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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.
Worth not wasting your time calling for hours.
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.
IT WORKS!! Not a scam!
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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Just be aware that you'll need to keep doing job searches even for partial benefits! A lot of people don't realize this but NYS Department of Labor still requires you to look for work and log your job contacts even if you're working full-time. It's annoying but that's the rule.
Wait really? I have to job search while working full-time? That seems weird since I already have a full-time job. What kind of jobs am I supposed to be looking for?
You need to search for work that would replace the income you lost from your part-time job. So if you lost a retail position, you'd look for similar part-time or full-time retail work. The job search requirement applies to all UI claimants regardless of their current employment status.
I was in a similar situation a few months ago! I lost my part-time evening job at a restaurant while keeping my full-time day job. What helped me was gathering all my wage statements from both employers for the past 18 months before filing. NYS Department of Labor used my combined earnings from both jobs to calculate my weekly benefit rate, then reduced it based on what I still earn from my full-time job. The process took about 3 weeks to get my first payment, but it was worth it since I was getting around $180/week in partial benefits. Just make sure to report your full-time wages accurately each week when you certify - any discrepancies will cause delays.
Thanks for sharing your experience! $180/week is definitely worth the effort. Quick question - when you say you gathered wage statements for 18 months, did you need physical pay stubs or were digital copies okay? I have most of mine saved electronically but a few of the older ones from my part-time job I might need to request from HR.
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I'm new to this community but have been following this incredible thread as someone who's currently 10 weeks into my own review hell. @Jamal Thompson I can't believe you waited 6+ months - that's absolutely insane, but I'm so relieved you finally got answers through Claimyr! The employer verification issue seems to be plaguing so many of us based on all these stories. This thread has been more helpful than any official resource I've encountered. I had no idea about the OSI complaint option @Luca Esposito mentioned, or the formal determination letter strategy from @Giovanni Gallo. The fact that we have to become unemployment system experts and use third-party services just to get basic information about our own claims is ridiculous, but I'm grateful we're all sharing what actually works. I've been certifying religiously every week like you did, but the uncertainty is really wearing me down mentally. I'm definitely going to try Claimyr this week and send that certified letter too - the multi-pronged approach seems to be key based on everyone's experiences here. Thanks to everyone who's shared their strategies and stories. This community support means everything when you feel completely abandoned by the system that's supposed to help you. Will update with any progress!
Welcome to this amazing support network @StarSeeker! I'm also relatively new here but have been blown away by how much more helpful this community is than any official channels. 10 weeks is already way too long to be stuck in limbo, but reading @Jamal Thompson s'6+ month journey and eventual success really shows that persistence with the right strategies can break through even the most stubborn cases. The employer verification issue is clearly a massive systemic problem affecting so many people - it s'mind-blowing that these simple issues can tie up claims for months without any communication to the claimant. I m'planning to try the same combination approach that s'worked for others here - the Claimyr service for getting to actual humans who can see what s'wrong, the formal determination letter for creating official pressure, and potentially that OSI complaint option as escalation. It s'absolutely infuriating that we have to become unemployment detectives and pay for third-party services just to access our own benefits, but at least we re'all sharing the knowledge and supporting each other through this bureaucratic nightmare. The mental toll of the uncertainty is so real - hang in there and please keep us posted on your progress. This community really is a lifeline when the system fails us!
I'm going through something very similar right now - 4 months into review with absolutely no communication from NYSDOL. Reading your story @Jamal Thompson gives me hope that there might actually be a specific fixable issue rather than my claim just being lost forever! The employer verification problem you discovered seems to be incredibly common based on all these experiences. I had no idea about services like Claimyr or the formal determination letter approach until reading this thread. It's completely ridiculous that we have to become unemployment system experts and pay for third-party services just to get basic information about our own claims, but I'm grateful this community exists to share what actually works when the official channels fail us completely. I've been certifying every week religiously too, but the mental toll of not knowing anything is really getting to me. Definitely going to try the Claimyr service this week and send that certified letter @Giovanni Gallo outlined. Thank you everyone for sharing your strategies and experiences - this thread has been more helpful than months of calling the regular NYSDOL line! Will update here with any progress.
