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If I could give 10 stars I would
If I could give 10 stars I would If I could give 10 stars I would Such an amazing service so needed during the times when EDD almost never picks up Claimyr gets me on the phone with EDD every time without fail faster. A much needed service without Claimyr I would have never received the payment I needed to support me during my postpartum recovery. Thank you so much Claimyr!
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Really made a difference, save me time and energy from going to a local office for making the call.
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Was a bit nervous or untrusting at first, but my calls went thru. First time the wait was a bit long but their customer chat line on their page was helpful and put me at ease that I would receive my call. Today my call dropped because of EDD and Claimyr heard my concern on the same chat and another call was made within the hour.
An incredibly helpful service
An incredibly helpful service! Got me connected to a CA EDD agent without major hassle (outside of EDD's agents dropping calls – which Claimyr has free protection for). If you need to file a new claim and can't do it online, pay the $ to Claimyr to get the process started. Absolutely worth it!
Consistent,frustration free, quality Service.
Used this service a couple times now. Before I'd call 200 times in less than a weak frustrated as can be. But using claimyr with a couple hours of waiting i was on the line with an representative or on hold. Dropped a couple times but each reconnected not long after and was mission accomplished, thanks to Claimyr.
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I tried for weeks to get thru to EDD PFL program with no luck. I gave this a try thinking it may be a scam. OMG! It worked and They got thru within an hour and my claim is going to finally get paid!! I upgraded to the $60 call. Best $60 spent!
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Congratulations on getting it working! Your step-by-step solution is really helpful. I'm dealing with a similar issue right now and haven't tried cleaning my camera lens yet - that's such a simple thing but makes total sense. The ID.me verification process is definitely frustrating, but it's great to see the community helping each other out with practical solutions. Going to try your exact steps tonight!
Hope it works for you too! The camera lens thing was definitely the game changer for me - I never would have thought of that on my own. It's crazy how such a small detail can mess up the whole verification process. Good luck with your attempt tonight, and feel free to update us on how it goes!
I went through this nightmare too a few weeks ago! After failing the photo verification about 12 times, I discovered that the issue was actually my internet connection being too slow. ID.me needs a stable, fast connection to process the facial recognition properly. I switched from my WiFi to my phone's hotspot and it worked immediately. Also, make sure you're holding your device completely still - even tiny movements can cause it to fail. The system is way more sensitive than it should be, but once you figure out the right combination it usually works. Don't give up!
That's a really interesting point about the internet connection! I never considered that the facial recognition might need more bandwidth than regular web browsing. I've been having intermittent WiFi issues lately, so that could definitely be part of my problem. I'll try using my phone's hotspot when I attempt the verification again. Thanks for sharing that tip - it's not something you'd think of right away but makes total sense!
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The whole system is such a pain honestly. I've been dealing with NYS Department of Labor for years with my restaurant and they change the rules constantly. Just make sure you keep detailed records of everything because they WILL ask for documentation later.
What kind of records do you mean? Like just payroll stuff or other things too?
Just went through this process myself a few months ago! @Liam O'Sullivan is spot on about the $300 threshold. One thing that helped me was calling the NYS Department of Labor early in the morning (like 8 AM sharp) - seemed to have better luck getting through then. Also, make sure you understand the difference between employees and independent contractors because that affects your UI liability. If you're just doing consulting work solo with 1099 contractors, you're probably not liable yet. But definitely get clarity before you start paying anyone regularly!
That's a great tip about calling early! I never would have thought of that timing strategy. Quick question - when you say 1099 contractors don't count toward the threshold, does that include if I'm paying the same contractor regularly throughout the year? Like if I have one person I work with consistently but they're still technically a contractor?
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I went through this exact situation about 8 months ago. Filed for UI right after my PFL ended when my company did layoffs, and it was approved without any issues. The NYS DOL treats the end of your leave as your last day of work, so there's no gap in coverage. Just make sure you have all your paperwork from HR about the position elimination - that helps show it wasn't voluntary separation. Good luck with everything!
