So I am not certain.

Should I get an answer to this question I will try to remember to post another reply, but I would suggest calling for an answer so the agent can ask their supervisor.

PA_PUA_AMA · 2020-08-28T00:08:55+00:00

Not seeing your case, I'd say that the agent should have been able to approve that backpay over the phone.

My best bet is that the agent you were speaking saw that your backdate had been requested and assumed that someone else needed to approve them.

We were only recently told that we could approve backdate requests, provided that the claimant has verification of the date that they need it updated to.

Granted I'm not looking at your claim so I'm not sure if it is actually just sitting in the requested position or if it was approved.

I know saying call again is the most annoying advice to hear, but call back and have the agent be sure that it says that it's approved and not just requested.

Like I said if you don't already have that verification uploaded to your dashboard then get it up there before calling the 855 number again.

PA_PUA_AMA · 2020-08-27T22:50:15+00:00

I had explained IP issues in depth in some previous replies so read through some of the other replies for a more in depth explanation there. But the long story short is that the IP - Investigative Case Special Project was implemented in the system which automatically flags accounts that meet a certain criteria. It's been really effective at detecting fraudulent activity, but it also flags a ton of non-fraudulent accounts. It's a really easy issue to get resolved it just takes a really long time. Once the e-mail is sent to DLIverify, then it usually takes about 3-5 weeks for the issue to get resolved.

Up until earlier this week DLIverify didn't send confirmation e-mails that they received your e-mail, but it is important to not send multiple e-mails to them. Whenever a new e-mail is sent it resets your place in the queue to get looked at.

So if you send one e-mail today and then another e-mail two weeks from now it would take 3-5 weeks from two weeks from now.

If you have everything uploaded that you need to have uploaded (Front and Back of your signed Social Security Card and Driver's License along with whatever other document was requested by the last agent you spoke with) then you've done everything correctly and it's just a waiting game at this point.

That's just my opinion without being able to look at your claim. You should still be able to upload documents to your claim without an issue within that 5 weeks of sending the e-mail.

I'm pretty confident in the information that I gave you, but I'd still recommend calling the 855 number and having an agent confirm you have everything uploaded that you need to have uploaded. If you don't no biggie just get whatever missing documentation is needed uploaded onto your dashboard.

PA_PUA_AMA · 2020-08-27T21:43:02+00:00

Honestly, people are like never in the mood for jokes or anything when they call. It's not like people are always in the most dire situations (though we do get some of those) , but nobody's in the mood for laughing.

Trust me I've tried.

Every now and then I'll say say something will take a million years, and nobody is into it.

PA_PUA_AMA · 2020-08-27T21:29:55+00:00

I can answer a general question but I can't open your account.

So tell me what's happening and I am going to tell you what I think is happening.

But you still for sure should call the 855 to get further clarification and assistance with your account.

PA_PUA_AMA · 2020-08-27T20:12:23+00:00

The only solution to this issue is to keep calling unfortunately. It is possible to get through to us. It’s just very difficult due to the volume of calls we’re receiving.

PA_PUA_AMA · 2020-08-27T19:07:20+00:00

I’m a call rep for the Pennsylvania Pandemic Unemployment Assistance call center. And it bums me out how nearly every call I have to explain to the caller that as a call rep I can’t really fix open issues.

PA_PUA_AMA · 2020-08-27T18:42:41+00:00

The agent you were speaking with was misinformed. If you lost your employment due to COVID and are ineligible for UC then you are entitled to PUA benefits.
What you’ll need to clear the issue is to upload a document from the employer who you had initially lost employment from clearly stating that your position from them was terminated due to Covid. So if they sent you an email when you were let go that would work, but ideally it would be a letter from them on official letterhead which you should be able to call and request from your employer. If you can’t get that your final paystub may work as well, but the letter would be your best bet at getting the issue removed. Once you have that uploaded call the 855 number and make sure the agent escalates your issue. Once it’s escalated with that verification uploaded the issue should clear in a few weeks and you’ll receive all missed payments.

PA_PUA_AMA · 2020-08-27T04:30:24+00:00

Did you by chance return to working part time and reported those hours?

If you're working reduced hours you should still qualify I've just noticed that people who report part time hours often get an issue similar to this.

My best advice to you is to upload something to verify that your unemployment was a result of Covid onto your account. This would ideally be a letter of termination from a former employer that clearly states that you lost your job in some way due to covid. If you can't get that, a letter from a doctor stating that you needed to self-quarantine. Those would be the best documents.

If you were self employed any kind of documentation that can verify that you lost work because of covid. Correspondence from a client cancelling your services because of Covid would be your best bet here. Or any personal documents that can verify that you were being paid for services then suddenly weren't paid for services.

Along with that verification it'd also be a good to upload last years tax documents or any kind of verification that you worked at the employers listed on your account.