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I went through this same confusion when I first applied! The key thing to remember is that you can always double-check your assigned filing day by logging into your my.ny.gov account - it should show your specific weekly claim filing day right on your dashboard. I'd recommend taking a screenshot of that info so you don't forget. Also, if you're ever unsure about whether you're filing correctly, the Department of Labor customer service line can confirm your schedule, though as others mentioned the wait times can be brutal. Better to be safe than sorry with your benefits!
That's really helpful advice about taking a screenshot! I just checked my my.ny.gov account and you're right - it clearly shows my filing day right there on the dashboard. I was overthinking this whole thing. Thanks for the tip about having that info saved, especially since the website can be slow sometimes when you're trying to log in.
One thing I learned the hard way - if you're filing your weekly certification late in the evening or early morning around your filing day, double check that you're certifying for the correct week! The system can be a bit confusing about which week you're supposed to be filing for, especially if you're filing right at the boundary between weeks. I accidentally certified for the wrong week once and it delayed my payment by several days while they sorted it out. The safest approach is to file during normal business hours on your assigned day when possible.
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The NYS Department of Labor portal is confusing honestly. I got approved but it took me forever to figure out where to find the actual confirmation. They really need to make the interface clearer about what each status means!!!
I'm going through the same thing right now! Just filed last week and the waiting is nerve-wracking. From what I've read here and elsewhere, the key things to look for are: 1) A weekly benefit amount showing up (not $0), 2) No "pending issues" or red flags in your claim status, and 3) The monetary determination letter that should appear in your documents section. The first payment delay seems pretty normal from what everyone's saying - the state system just takes time to process everything. Keep doing those weekly certifications though, that's important even while waiting for approval!
This is really helpful, thank you! I'm in a similar boat - filed about a week ago and constantly refreshing my account to see if anything changes. The waiting is definitely stressful when you're depending on that income. Good to know that doing the weekly certifications is important even before getting official approval. Did you end up seeing your weekly benefit amount pretty quickly after filing, or did that take a while to show up too?
Evelyn Martinez
This is so frustrating! I'm dealing with something similar but with my regular unemployment certification - the whole NY system seems to have issues every few weeks. Have you tried calling the NY DOL directly at 888-209-8124? Sometimes they can see what's going on with your account even if it's a Key2Benefits issue, since they're the ones who send the payments there. Also, if you have any local career centers or American Job Centers nearby, some of them have staff who can help navigate these technical problems. Worth a shot while you're trying the other suggestions people mentioned!
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Mateo Warren
•Thanks for that DOL number! I've been so focused on trying to reach Key2Benefits directly that I didn't think about calling the main unemployment office. That's actually really smart since they're the ones sending the money in the first place. I'm gonna try that tomorrow morning along with the early calling strategy someone else mentioned. Really appreciate all the helpful suggestions everyone!
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Charity Cohan
I had the EXACT same problem 2 weeks ago - couldn't access my Key2Benefits for almost a week and was panicking about rent! What finally worked for me was calling the Key2Benefits customer service line at 866-295-2955 (the fraud/security department number someone mentioned earlier) super early in the morning around 7:45am. I got through on the second try and the agent was able to see that my account had been flagged for "unusual login activity" even though I was just trying to check my balance like normal. She unlocked it immediately and I could access my funds right away. The whole call took maybe 10 minutes once I got through. Also try the mobile app if you haven't already - sometimes that bypasses whatever is blocking the website. Don't give up, your money is definitely still there and this is fixable!
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Omar Farouk
•This is super helpful! I'm definitely going to try calling that fraud/security number early tomorrow morning. It's reassuring to hear from someone who had the exact same issue and got it resolved quickly once they reached the right department. I've been so stressed thinking my money was just gone forever. Thanks for sharing the specific time that worked for you too - 7:45am sounds like the sweet spot before everyone else starts calling. Really appreciate you taking the time to share your experience!
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