That's really helpful to hear from someone who actually went through it! Did you have any trouble with the work search requirements right away, or did they give you some time to get situated after just having a baby? I'm also wondering if you had to do anything special to document that your position was eliminated versus just taking a regular layoff.
I'm in a similar boat - just finished my PFL last month and my company announced "restructuring" that eliminated several positions including mine. From what I've learned, you should definitely file immediately since there's no waiting period between PFL and UI. Make sure to get everything in writing from your employer about the position elimination - I had to request a formal letter stating my job was eliminated due to business reasons, not performance. Also, when you file online, there's a specific section where you can indicate you were on family leave, so be upfront about it. The process was actually smoother than I expected once I got all the documentation together. Hang in there!
This is really valuable advice, especially about getting the formal letter from your employer! I'm curious - did you face any challenges with the work search requirements immediately after filing, or were you able to start looking for jobs right away? Also, how long did it take from filing to receiving your first payment? I'm trying to plan my finances during this transition period.
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I'm in a similar situation - just started collecting UI last month and considering doing some gig work to supplement. Reading through these responses is really helpful! One question I have is about tracking expenses - if I'm doing DoorDash and spending money on gas, can I deduct those expenses from what I report to NYS DOL, or do I need to report the full gross amount before any expenses? I want to make sure I'm doing this correctly from day one.
You need to report the full gross amount before any expenses to NYS DOL. So if you earn $150 from DoorDash but spent $30 on gas, you still report the full $150 on your weekly claim. The expense deductions are something you handle later when you file your taxes with the 1099, but for unemployment purposes they only care about your gross earnings. It's definitely confusing but better to over-report than under-report!
Another important thing to keep in mind - when you're doing DoorDash or any gig work while on UI, make sure you're setting aside money for taxes! Since you're getting 1099 income, there won't be any taxes withheld, so you might owe at tax time. I usually put about 25-30% of my gig earnings in a separate account to cover self-employment taxes. Also, keep detailed records of all your deliveries, mileage, and expenses - it'll make tax season much easier and help you maximize your deductions when you file.
This is really smart advice! I didn't even think about the tax implications. So if I'm making like $200-300 a week from gig work, I should probably set aside around $60-90 for taxes? That's a good chunk but better than getting hit with a huge bill later. Do you use any apps to track your mileage automatically or do you just keep a manual log?
Brianna Schmidt
This whole situation is such a mess! I've been using my Chime account for unemployment since February and just found out about this change when I tried to certify yesterday. Like others have said, I got absolutely zero notification about this. I'm going to go with the NY Direct Payment Card option for now since I can't afford to wait weeks to open a new bank account. Does anyone know if there are any fees associated with the state debit card? And can you use it at any ATM or just specific ones? Really frustrated that they made this change with such little notice. Some of us rely on these payments and can't just switch banks overnight!
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Zoe Papadakis
•I'm in the exact same boat! Just found out about this yesterday too. From what I've read, the NY Direct Payment Card doesn't have monthly fees, but there might be ATM fees if you use out-of-network ATMs. You should be able to use it at most ATMs that accept MasterCard or Visa (whichever network the card uses). There's usually a list of fee-free ATMs that comes with the card info. Also, you can typically do one free withdrawal per month at any ATM. Hope this helps - we're all figuring this out together!
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Pedro Sawyer
Just wanted to share my experience for anyone still dealing with this mess - I switched to a local credit union after this Chime thing happened and it was actually way easier than I expected. Took about 30 minutes to open the account online and they had zero fees for basic checking. The direct deposit switch in the NYSDOL portal was instant once I had the routing/account numbers. I know it's frustrating having to change everything, but honestly the credit union has been better than Chime in a lot of ways. No random holds on deposits, better customer service, and I don't have to worry about them randomly changing their policies. If anyone needs suggestions for fee-free credit unions in NY, I can share what I found!
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Kaitlyn Otto
•That's really helpful to know! I'd definitely appreciate any suggestions for fee-free credit unions in NY. I'm in the Buffalo area if that makes a difference. I was dreading having to deal with traditional banks and all their fees, but if credit unions are actually better than what I had with Chime, maybe this change won't be so bad after all. How long did it take for your first unemployment deposit to go through to the new account?
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