Does owing unemployment money to NYS Department of Labor affect credit score?
I just received an overpayment notice from NYS Department of Labor saying I owe $2,800 from unemployment benefits I received last year. I'm really worried about how this might impact my credit if I can't pay it back right away. Does anyone know if NYS Department of Labor reports unpaid unemployment debt to credit bureaus? I'm trying to figure out if this will show up on my credit report and hurt my score. Has anyone dealt with this situation before?
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Mia Rodriguez
Generally speaking, NYS Department of Labor doesn't report unemployment overpayments directly to credit bureaus initially. However, if the debt goes unpaid for an extended period and gets sent to collections or becomes a tax offset, that's when it could potentially impact your credit. You usually have options to set up a payment plan with NYS Department of Labor to avoid it reaching that point.
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Mason Davis
•That's somewhat reassuring. Do you know how long they typically give you before it goes to collections? I want to make sure I handle this properly.
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Jacob Lewis
i had an overpayment last year too, around $1500. they never reported it to my credit as far as i can tell. my score actually went up since then lol. but i did set up payments with them right away, like $75 a month
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Mason Davis
•How did you set up the payment plan? Did you have to call them or was there an online option?
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Jacob Lewis
•i had to call but it took forever to get through. like 2 hours on hold
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Amelia Martinez
The key thing is to respond to the overpayment notice within the timeframe they give you - usually 30 days. If you disagree with the overpayment, you can appeal it. If you agree but can't pay the full amount, you can request a payment plan. NYS Department of Labor typically works with people on reasonable payment arrangements. I've seen cases where people ignored the notices and ended up having their tax refunds intercepted, which is definitely something you want to avoid.
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Ethan Clark
•This is really helpful advice. I didn't even know you could appeal these things. What kind of documentation would you need for an appeal?
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Mila Walker
WAIT does this mean if I still owe money from my 2023 claim that my tax refund could get taken?? I've been putting off dealing with this overpayment notice because I thought it would just go away. This is really stressing me out now!
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Amelia Martinez
•Yes, NYS Department of Labor can and will intercept your state tax refund for unpaid overpayments. You should definitely contact them ASAP to set up a payment plan. Don't let it slide any longer.
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Mila Walker
•Ugh okay I guess I need to bite the bullet and call them. Has anyone had luck getting through to NYS Department of Labor recently? I keep hearing the wait times are insane.
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Logan Scott
I had a similar issue last year where I couldn't get through to NYS Department of Labor no matter how many times I called. A friend told me about this service called Claimyr (claimyr.com) that helps you actually reach agents at unemployment offices. I was skeptical at first but tried it and got connected to someone at NYS Department of Labor within like 10 minutes. They have a video demo at https://youtu.be/qyftW-mnTNI that shows how it works. I was able to set up my payment plan the same day instead of spending weeks trying to get through on my own.
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Mila Walker
•This sounds too good to be true but at this point I'm desperate. Is it expensive to use?
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Logan Scott
•It's worth it for the time it saves honestly. Way better than spending hours on hold or getting disconnected.
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Chloe Green
just wanted to say that my credit score is fine and i've had unemployment overpayments before. as long as you don't completely ignore them you should be okay. the real problem is when people just pretend it doesn't exist
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