DEO sent me two conflicting overpayment notices for $4500 - impossible to reach anyone on phone

Unfortunately, this is pretty common with DEO. They're notorious for sending contradictory overpayment notices, especially with their system 'updates'. You need to appeal both notices immediately - you only have 20 days from the date on the letter. Go to CONNECT, click on 'Determination, Pending Issue and Decision Summary' and look for the appeal option next to each overpayment. Upload all your paystubs from those months as evidence. Even if they're not answering phones, get the appeal in first to protect your rights.

Thank you for the quick reply! I'm panicking a bit. Do I need to appeal both notices separately or just one? And what happens if they don't respond to my appeal for months?

omg same thing hapend to me last month!!! they sent me 3 diffrent letters all saying difrent amounts. its like the left hand doesnt know what the right is doing over there. so frustrating!!!

Did you get it resolved? What did you end up doing?

This actually happened to me a few months ago. You absolutely need to appeal BOTH notices within the 20-day window. Make sure you have documented evidence of your employment for those months (pay stubs, bank deposits, tax forms, anything). DEO's system sometimes fails to recognize employment if your employer filed their quarterly reports incorrectly or late.\n\nAs for getting through on the phone, I tried for weeks with no luck. I finally used Claimyr (claimyr.com) to get through to a real person. They have a service that connects you with DEO agents without the endless busy signals. There's a video showing how it works: https://youtu.be/UzW_hbUy-ss?si=zORd51jeq1GX5Ldj. I was skeptical but it actually worked, and I got connected to someone who explained the whole mess and put notes on my account while I appealed.

Thank you for the recommendation! At this point I'll try anything to talk to a human being at DEO. I'll check out that service. Did the agent you spoke with have any power to actually fix things or did you still have to go through the full appeal process?

THEY ARE DOING THIS ON PURPOSE!!! The DEO is trying to claw back money to balance their budget. They know most people won't fight it and will just pay. They did the same thing to my cousin and when he finally got through, they 'magically' found his employment records and canceled the overpayment. It's a SCAM!

While I understand your frustration, this is more likely a system error than a deliberate scam. DEO's computer system has had major issues since the pandemic. In my experience as a career counselor who works with many unemployment claimants, these contradictory letters usually happen when there's a wage dispute or when employer quarterly reports don't match what you reported on your claims. Always appeal and provide documentation rather than assuming malicious intent.

Check if the letters say anything about 'wage credits' or 'monetary determination.' Sometimes when they audit old claims, they find discrepancies in reported wages. If you had multiple employers during that base period or did any gig work, that could be part of the confusion. The different amounts might be because one notice includes penalties while the other doesn't.

One does mention something about monetary redetermination! I did have a side gig during that time that I reported on my taxes. Could that be causing this mess?

I had a similar situation last year and found that sending a certified letter to their appeals department (along with the online appeal) actually got results faster than phone calls. Address it to: Department of Economic Opportunity, Office of Appeals, PO Box 5250, Tallahassee, FL 32314-5250\n\nMake sure to include:\n- Your name and claimant ID\n- Copies of BOTH overpayment notices\n- All evidence of employment (pay stubs, W-2, tax returns)\n- A clear explanation of the error\n\nKeep copies of EVERYTHING you send and get a tracking number. It's a pain, but it creates a paper trail they can't ignore.

This is incredibly helpful! I'm going to prepare this tonight and send it tomorrow. Did you also have to do the online appeal or was the certified letter enough?

Definitely do both! The online appeal meets their deadline requirement, but in my experience, the physical letter often gets faster attention. Just make sure your explanation is clear and concise. Good luck!

have u checked ur CONNECT inbox? sometimes they send messages there explaing why ur getting the notices. mine had a message saying my employer reported different wages than what i claimed. turned out my employer made the mistake not me.

I looked and there's nothing in my CONNECT inbox that explains these notices. The system is so frustrating! I'm going to try to gather all my documentation and file those appeals today.

I've been following this thread and wanted to add: make sure you're checking both the

Thank you! I checked both sections and found more details in the Overpayment Summary. It looks like they're claiming I didn't report some income, but I definitely did. I have screenshots of all my weekly claims where I reported everything. Should I include those in my appeal too?

Absolutely include those screenshots! Any evidence showing you reported correctly will strengthen your case. Also include a timeline of events if possible - it helps the appeals referee follow what happened when.

Quick update for everyone following this thread: I spoke with my contact at CareerSource Florida today, and they mentioned DEO has been doing a large batch of automated account reviews for 2022-2023 claims, which is generating many incorrect overpayment notices. They're aware of the issue but haven't announced it publicly. Still file your appeal within the deadline, but know this appears to be a widespread system problem affecting many claimants right now.

That actually makes me feel a little better knowing it's a system-wide issue and not just me. I've prepared my appeal with all the documentation everyone suggested. Thank you all for the help during this stressful situation!