2 months of calling DEO with no success - is there ANY way to reach a human?

I feel your pain! The DEO phone system is a nightmare designed to make us give up. After 6 weeks of failed attempts, I FINALLY got through last Thursday. My secret? Call right at 7:29am (not 7:30 when everyone else calls), choose Spanish option (even if you don't speak it), then immediately ask for English help when someone answers. The Spanish queue has WAY fewer people. Got connected in 20 mins versus never with English queue.

The Spanish line trick doesn't always work anymore - they've caught on and some reps will just transfer you back to the English queue (which means starting over). What worked for me was contacting my state representative's office. Call their constituent services line and explain your situation. They have special liaisons with DEO who can escalate your case. I was stuck for 7 weeks, contacted my rep, and had my issue resolved within 5 business days.

lol none of that stuff works anymore... i tried ALL of it. spanish line, state reps, senators, emails, everything. DEO is deliberately understaffed to make people give up. system working as intended sadly 🤷‍♂️

I was in the exact same situation last month with adjudication pending for almost 10 weeks. The thing that finally worked for me was using Claimyr. It's a service that basically keeps redialing DEO for you and calls when they get through. Cost me a bit but was 100% worth it after months of frustration. I had a real DEO agent on the phone within 45 minutes. Their website is claimyr.com and they have a video showing how it works: https://youtu.be/UzW_hbUy-ss?si=zORd51jeq1GX5Ldj The rep I spoke with was actually super helpful - turned out there was a simple issue with my employment dates that she fixed on the spot. My pending payments (about $3,800) were released the next day.

Just have your claimant ID, the last 4 of your SSN, and be ready to verify your identity. Also have a list of specific questions ready because sometimes they try to rush you off the phone. Ask them to specifically document what's causing the adjudication hold and what needs to be resolved. In my case, there was a discrepancy between the employment dates I entered and what my employer reported.

I know this sounds random but have u tried calling EXACTLY at 7:33am? Not 7:30, not 7:35. For some reason 7:33am on Tuesday specifically worked for me THREE different times. I think they must open up some new lines at that specific time while everyone else is calling at 7:30 sharp. worth a shot!!

Before you spend money on any services, there's another option that worked for me. The DEO has a little-known secondary number that sometimes connects you to the adjudication department directly: 833-352-7759. It's supposed to be for special situations but it worked when I called around 2:30pm (when call volume seems lower). Also, make sure you check your CONNECT inbox for any "Fact Finding" questionnaires that might be holding up your claim. My adjudication was pending because I hadn't completed a questionnaire that never showed up in my notifications.

anyone else notice how the DEO's incompetence seems intentional?? they make it IMPOSSIBLE to reach anyone then auto-deny claims that could've been easily fixed if a human looked at them for 5 seconds. my roommate had the EXACT same issue - 2+ months waiting, finally got through using claimyr, and the agent fixed it in literally 3 minutes. it was a simple error code that only agents can see/fix. the system is broken BY DESIGN.

One more important tip - if your claim is stuck in adjudication specifically, ask for a "status lift" when you do reach someone. Many regular DEO agents can't actually clear adjudication holds, but they CAN submit a request to the adjudication department to review your case within 48 hours. Make sure they give you a confirmation number for this request. Also, while you're waiting, double-check that your identity verification through ID.me is complete and properly linked to your CONNECT account. Sometimes the systems don't communicate properly, and your ID.me verification doesn't register in CONNECT even though you completed it. This is a very common cause of adjudication holds.

my sister works for the state (not DEO) but she said DEO agents are quitting like crazy & they're super understaffed. not making excuses for them but explains why its so hard to get thru. good luck!