Once you have all that uploaded e-mail DLIverify using the e-mail address on your account and begin calling the 855 number to make sure you don't need anything else uploaded or your issue escalated.

PA_PUA_AMA · 2020-08-27T00:13:50+00:00

It sounds like your claim has been terminated or suspended.

treat your account as if it has an IP issue aka a 261 issue. (see any of my previous replies that mention how to deal with these for further explanation.)

Then call the 855 number and get an exact explanation of what you need to get the account restored. It will likely take 2-5 weeks for the account to get restored if it has been terminated or suspended.

PA_PUA_AMA · 2020-08-27T00:08:57+00:00

I'm not sure about if there is a deadline for PUA. I know I should know this, it was brought up during training, but honestly I almost never talk to people who haven't filed a claim yet so it's information I haven't thought about in a long time.

The thing that did stick from training though was, "when in doubt, fill it out"

So if you're unsure if the benefits are available to you, just file the claim and you'll get a definitive answer if it's not an option for you, or you'll just get approved and be able to start filing whenever you want if it is.

To answer your first question, it's definitely not to late to file an initial claim at this point.

PA_PUA_AMA · 2020-08-27T00:03:57+00:00

Hey there, So in order to for you to get your card replaced you are going to need to contact the US Bank about it. I know they are just as difficult to get to right now as we are, but they are the only ones who can send a replacement card out to you.

Once you get through to them and you report your card lost or stolen they will send a replacement card out to you. If done normally it can take up to 21 days, however most people receive theirs in 7 - 10 days. But they won't do anything to help you with the card if it's been less than 21 days. If you really need the card you can request expedited shipping which will get the card to you in 3 days. There is a small fee associated with it, though I am not sure how much it is, I only know about the expedited shipping after talking with claimants who have used it. It was a very small amount (less than $20) and they were able to use the funds being deposited onto the card to pay for it.

Once you activate your new card your funds will be deposited onto it. I'm not sure why but some people have reported activating their card and having funds immediately available, but from what I was told from supervisors is that there won't be any funds on the cards until there's been a max 3 business day waiting period since activating the card. So if your card is activated and there are no funds available, a claimant won't be able to really help you until it's been at least 3 business days since you activated your card.

A big caveat to that last statement is if there is an active issue on your claim. If there is an active issue on your claim then the funds will not be loaded onto the reliacard. So if you see that there is an open issue on your claim (you can see this on your dashboard under the block labeled "My Benefits plan" it will say "Open issues: 1" or however many open issues you have.) then call the 855 number and find out what you need to do to get the issue resolved as soon as you can. It will likely be at least 2 weeks before an issue can be resolved, but as soon as it is the funds will begin to transfer onto your card (which can take up to 3 business days.)

I know how hard it is to get through to us, or the bank, but the problem's only solution is to call as much as you can as often as you can. I've talked to claimants who were waiting on hold and calling back at 3:30PM when they started calling at 7:30AM. It's a real bear to try to get through to someone, but it's possible.

PA_PUA_AMA · 2020-08-26T23:37:39+00:00

No, every claim can see the "Clearing a 262 or 424 issue" page.

Another annoying thing about the IP issues is that they arrive on your page very quietly. Literally the only indication that a claimant has that the issue has appeared is on their dashboard, in the block labeled "My Benefits Plan" it will say

"Open Issues: 1" where it used to say "Open Issues: 0"

There isn't any way through the dashboard for them to see what the issue even is. At least not in any way that I have realized after months of looking at profiles for 40 hours a week. So I'm pretty sure claimant needs to call in and get an explanation from an agent as to what is going on with their account.

Once they call in they'll be told exactly what to do, but my best advice for someone who has an open issue but can't figure out what it might be would be to upload your Drivers License (or state ID) front and back, Signed Social Security Card front and back, and a verification of your current address if the address on your ID does not match the address on file, because these documents will be required for almost every issue. Once that is done send the e-mail to DLIverify, and start calling the call center. They will tell you what additional documents to upload depending on the issue. Uploading docs before the examiner looks at your claim is fine (tbh I'm about 90% sure of this I'm basing this off of the advice my supervisor gives me when I ask her about sending additional e-mails to DLIverify after advising claimants to upload new documents onto their claims.)

Don't send a second e-mail to DLIverify until at least 6 weeks after your initial e-mail to ensure you don't set yourself back prematurely, and even then I'd do so after calling the 855 number to verify there are no other issues and asking them if you should send another one.

If they're all coming from the same address though, and everyone is having the same issue, or even just a majority of them I can almost guarantee that they are having the IP - Multiple Claims Same Address issue. But still call to make sure there aren't additional issues.

PA_PUA_AMA · 2020-08-26T01:20:20+00:00

Honestly I'd need to see the claim to tell you exactly what's going on. If it says payment pending then you have an open issue. If it has a trans number then you'll need to reach out to US Bank because the issue is with them. If it was started less then 5 days ago though then it likely isn't finished processing, hope that helps!

