any update? did ne of these work for u?

I'm dealing with a similar adjudication nightmare - 5 weeks stuck on a "voluntary quit" determination even though I was laid off due to budget cuts. The most frustrating part is how the system just leaves you in limbo with zero communication. One thing that helped me get a tiny bit of progress was documenting EVERYTHING. I started keeping a spreadsheet with every call I made (date, time, rep name if I got one, reference numbers, what they told me). When I finally did get through to someone last week, having all those details seemed to get their attention more than just saying "I've called a bunch of times." Also, has anyone tried reaching out to local news stations? I've been thinking about contacting the investigative teams that do "on your side" type stories. The DEO might actually respond if there's media pressure involved. This whole system is such a mess that it feels like public shame might be the only thing that works.

I'm dealing with the same exact problem right now! Been trying to reach claims for over a week about my pending adjudication and keep getting bounced around to different departments. The most frustrating part is when they tell you "sorry, wrong department" after you've already waited 30+ minutes on hold. Reading through these responses, I'm definitely going to try the early morning approach at 7:30am and the option 5-2-4 sequence that Lucas mentioned. Also going to give the afternoon calling strategy a shot since that seems to work for some people. Has anyone had success with the live chat feature on the CONNECT website, or is that just as useless as the phone system? I noticed it's available during business hours but wondering if they can actually help with adjudication issues or if they just tell you to call. Thanks for posting this - at least now I know I'm not the only one going through this nightmare!

I'm going through this exact same frustration right now! My claim has been stuck in pending adjudication for 3 weeks and I can't get anyone on the phone who can actually help. I've tried calling at different times of day but keep getting transferred to the wrong departments or just hanging up after waiting forever. Reading through all these tips is really helpful - I had no idea about the option 5-2-4 sequence or calling right at 7:30am. Definitely going to try both of those strategies tomorrow. The idea about contacting your state representative is also something I never considered but makes total sense if the phone system continues to fail. It's so frustrating that we have to jump through all these hoops just to get basic information about our own claims. The system really does seem designed to make it as difficult as possible to get help. But I'm not giving up - my rent is due next week and I need this resolved ASAP! Thanks everyone for sharing your experiences and tips. At least knowing other people have gotten through eventually gives me some hope!

Emails to employers can count as work search activities, but you need documentation. Each work search contact should include: 1. Date of contact 2. Method of contact (email, online application, in-person, etc.) 3. Company name, address, and phone number 4. Name of person contacted (if possible) 5. Type of work sought 6. Result of contact CareerSource workshops and job fairs also count toward your work search requirements. I recommend mixing different types of activities rather than just doing emails. And save everything - screenshots of applications, copies of emails, etc. DEO can request proof up to a year later.

Congratulations on getting through the system! Your success story gives me hope. I've been dealing with the same exact issues for the past week - constant freezing and logouts. I'm going to try your approach tomorrow morning at 5:30 AM with Chrome incognito mode. Quick question - when you say don't use autofill, does that include the browser asking to save passwords, or just the form completion stuff? I want to make sure I do this right on my first early morning attempt since getting up that early is going to be rough for me!

I'm dealing with the exact same issue right now! My claim has been in adjudication for 6 weeks and I tried emailing about 8 different agent addresses I found from old posts - every single one bounced back. It's so frustrating that they changed everything without any notice to claimants who are already struggling. I'm definitely going to try the DEO.Escalations@deo.myflorida.com email that everyone mentioned. Can someone clarify what exactly should go in the subject line? Should it be something like "Claimant ID [my number] - Adjudication Issue" or more specific than that? Also super interested in trying Claimyr since the phone system has been impossible. I've called probably 50+ times over the past few weeks and either get a busy signal or sit on hold for 3+ hours before getting disconnected. At this point I'm willing to try anything to get through to an actual human who can help. Thanks for sharing all this info - this community is literally the only place I've found useful guidance on navigating this broken system!

I went through this exact same nightmare in January! All the old agent emails bouncing back is so typical of DEO - they constantly change their systems without telling anyone. Here's what finally worked for me after 8 weeks in adjudication hell: 1. The DEO.Escalations@deo.myflorida.com email is legit - but you HAVE to be super specific in your subject line. I used "Claimant ID [number] - 8 Week Adjudication Delay - Separation Verification Needed" and got a response in 48 hours. 2. In your email body, include: full name, claimant ID, last 4 of SSN, phone number, and exactly what your pending issue shows in CONNECT (like "Separation - Discharge" or whatever yours says). 3. When I was at my breaking point with the phone system, I used Claimyr to actually get through to a human. Honestly was skeptical but it worked - got connected to an agent in about 12 minutes who could see my whole case history. They have a demo that shows exactly how it works: https://youtu.be/UzW_hbUy-ss?si=zORd51jeq1GX5Ldj The key is persistence and knowing exactly what's holding up your claim. Once I found out my specific pending issue, I could target my documentation and got it resolved within a week. Hang in there - this system is designed to make you give up but you CAN get through it!

I'm so sorry you're dealing with this stress! I went through something very similar about 8 months ago - got hit with a $4,200 overpayment notice that completely blindsided me. Like you, I had been extremely careful about reporting every penny I earned from my part-time bookkeeping work. What really helped me was creating a detailed timeline showing exactly what I reported each week versus what I actually earned and when. I made a spreadsheet with columns for: certification week, amount I reported, actual pay stub amount, and deposit date in my bank account. This visual comparison made it crystal clear that I had reported everything correctly. The appeal process took about 10 weeks total for me, but I won! The hearing officer could see that any discrepancies were due to timing issues between when my employer reported wages versus when I actually received them, not because I was hiding income. One thing that really saved me was that I had kept email confirmations from CONNECT every time I submitted my bi-weekly certifications. Those timestamps proved exactly when and what I had reported. If you have any confirmation emails or screenshots from your certifications, definitely gather those up. Don't let the collection notices psych you out - they're automatically generated and can't actually do anything while your appeal is active. You've got this! The fact that you were conscientious about reporting from the beginning puts you in a strong position.

I'm going through the exact same nightmare right now! Got hit with a $3,800 overpayment notice last week and I've been losing sleep over it. Like you, I was super careful about reporting every dollar from my part-time work at a local café. Reading through all these responses has been incredibly helpful - especially learning that this happens way more often than I thought. I had no idea about the timing issues between quarterly employer reports and weekly certifications. That could definitely explain what happened in my case since my hours were all over the place. I'm filing my appeal tomorrow and definitely going to request all their documentation like the attorney suggested. It's such a relief to see so many people won their appeals when they had proper documentation. The collection notices are terrifying but I'm going to try to stay calm and focus on gathering all my pay stubs and certification screenshots. Thank you for starting this thread - knowing I'm not alone in this mess makes it feel way less overwhelming!