Account locked and mental stress - can DEO compensate for anxiety during unemployment?

lol send the governor a bill... honestly wish we could! my account was locked 2x this year already

Did you get it unlocked? HOW?? I'm seriously about to camp outside their office.

I understand your frustration completely. Getting your account unlocked can feel impossible when you're stuck in that automated call loop. After my account was locked for nearly a month, I found two effective methods:\n\n1. Email the specific regional supervisor (not just the general inbox). For Central FL, it's maria.rodriguez@deo.myflorida.com - replace with your region's contact if different.\n\n2. Visit your local CareerSource office in person with your ID. They often have direct lines to DEO staff.\n\nAlso, be sure you've completed the ID.me verification fully - many locks happen when this verification doesn't properly connect to your CONNECT account. The system won't always tell you this is the problem.\n\nDon't give up! The mental strain is real, but there are solutions.

Thank you so much for this detailed advice. I've tried ID.me twice and it says I'm verified but CONNECT still shows locked. I'll try emailing the regional supervisor tomorrow and will visit CareerSource if that doesn't work. At least I have a plan now.

DEO is literally DESIGNED to make ppl give up!!! I was locked out for 6 weeks and had to restart my entire claim and lost 4 weeks of benefits. The system isn't broken it's working EXACTLY how they want it to. Keep all yr paperwork and screenshots of everything!!

THIS. 100% THIS. They count on people getting too frustrated to continue. When I was locked out in January, I documented EVERYTHING - dates, times, who I spoke with. It's the only reason I eventually got paid. And they hope we forget that they

have u tried calling right when they open at 7:30? thats how i got thru

I've tried 7:30am, 10am, 2pm, 4:45pm... doesn't seem to matter when I call, it's always busy or I get disconnected after waiting. It's like they don't want us to reach them!

I had the exact same issue last month. After two weeks of constant busy signals and disconnections, I found a service called Claimyr that got me through to a DEO agent in about 25 minutes. They basically keep dialing for you and then call you when they have an agent on the line. It was a huge relief after the frustration of trying to get through myself. Their website is claimyr.com and they have a video showing how it works: https://youtu.be/UzW_hbUy-ss?si=zORd51jeq1GX5Ldj\n\nOnce I actually spoke with a DEO agent, they were able to unlock my account right away. It turned out there was a \

Thank you for this! I've never heard of this service before but at this point I'll try anything. Watching the video now. If this gets me to a real person I'll be so relieved.

I totally get your frustration! My account was locked for almost a month and I was having panic attacks daily. The thing that finally worked for me was contacting my state representative's office. Their constituent services helped escalate my case and I had it resolved within 48 hours after spinning my wheels for weeks. Look up who represents your district and email their office explaining your situation. They deal with DEO issues all the time!

this actually works! my brother did this last year when his adjudication was stuck for 2 months

Thanks both of you - I hadn't even thought about contacting my representative. I'll try this approach too. At this point I'm willing to try multiple solutions at once.

When you do get through to someone, make sure to ask specifically for a Tier 2 representative. The first-level agents often can't actually help with account locks, but they won't always tell you this upfront. I spent weeks getting nowhere because I didn't know to ask for Tier 2. Also, document every single interaction - get names, ID numbers, dates, and what they tell you. This becomes crucial if you need to escalate or prove you've been trying to resolve the issue.

Thank you for this tip! I had no idea there were different tiers of representatives. I'll definitely ask for Tier 2 specifically and start keeping a detailed log of all interactions.

Anyone notice how these problems always get worse at the end of financial quarters??? My conspiracy theory is they lock accounts to improve their numbers temporarily!!!

omg i never thought of that but ur right! happened to me in march last yr and sept the yr before

While I understand the frustration, there's no evidence account locks are tied to quarterly reporting. Most locks happen due to identity verification issues, work search compliance checks, or system maintenance. However, the lack of transparency from DEO certainly contributes to these theories. What we do know is that staff shortages are real, and their outdated systems require regular maintenance that causes temporary issues across accounts.

When my husband's account got locked he just gave up and went without benefits for 2 months. Don't make that mistake! Keep fighting! The system counts on us giving up.

I definitely won't give up! I need these benefits to survive right now. I'm going to try all the suggestions here until something works. Thank you for the encouragement.

UPDATE: After using the Claimyr service someone mentioned above AND contacting my state rep, my account was unlocked this morning! The DEO agent I spoke with said it was locked because my ID.me verification hadn't properly linked to my CONNECT account, even though ID.me showed successful. Just wanted to update in case anyone else is dealing with this same issue. Thank you everyone for your help and support!

That's great news! This is a very common issue with ID.me verification - it shows complete on their end but doesn't properly transfer to the CONNECT system. For anyone else reading, always double-check that your verification status shows correctly in both systems. Glad you got it resolved!