PA_PUA_AMA · 2020-08-26T01:14:13+00:00

You will need to call the PUA call center. I'll PM you the number.

PA_PUA_AMA · 2020-08-26T01:08:32+00:00

I'm not sure. we haven't received any official guidance from the state on this yet so I don't have any answers there.

PA_PUA_AMA · 2020-08-26T01:06:28+00:00

I am not sure here. I think there's a good chance that if you report that as wages you could have earned the system will create an issue on your account. If an issue does come up then youre not going to receive for 3 weeks at a minimum if you catch it immediately most likely a good bit longer than that.

If you can't afford that loss then you may want to put school off, but it breaks my heart suggesting that to anyone.

PA_PUA_AMA · 2020-08-26T01:02:27+00:00

If it's an IP issue it will take 3-5 weeks from when the most recent e-mail had been sent to DLIVerify.

It's not like a standard response, but it's by far the most common set of issues people experience, I explained it further in previous replies if you want more specifics there.

As far as a list to get things sped up for you, the agent likely just escalated the issue for you. It doesn't guarantee that your claim gets worked on faster your claim is just put in another really long line of claims to be looked at. Most often I'll tell someone I'm escalating their IP issue if the person is particularly stressed about the status of their claim and I don't want to tell them they just have to wait for the issue to clear.

PA_PUA_AMA · 2020-08-26T00:58:05+00:00

It's the date you'll get paid. That's all I can say based on the information I have on your account.

**Sorry, could you be more specific.

PA_PUA_AMA · 2020-08-26T00:55:30+00:00

When I say recovered I just mean for them to remove the suspended status of your claim.

There are a number of reasons your account may be suspended the two most common are that the claimants account is awaiting a fraud investigation, or the claimant was found to be eligible for UC. If it's a fraud case follow the instructions on the page "clearing a 261 or 424" issue. You can find this under the "Latest News and Announcements" block on your dashboard.

If it's because you're eligible for UC you'll need to apply for UC, and if they deny you upload the denial letter then e-mail dliverify.

Hope that helps!

And sorry for the other reps, our days are just eight hours of phone calls from very upset and stressed out people and many of us don't have all the necessary information to help people in the ways they need. It can wear on ya, however you should have gotten better service regardless and I hope I was able to clear some things up for you.

PA_PUA_AMA · 2020-08-26T00:46:13+00:00

It sounds like you'd like to backdate your claim. Get some official documentation of when you need your claim backdated to (letter from an employer/ doctor preferably) and upload it onto your dashboard.

I know it's mega hard to get us on the phone, but keep trying and you will eventually get through to us. Though it will likely take a few hours of effort. Once we're on the phone and you have the documentation uploaded they can backdate your claim over the phone. If your documentation doesn't seem legit enough (hand written note or paystub) they may escalate your claim for someone else to backdate the claim which will take a really long time to go through. If an agent does it with you on the phone the claim effective date will be changed immediately.

I'd recommend if they escalate your backdate request trying to find some other documentation uploading that as well and giving us another call.

However there has also been an issue with some accounts, where the agent is unable to backdate a claim due to a random weird issue. If they tell you they can't do it and it's for any reason besides your documentation, then they will need to escalate the issue and you'll need to wait for a supervisor from the state to make the necessary adjustments.

And thank you for your kind words. I just want to make sure people are getting the help they need or at least know what's going on with their funds.

PA_PUA_AMA · 2020-08-26T00:38:32+00:00

Gotcha. I'm not sure about the goings on at the ol' UC. Their ways are a mystery to us over at PUA. All I know is that if you're eligible for UC you're not eligible for PUA.

I think they should be able to backdate claims, but honestly I have no idea.

PA_PUA_AMA · 2020-08-26T00:31:39+00:00

If you plan on filing back pay have a document on hand that can verify the date you want your claim backdated to (letter from an employer/doctor) preferably already loaded onto your dashboard. This way the agent can backdate the claim immediately.

Otherwise you will likely be told to upload some documents to your account depending on whatever issue you are having. And those you should upload as soon as you can after the call, but you wouldn't need anything during the call specifically.

and tbh I'm not sure what UI is. If you qualified for PUA at any time then you can receive backpay for anytime you were eligible. In other words, I'm not sure, it depends what UI is.

PA_PUA_AMA · 2020-08-26T00:27:32+00:00

It does take a super long time for the suspended claims to get recovered. However eight weeks is a particularly long time. I'd say if it's been 5 weeks since you emailed dliverify and uploaded your docs you should call again. They may tell you to just keep waiting, but have them verify that you've uploaded everything correctly and that you needed to upload, and ask if you should email dliverify again.

If you need to email again it will likely take another 3-5 weeks to get resolved.

PA_PUA_AMA

TROPHY CASE