Unemployment took back my entire $1,189 payment from August 20th with two negative transactions - why is my balance now $0?

This happened to me too! It means they determined you were overpaid and now they're taking back the money. Check your messages in your account or watch your mail for a determination letter explaining why. You have 30 days to appeal once you get the letter if you think they're wrong.

I finally got through to a rep about my negative balance issue by using this service called Claimyr (claimyr.com). It let me skip the phone queue and got a callback with an actual agent on the line. Talking to the agent got my $ situation resolved in one call - turns out mine was a system error! They fixed it and reissued my payment. Best investment ever after weeks of getting nowhere. Check out their demo here: https://youtu.be/Rdqa1gKtxuE

Negative balance usually means one of three things: 1. You reported income incorrectly for some weeks and they're reclaiming overpayment 2. They determined you weren't eligible for some reason after initially approving you 3. System error (happens more than you'd think) Either way, you need to talk to an actual human ASAP. If you wait too long to address it, they might start garnishing future wages or tax refunds. When I had this problem last year, I used claimyr.com to get through to an agent quickly instead of trying to call hundreds of times myself. The agent was able to explain exactly what happened and tell me my options for appeal or payment plan. Also check your online account for any new documents or determinations - sometimes they post stuff there before mailing it. And definitely appeal within the deadline if you think it's wrong!

the EXACT thing happened to me, almost same amount too. Found out they audited my claim and decided i wasnt eligible for a certain period. had to set up a payment plan to pay it back 🤦‍♂️

hate to be that person but make sure you didn't miss any weekly certifications or accidentally report something wrong. I had a negative balance when I forgot to report some part time work and they caught it in a quarterly review.

this is why i keep DETAILED records of everything. screenshots of every certification, copies of all letters, notes from every phone call. NY unemployment system is a mess and they make mistakes ALL THE TIME. don't just assume they're right about the overpayment.

Check if this is related to the end of federal benefits programs. Sometimes they miscalculate when transitioning people back to regular state benefits.

That negative amount is weirdly specific - not a round number. Makes me think it could be related to taxes. Did you have them withholding taxes and maybe they adjusted something?

The ny unemployment system has been doing random audits like crazy lately. Got a letter saying they were reviewing 8 month old claims! Sounds like you got caught in one of these. Definitely call and ask for the specific reason for the overpayment determination.

Not to scare you but if you dont respond to the overpayment notice they can garnish wages and take tax refunds. Happened to my cousin.

are u sure u didn't get a job and forgot to stop certifying? My roommate did that and had to pay back like $3000 😬

Call their fraud department directly instead of the main line. Sometimes gets you through faster and they can see all the notes on your account about why the negative balance happened. The number is on the NYSDOL website somewhere.

My partner went thru this last month. The negative amount was because they decided he wasn't looking for work properly even tho he submitted all his job search activities. Total BS but we're appealing it.

If u cant get thru by phone try reaching out to your state assembly person!!! They have special contacts and can often get answers faster than u can. Worked for me when I had a similar issue.

sometimes the system automatically flags accounts for review when you hit certain thresholds (like 26 weeks of benefits or when you switch from one type of claim to another). might just be a routine audit.

Have u checked ur mail??? Sometimes they send the explanation letter through regular mail even if u selected electronic communications. Check ur spam folder too.

DONT PANIC YET!! I had a negative balance show up and it was literally just a system glitch. Called them (took forever to get through but finally did with claimyr.com) and they fixed it on the spot. Sometimes their system does weird things during updates.

I've been dealing with NY unemployment for 18 months and here's what I can tell u: DOCUMENT EVERYTHING. Take screenshots of your payment history before and after the negative amount. Save any emails or messages. Write down names of anyone you speak to. You'll need all this if you have to appeal.

just throwing this out there but have u moved recently? sometimes when your address changes they can flag your account for verification and hold payments