NY unemployment payment delayed weeks - can't reach ANYONE for help!
I'm at my absolute breaking point with NY unemployment!!! My payments have been delayed for almost 3 weeks now and I CANNOT get through to a single human being. I owe my landlord money already, I'm literally running out of food and basic toiletries... yet nobody at unemployment seems to care at ALL!!! I've tried calling their number probably 50+ times and either get disconnected or stuck in endless menus. I messaged them on Twitter, NOTHING - nobody called me back. I even called my state senator's office for help and STILL NO RESPONSE from anyone. How are people supposed to survive when the system completely fails us like this? Has anyone actually managed to get through to a real person recently? This is seriously affecting my ability to pay for basic necessities and I don't know what to do anymore.
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Andre Rousseau
same exact thing happening to me rn. been waiting on payments for 4 weeks, rent due tomorrow, cant get anyone on the phone. tried calling at 7:58am right before they open and still nothing. unemployment system is BROKEN
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Carmen Vega
•It's absolutely disgusting how they treat people. Did you try the online message center? I sent like 5 messages but nothing. Do you think showing up in person would help??? I'm desperate at this point
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Zoe Stavros
Sorry you're going through this. The NY unemployment system is definitely overwhelmed right now. Have you tried calling right at 8:00 AM when they open? Also, make sure you're still certifying weekly even if you're not receiving payments yet - this is critically important to getting your backpay once they resolve whatever issue is holding up your claim.
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Carmen Vega
•Yes I've tried calling right at 8am and still can't get through!! And I've been certifying every single week, haven't missed one. My account just shows all these weeks as "pending" with no explanation why or what I'm supposed to do. It's like they want people to become homeless!!!
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Jamal Harris
The system is designed to be frustrating to deter claims. I've been through this hell THREE TIMES in the last two years. Each time they suddenly "discover" a problem with my claim that takes weeks to resolve while I'm left with NO INCOME. Then when they finally fix it, they act like they did ME a favor!!!
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GalaxyGlider
•100% this. My cousin works for the state (not unemployment) and said they're chronically understaffed and their computer systems are from like 2005. Not an excuse, but explains why everything's so broken all the time.
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Mei Wong
While you wait for a resolution, make sure you document everything. Keep a log of every call attempt (date, time), take screenshots of your pending payments in the system, and save any correspondence. This will help when you finally reach someone and need to prove your case for backpay. Also, check if your claim has any alerts or messages in the online portal that might explain the delay. Sometimes there are verification issues they don't clearly communicate. Check the "Messages" and "Claim Status" sections carefully.
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Carmen Vega
•Thank you for the advice. I've been taking screenshots of everything. There are NO messages or alerts explaining why my payments are pending - that's what's so frustrating! It just says "pending" with no reason given. I have no idea what I need to fix or provide.
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Liam Sullivan
I was in the same boat last month - couldn't get through for 3 weeks while my claim was "pending" with no explanation. What finally worked for me was using Claimyr (claimyr.com). They have this system that gets you through to an actual unemployment agent without the endless busy signals. Cost me a bit but was worth it to finally get my issue resolved and payments flowing again. They have a demo video here: https://youtu.be/Rdqa1gKtxuE - I was skeptical at first but it actually worked when nothing else did.
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Andre Rousseau
•is that legit? sounds kinda sketchy tbh. did they actually get you through to someone?
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Liam Sullivan
•Yeah, I was super skeptical too, but it legitimately worked. They basically call the unemployment office for you and when they get through to a human, they connect you. Took about 45 minutes of waiting instead of days of failed calls. The agent I spoke with fixed my pending payments issue right on the call.
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Amara Okafor
Before you spend money on services, did you try checking if there's something specific holding up your claim? Sometimes it's a simple issue like identity verification. Log into your NY.gov account and look for any outstanding action items or documents they might need. Also check if you answered any certification questions in a way that triggered a review (like reporting income or availability for work issues).
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Carmen Vega
•I checked EVERYTHING in my account. No action items, no document requests, I've answered all certification questions consistently. It's like my payments just randomly went into a black hole with no explanation. That's why I'm so frustrated - I can't even see what the problem is to try and fix it myself!
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Jamal Harris
CALL YOUR STATE ASSEMBLY PERSON!!! Not the senator - the assembly rep. Their office got my claim fixed in 4 days when I was stuck for WEEKS with no help from unemployment directly. Google "[your county] NY state assembly" to find yours.
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Zoe Stavros
•This is excellent advice. State assembly representatives often have dedicated staff who know exactly who to contact at NYSDOL to resolve these issues. They can often get things moving much faster than you can on your own.
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Carmen Vega
•THANK YOU!!! I didn't think of trying my assembly person instead of senator. I'm going to call them first thing tomorrow morning. Really hope this works because I'm about to lose my mind!
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Andre Rousseau
did u try calling from a different phone? my friend said sometimes ur number gets flagged as spam if u call too many times and they auto-reject it. tried from my mom's phone and got thru after like 30 tries instead of never
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Carmen Vega
•Wait really?? That's a good idea, I've been calling from the same cell phone every time. I'll try using my roommate's phone tomorrow. At this point I'll try ANYTHING to get this resolved. Thanks for the tip!
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Zoe Stavros
Just wanted to check in - were you able to get this resolved? If you're still having trouble, make sure you're using the right number: 1-888-209-8124 for regular UI claims. Also, once you do get through, ask them to put a note on your account about the payment delay so there's a record of your attempt to resolve it.
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Carmen Vega
•I actually got through yesterday! Used my assembly person's office like someone suggested AND tried calling from a different phone. Finally reached someone who told me there was an "account review flag" on my claim that nobody bothered to tell me about! They said payments should resume within 72 hours. I'm cautiously optimistic but won't believe it until I see the money. Thanks everyone for the help - this forum was more useful than the actual DOL website!
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