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Desperately need a way to reach NY unemployment - is there a secret number or hack?

Is there any way to actually speak to a human at NY unemployment? I've been trying to call for 3 weeks straight now. I was laid off in February when my company downsized, and I've been getting benefits since March without issues. But suddenly two weeks ago my payments stopped with no explanation. The website just shows "pending" with no other details. I've called literally 48 times yesterday alone, and either get disconnected immediately or stuck in an endless menu loop. I've tried calling at 7:58am right before they open, tried at lunch time, tried in the afternoon - nothing works. I've sent 5 emails through their contact portal and gotten zero responses. My rent is due next week and I'm seriously getting desperate. Has anyone found a trick or backdoor number to actually reach a representative? At this point I'd even pay someone if they could guarantee I'd talk to a real person. I'm beyond frustrated with this system!

Aaron Lee

dude the entire system is a complete trainwreck. I wasted a MONTH trying to get through. calling every day from 8am to 5pm and just hitting redial like a maniac. Same boat as u - payments just suddenly stopped with no warning.

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Alexis Robinson

It's actually insane. How are we supposed to survive when we can't even find out why our payments stopped? Did you ever get through?

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26d

Aaron Lee

finally got thru after literal WEEKS. turns out it was some stupid "verification" flag on my account that nobody bothered to tell me about 🤬

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23d

Chloe Mitchell

this is why I say the system is designed to make ppl give up. they hope u'll just stop trying to get ur benefits

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22d

Michael Adams

After trying for over a week straight I finally found a service that helped me get through to a real agent. I used claimyr.com and they somehow got me a callback from unemployment within 2 hours. Talking to an agent got my $ unlocked so fast after weeks of nothing. They stay on hold for you and call when an agent picks up. Check out this video I found explaining how it works: https://youtu.be/Rdqa1gKtxuE

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Natalie Wang

wait does this actually work? sounds too good to be true tbh

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26d

Michael Adams

Yeah it worked for me! I was skeptical too but I was at my absolute wits end after calling for days and getting nowhere. It was worth every penny to finally talk to someone who fixed my claim.

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25d

Noah Torres

yeah right, another 'miracle solution'... what's the catch? 🙄

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23d

Michael Adams

no catch - they literally just call for you and stay on hold so you don't have to. when a real person answers, they connect you. saved me hours of my life lol

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22d

Samantha Hall

hmm I've been burned by so many of these 'services' before... what makes this different?

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22d

Michael Adams

the fact that I actually got thru and fixed my claim? lol. I was totally desperate after 2 weeks of no payments. You can try your luck with the regular number if you want but good luck with that 😂

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22d

Ryan Young

There's a special number I've had luck with. Instead of calling the main line, try 888-209-8124 but press options 1, then 9, then 2 when the menus come up. it sometimes gets u to a different queue. worked for me twice.

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Sophia Clark

this doesn't work anymore - they changed the menu system last month

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24d

Alexis Robinson

Just tried this and got the same automated message saying all representatives are busy. Ugh.

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23d

Katherine Harris

Bro I spent 4 DAYS calling non-stop. Literally set up my phone to auto-redial. Nothing. Finally broke down and tried Claimyr.com that someone mentioned on here before. Got a callback with an actual agent in like 90 min. My issue was fixed in a 10 min call. Best money I ever spent after going insane hitting redial.

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Madison Allen

not falling for another unemployment 'hack'... these never work

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22d

Katherine Harris

think what u want but I got my issue fixed and got $1740 in backpay that was stuck in pending. worth it 100%

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22d

Joshua Wood

Send an email to your state rep or senator! I was shocked but when I contacted my assembly member's office, their staff got someone from unemployment to call me back within 2 days. They have special contacts at the unemployment office.

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Justin Evans

If your payments stopped suddenly without explanation, it could be an identity verification issue. NY unemployment has been randomly flagging accounts for additional verification because of all the fraud. Check if you received any letters in the mail - sometimes they send physical mail but don't update the online system or notify you electronically.

