DEO sent message about action needed but my CONNECT inbox is empty - help!

Dude this EXACT same thing happened to me last month!!! I got all freaked out too but it turned out the message was actually under the 'fact finding' section and not actually in my inbox. Have you checked there? Go to your homepage dashboard and look for a section that says something about pending fact-finding or unresolved issues. Sometimes they send emails about inbox messages but it's actually in a totally different part of the site 🙄

This is a pretty common issue with the CONNECT system. The notifications DEO sends out often don't match where the actual tasks are located in the portal. Here are the places you should check for pending actions: 1. The regular inbox (which you've already checked) 2. The 'Fact Finding' section on your dashboard 3. The 'Determinations & Pending Issues' section 4. The 'Work Search' section if they're requesting your job search activities 5. The 'Benefits Overpayment' section if they're claiming you were overpaid Also, double-check that the email actually came from a legitimate DEO address. There are a lot of scams going around targeting unemployment claimants.

I had something similar happen but it was because I hadn't set up my ID.me account properly. They wanted me to verify my identity again but the notification went to some random place in the system. Missed it and had my payments delayed for 3 weeks while trying to sort it out.

The DEO system is GARBAGE. They deliberately make it confusing so people miss deadlines and they can deny benefits. I've had THREE different instances where they claimed they sent me messages that never appeared anywhere in my account, then they used that as an excuse to deny my payments. Then I had to spend WEEKS appealing. The whole system is designed to frustrate people into giving up.

Call them ASAP! If you're seeing the deadline is today, you need to talk to someone who can put a note on your account that you're actively trying to respond. The system will automatically flag your account if you miss the deadline. I've been thru this twice now and both times I had to call multiple times for days before I got through to a live person.

When you get these urgent notices but can't find anything in your inbox, it's usually because of how the system categorizes different types of requests. DEO makes it confusing by calling everything a "message" in their email notifications, when they should be specific about whether it's a fact-finding questionnaire, work search verification, identity verification, or something else. If you need to reach them quickly about this, I'd recommend using Claimyr (claimyr.com). They have a system that helps you get through to a live DEO agent without spending hours redialing. I was skeptical but they really did get me through to a person in about 20 minutes when I needed to fix a similar issue. They have a video demo showing how it works: https://youtu.be/UzW_hbUy-ss?si=zORd51jeq1GX5Ldj

ya i used that claimyr thing when my account got locked after id.me verification. it actually worked. not instant but way better than calling for days straight.

Good that you found the fact finding section! Even if it's due today, submit it anyway with as much documentation as you can. The system usually gives you until 11:59 PM tonight. If you're having trouble uploading documents, try making PDFs that are smaller than 5MB each - the system often rejects larger files. Also, take screenshots of your submission confirmation page as proof you completed it on time. This can be helpful if there's any dispute later about whether you met the deadline.

So glad you got it submitted in time! This is exactly why I always tell people to screenshot everything when dealing with DEO - their system can be so unpredictable. For anyone else reading this thread, it's also worth noting that you can usually request an extension on fact-finding deadlines if you have a legitimate reason (like the system not properly notifying you where to find the request). But obviously it's better to meet the original deadline when possible. Hope your benefits continue without any hiccups!

Reading through this whole thread as someone who's been dealing with DEO for over a year now - this is unfortunately super common. The CONNECT system has so many different sections and they're not intuitive at all. Beyond what others mentioned (Fact Finding, Determinations, Work Search), also check the "Correspondence" section if you have one - sometimes urgent requests end up there too. One thing that helped me was creating a weekly routine of checking ALL these sections every Sunday, not just the main inbox. That way I catch things before they become urgent. Also, if you do miss a deadline in the future, don't panic - you can usually appeal or request a waiver, especially if you can show the system didn't properly notify you. Keep records of everything! Glad you got yours submitted in time Nora! 🙌

Just want to echo what everyone else has said - this exact scenario happened to me about 6 months ago and it's SO stressful when you get that urgent email but can't find anything! The CONNECT system really needs better organization. For anyone else who finds this thread in the future, here's my quick checklist when you get one of those "action needed" emails: 1. Check regular inbox first (obvious but start there) 2. Look at your dashboard homepage for any red flags or notifications 3. Check Fact Finding section (this is where most "urgent" requests end up) 4. Look in Determinations & Pending Issues 5. Check Work Search section if it's about job search requirements 6. Don't forget the Correspondence section that Malik mentioned The key thing I learned is that DEO's email notifications are basically useless for telling you WHERE to actually find the thing they're talking about. They just say "check your inbox" for everything when it could be in like 5 different places. Really glad you found it and got it submitted Nora! The fact that you made it with 20 minutes to spare shows how broken their notification system is - you shouldn't have had to hunt through a forum to figure out where your "inbox message" actually was! 😤

This whole thread is a perfect example of why we need better resources for navigating DEO's messy system! As someone who's been helping folks with unemployment issues for a while, I see this exact problem come up constantly. A few additional tips for anyone dealing with similar issues: - Set up email alerts/reminders to check ALL sections of CONNECT weekly, not just when you get those vague "action needed" emails - If you're tech-savvy, bookmark direct links to each section (Fact Finding, Determinations, etc.) so you can quickly cycle through them - Keep a simple log of what you checked and when - it can help if you need to prove you were actively monitoring your account - Remember that "business days" for DEO deadlines usually means Monday-Friday, so weekend days don't count against you The community support here is incredible - it's sad that we have to crowdsource solutions to basic system navigation, but at least we're helping each other out! Nora, so glad you got everything submitted in time. Stories like yours should be sent to DEO as feedback about how confusing their notification system is.