DEO phone nightmare - calling since November and getting hung up on EVERY time!

same exact thing happened to me!! i called for 6 weeks straight and kept getting disconnected or the automated system would just hang up on me. so frustrating when ur trying to figure out why ur benefits are on hold and nobody will talk to u

It's maddening! Did you ever get through? My husband is about ready to give up completely, but we really need this resolved.

The DEO phone system is absolutely designed to prevent people from reaching agents. After weeks of the same runaround, I finally discovered a service called Claimyr that actually got me through to a real person at DEO. They basically keep dialing for you and when they get through, they connect the call to your phone. It worked for me after I had spent literally WEEKS trying to get through on my own. Their site is claimyr.com and they have a video that shows how it works: https://youtu.be/UzW_hbUy-ss?si=zORd51jeq1GX5Ldj

is this legit? sounds too good to be true tbh. has anyone else used this?

Totally legit. I was skeptical too, but after weeks of getting nowhere I was desperate. Got connected to a DEO agent within 2 hours. The video demo shows exactly how it works.

I've been dealing with the Florida unemployment system for years (unfortunately had to claim benefits multiple times), and I can tell you that there are a few specific strategies that work better than just calling repeatedly:\n\n1. Try calling at exactly 7:29am, right before they officially open. Sometimes you can get in queue before the rush.\n\n2. Wednesday and Thursday tend to be less busy than Monday or Tuesday.\n\n3. Email the DEO director's office directly with your claimant ID, full name, and a BRIEF description of your issue. Sometimes they'll escalate.\n\n4. Contact your state representative's office. They have special liaisons with DEO who can often get issues resolved faster.\n\n5. If your husband's claim is in adjudication, make sure he's checked his CONNECT inbox for any fact finding questionnaires or documentation requests. Sometimes claims get stuck because they're waiting for information.\n\nHope this helps! The system is frustrating but persistence eventually pays off.

Thank you so much for these detailed tips! We've been checking CONNECT daily but there are no pending items or messages asking for additional information. That's part of what's so frustrating - there's nothing explaining WHY it's in adjudication. We'll try the early morning call and reaching out to our state rep. Do you have the specific email for the director's office?

The current email to try is DEO.Director@deo.myflorida.com - be sure to include your claimant ID number, the last 4 of his SSN, and a clear subject line like \

THE DEO IS ABSOLUTE GARBAGE!!!! I spent 4 MONTHS trying to get my issue resolved last year. They are DELIBERATELY making it impossible to reach them so people give up. I had to call 73 TIMES in one day before I finally got through, only to be told I needed to upload MORE documents that nobody ever told me about!!!\n\nThe whole system is designed to deny benefits by frustrating people into giving up. It's CRIMINAL what they're doing to Florida residents who just need the benefits they're entitled to!!!

omg 73 times in one day?! i thought i was bad with like 20 calls a day. system is totally rigged against us

YEP!!! I literally kept a tally on a notepad next to me. Started at 7:30am and didn't get through until 3:45pm. And the BEST PART?? The agent I finally reached couldn't even help me!!! Had to transfer me to a \

Have your husband check if there are any \

Thanks for this suggestion. We've checked the portal pretty thoroughly but will look again specifically for fact finding items. And yes, he's been diligently claiming weeks while waiting. The frustrating part is seeing the weeks go from \

When I had trouble last year i went to my local CareerSource office in person and they were actually able to look up my claim and see what was causing the delay. They couldn't fix it directly but they gave me the exact information about what was wrong and what department needed to review it. might be worth a try if theres an office near you.

THIS!!! CareerSource offices are waaaaay better than trying to call. They can at least tell you what's going on even if they can't fix it. Wish I'd known this before wasting MONTHS on the phone.

I didn't know CareerSource could help with this! There's one about 25 minutes from us. Do we need to make an appointment or can we just walk in?

its better to make appointment cause they can get busy but they also take walk ins. bring his claimant id, ssn, and photo id to make sure they can look everything up. good luck! hope it helps

I actually worked as a call center agent for a similar state agency (not Florida) and I can tell you a few insider tips:\n\n1. The sweet spot for calling is usually 10:30-11:30am. The morning rush has died down but the lunch breaks haven't started yet.\n\n2. When you do get through, immediately ask for a \

Thank you so much for these insider tips! We had no idea about the callback reference number - that's brilliant. We'll definitely try the 10:30-11:30 window tomorrow. Do you happen to know how we can find out the specific issue type if it just says \

In most systems, there should be an \

One thing to check - has your husband had to complete ID.me verification? A lot of claims are getting stuck in adjudication because of identity verification issues, even if he successfully completed the ID.me process. Sometimes the systems don't communicate properly, and the DEO system doesn't register that the verification was completed.

That's actually a really good point. He did complete the ID.me verification back in November when he first applied, and got the confirmation email that it was successful. But maybe that's the issue - the systems not talking to each other. Is there any way to check if that's specifically what's causing the hold up without talking to someone?

Unfortunately, there's no way to confirm that specifically without speaking to a DEO agent. However, it's common enough that it might be worth trying to redo the ID.me verification (even though he already did it successfully). Sometimes that forces the systems to sync up. You can also try emailing ID.me support directly with screenshots of his successful verification and ask them to confirm it was transmitted to Florida DEO.

I ran into similar problems last month when my account got locked for no reason. After trying unsuccessfully to call for weeks, I finally broke down and tried that Claimyr service someone mentioned above. Not gonna lie, I was super skeptical, but it actually worked! Got me through to a real person at DEO within about an hour. Turned out my account was locked because of a system error on THEIR end. The agent fixed it in like 5 minutes once I finally talked to them. So frustrating that it takes these extreme measures just to get basic help.

I'm hearing this Claimyr service mentioned a couple times now... it sounds promising. At this point, we're willing to try anything because this situation is beyond ridiculous. I appreciate you sharing your experience with it!