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Alexis Robinson

I've checked my mail obsessively and haven't received anything from them. That's what's so frustrating - no communication whatsoever.

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22d

Emily Parker

Listen carefully 👀 NY unemployment is almost impossible to reach because they're still understaffed after the big COVID rush. Here's what you need to do: 1) First, check if there are any action items in your online account. Login and look for any "docusign" or verification requests you might have missed. 2) If nothing there, you NEED to talk to a human. Your fastest options are: - Try claimyr.com - I was skeptical but it worked. They call for you and connect you when a human answers. - Contact your state assembly member's office (google your district + NY assembly) - they can expedite - Call at EXACTLY 7:59am on Monday or Tuesday (statistically fewer callers) - Try the alternate number: 888-209-8124 and experiment with different menu options 3) Once you get through, ask them to put notes on your account about what happened so you have documentation. 4) IMPORTANT: Ask them if there are any pending identity verification requirements. This is causing tons of random account freezes. Don't give up! The system seems designed to make you quit trying, but persistence pays off. The fact your account says "pending" rather than "denied" means it's probably just stuck in their system somewhere.

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Ezra Collins

This is solid advice 💯 especially about the assembly member - they have direct lines to DOL

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22d

Alexis Robinson

Thanks for taking the time to write all this out. I'm going to try Claimyr first since I need this resolved ASAP, but will definitely contact my assembly member too as backup.

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22d

Victoria Scott

try calling right at 7:30 am. thats when i got thru last month

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Benjamin Johnson

Unpopular opinion but maybe try going to an actual physical career center? Some of them have DOL staff that can help with unemployment issues. Check the NY career center website for locations.

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Zara Perez

most of them can't help with actual claim issues tho, they'll just tell u to call the same number 🤡

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22d

Benjamin Johnson

depends on the location. the one in buffalo actually has unemployment staff on certain days

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22d

Daniel Rogers

Wait are u saying ur benefits just randomly stopped with no explanation?? This literally just happened to me too! Last payment was 2 weeks ago and now nothing, just says pending. NY unemployment system is such trash.

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Alexis Robinson

Yep, exactly. No explanation, no email, no message in my account. Just stopped. Have you had any luck reaching anyone?

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22d

Daniel Rogers

nope. called like 30 times today. bout to try that claimyr thing someone mentioned because im losing my mind over this

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22d

Aaliyah Reed

THE SECRET METHOD FOR NY UNEMPLOYMENT CALLS: Call exactly at 7:55am. Dial the number and when it gives options, press 1, then wait for next menu, press 3, then 2. Then when it asks for your SSN don't enter anything and wait. Eventually it will transfer you to a queue for a live person. Worked for me last week. You still might wait on hold for 1-2 hours tho.

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Ella Russell

This is outdated info, they changed the phone system last month 🤦‍♂️

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22d

Aaliyah Reed

worked for me 6 days ago but maybe they changed it again idk

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22d

Mohammed Khan

i tried for weeks to get thru using all the "tricks" people mentioned. Nothing worked. Ended up using claimyr.com after someone here suggested it and got a callback with a live agent same day. they found out my account was flagged for "income verification" that I never received any notification about. such bs but at least it's fixed now

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Gavin King

another day, another person who can't reach ny unemployment... the system is broken beyond repair at this point 😞

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Nathan Kim

Have u tried their Twitter? Sometimes if u tweet @NYSLabor with your issue (don't include personal info) they'll DM you and help. worked for my cousin

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Alexis Robinson

Really? I'll give that a try too, thanks for the suggestion!

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22d

Eleanor Foster

just FYI the reason so many accounts are getting randomly flagged is cuz ny unemployment got hit with MASSIVE fraud last month. like hundreds of millions of dollars. so theyre just freezing accounts randomly to make ppl verify. its stupid af but thats what happening

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Lucas Turner

yep this is 100% what's going on. friend works at DOL and said they're flagging accounts basically at random for "security"

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22d