your supposed to set up direct deposit as soon as u get approved for benefits bro! nobody should be using those trash KeyBank cards in 2023. too late now but for the future: login to ur account > payment method > direct deposit

I feel your pain! I had the exact same issue 3 weeks ago - card suddenly stopped working and I was stuck in automated hell. What finally worked for me was calling 866-295-2955 and when it asks for your card number, just stay silent. Don't press anything, don't speak. After about 45 seconds it will say "I'm having trouble hearing you, let me transfer you to an agent." Boom - straight to a real person. The wait was still about 25 minutes but at least I knew I was in the queue. Turns out they had flagged my card because I used it at two different grocery stores in the same day 🤦‍♀️ Rep fixed it in 5 minutes once I got through. Also definitely look into switching to direct deposit ASAP - I made the change right after that nightmare and it's been smooth sailing since.

I'm going through the exact same nightmare right now! Been trying to set up direct deposit for over a month and the system keeps rejecting my routing number even though I've used this same account for everything else including my stimulus payments and tax refunds. What's really frustrating is that I can see other people in the comments mentioning Claimyr - I actually tried them last week and they were able to get me connected to a real person at NYSDOL within about an hour. The agent told me there was some kind of "system flag" on accounts that had previous unemployment claims, and she had to manually override something on their end. My direct deposit finally went through 3 days later! It cost like $20 to use Claimyr but honestly it was worth every penny after wasting weeks trying to fix this myself. For anyone still struggling with this, I'd definitely recommend giving them a shot - their service actually works unlike the broken phone system.

I'm dealing with the exact same issue right now and it's driving me crazy! My routing number works perfectly fine for every other direct deposit I receive, but NY unemployment just keeps rejecting it. I've tried all the basic troubleshooting - different browsers, clearing cache, typing slowly, etc. Nothing works. What's really frustrating is that I can see from all these comments that this is clearly a widespread system issue, not individual user error. It seems like there are so many different potential causes - account flags, regional processing issues, account type restrictions, timing glitches. The fact that there's no clear solution or even acknowledgment from NYSDOL that this is a known problem is just inexcusable. At this point I'm seriously considering the Claimyr option that several people have mentioned since it seems like talking to an actual human is the only way to get this resolved. Has anyone found any other ways to reach a live agent without using a third-party service?

@OP - were you able to get through to someone? If you're still stuck, I also had luck emailing my local state assembly member's office. They have special liaisons at unemployment who can sometimes expedite these cases, especially when there's a technical issue like ID.me verification problems.

Great to see this got resolved! For anyone else who might face a similar name mismatch issue with ID.me verification, here's a quick summary of what worked: 1. Try the Claimyr service to actually reach an agent (seems to be the most reliable way based on this thread) 2. Have your legal name change documents ready when you call 3. The agent can update your name in the NYSDOL system and provide an ID.me workaround 4. Keep certifying weekly even while dealing with the issue 5. As backup options: contact ID.me support directly, try the technical support line at 1-855-528-5618, or reach out to your state representative The key seems to be getting past that initial phone barrier - once you talk to an actual person, they can usually resolve the name mismatch pretty quickly. Really helpful thread for anyone dealing with expired benefit years and verification problems!

The whole unemployment tax thing is so confusing. I thought government benefits weren't supposed to be taxed? Like why do they give you money and then want some back??

Just wanted to add that you can also make estimated quarterly tax payments if you're worried about owing too much at the end of the year. Since you mentioned receiving about $8,000 in benefits, you might owe around $800-1,200 in federal taxes (depending on your tax bracket) plus whatever NY state taxes apply. If you're still collecting, definitely turn on the 10% federal withholding ASAP. And don't stress too much - this catches a lot of people off guard their first time dealing with unemployment taxes!

THIS HAPPENED TO ME! I made the mistake of filing for unemployment while still getting workers comp and now I owe NYS Department of Labor over $2800 in overpayments. Don't do it! Wait until your workers comp case is completely closed.

I went through something similar a few years ago. The NYS Department of Labor is really strict about this - they consider workers comp and unemployment as two different types of income replacement that can't overlap. Even though it seems unfair when you're struggling financially, trying to collect both can create serious legal issues. One thing that helped me was speaking with a workers comp attorney about potentially negotiating a settlement to close out my case faster, which then allowed me to pursue unemployment benefits. Also, make sure to document everything your employer tells you about light duty positions not being available - you'll need that evidence when you do apply for UI benefits later.