My son filed for unemployment benefits back in February after losing his job due to company downsizing. It's now been over 24 weeks and his claim is STILL showing 'under review'. He's been certifying religiously every week without fail, but hasn't received a single payment. He's called ny unemployment at least once a month since filing and keeps getting the runaround. About 6 weeks ago, a rep promised a 'specialist' would contact him within 10 business days to resolve the issue. Of course, no one ever called. How are people supposed to survive for half a year with no income? Has anyone else experienced this ridiculous wait time? Does anyone have suggestions on how to actually get his benefits started? This whole system seems designed to make people give up. Any advice would be incredibly appreciated!

I've been trying to get through to someone at unemployment for almost two weeks straight now. My claim has been pending since April (it's now June) and I'm seriously struggling to pay bills. I've tried calling early morning (7:30am), mid-day, and late afternoon. Every single time I either get an automated message saying they're experiencing high call volume and then it hangs up, or I get put on hold for 2+ hours only to get disconnected. I've tried the online message system three times but no response. I've even emailed my state rep but nothing yet. Has anyone actually managed to speak to a live person recently? If so PLEASE share your method because I'm about to lose my mind.

I've been trying to reach someone at the unemployment office for two whole weeks now with absolutely no success. My claim got flagged for some reason in April and payments suddenly stopped coming. I've called the main number literally more than 45 times, tried different times of day (early morning at 7:30am, mid-day around 2pm, and right before closing at 4:45pm). Every single time I get stuck in the automated system that eventually disconnects me or tells me call volumes are too high. I've also sent 5 messages through the online portal with no response. I'm starting to panic because rent is due next week and I've already burned through my savings. Has anyone figured out how to actually speak to a real person? This is getting ridiculous.

I just found out someone has been claiming unemployment benefits using my information since August! I only discovered this yesterday when I tried to file my own legitimate claim after being laid off from my restaurant job two weeks ago. When I logged into the portal, there was already an active claim that I never created. The system showed weekly certifications had been submitted since August 23rd with payments of around $490 going out regularly. I immediately froze the account and called the fraud department but kept getting disconnected. The payment address listed is somewhere in Buffalo - I've never even been to Buffalo! I checked my credit report and thankfully don't see any other suspicious activity, but I'm absolutely terrified about what other information this person might have. Has anyone dealt with something similar? How long did it take to resolve? I need to file my own legitimate claim ASAP since I have bills due next week.

Been fighting with ny unemployment for almost 3 months now. My claim has been stuck on 'pending' since April even though I got laid off in March during our company downsizing. Been calling the regular unemployment number literally hundreds of times with no success - either get disconnected or wait for hours just to have someone tell me they 'cant help with that issue'. Finally took advice from an online forum and reached out to my State Senator's office yesterday. The person who answered was super nice, took all my info (name, claim ID, contact details), and said they would submit some kind of 'legislative inquiry' for me. She mentioned I should expect a call 'soon' but didn't give any timeframe. Has anyone actually had success going this route? How long did it take for them to contact you after your Senator's office submitted the inquiry? Just wondering if this will actually help or if I'm just wasting more time while my savings disappear.