For A Bad Time Call: The Journey To Getting My Unemployment Benefits

Julia Gomez/Staff Writer

People everywhere have lost their jobs due to COVID-19. Many are scrambling to pay bills and make ends meet. Those who have already applied to receive unemployment benefits have faced the harsh reality of how unprepared our government has been for this catastrophe.

On Tuesday, June 30, my bank account rejected my unemployment checks. They said it was because someone had entered the wrong routing number, despite Unemployment having already sent three checks before. I stayed on the phone with them from 8:00 a.m. to 5:00 p.m. trying to fix it.

Yes, it was as miserable as it sounds.

I needed to log into my Unemployment account and edit my bank’s routing and account number, despite Unemployment having already sent three direct deposits into my account.

Editing your personal information sounds simple enough. Except, when I logged in, the menu option titled “View and Maintain Account” wasn’t there. That’s what you need to click to edit your information. Apparently, it was a glitch and the operator I spoke to said I’m not the only one it’s happened to.

After calling 15 times only to have a robot hang up on me repeatedly, I was finally able to hear an actual human’s voice.

They tried helping me, said they needed to wait for a supervisor and put me on hold for two hours. I wished it would just end! Well, my wish came true when the call dropped, and I had to start the process all over again.

After calling a few more times and interacting with the robot some more, the nicest woman answered the phone and we were stuck there for four hours. She checked in on me, made sure I was still there and called me back the two times the call dropped. We waited for her supervisor to help fix my issue.

Finally, we did it! Her supervisor worked some long-awaited magic, and they told me it would be fixed in three days.

Three days came and went, and after sitting in a virtual waiting room for two hours to be able to log in, nothing changed. So, the whole process began all over again. I called six or seven times before I could speak to a person and not an answering machine.

I have one week left to claim the check. I don’t know if I’d rather be broke or deal with them again.

This time, no one could help me, as the website was down. The man I spoke to just said everything I had been told previously was wrong and that I should check back Monday before claiming my money. Saturday and Sunday, the call center and the website stayed down, forcing people to wait till 8:00 a.m. on Monday to claim their checks.

It was July 23, and nothing had been fixed.

I can’t afford to wait for Unemployment to actually become efficient. I took the L. I had to wait for a new debit card to come in and transfer the money from there to my bank account. I have to pay my credit card bill, put gas in my car and take it into the mechanic. I’m privileged enough to still be living with my mom, who can afford to support me, or else I wouldn’t know what to do.

People are depending on this money to feed themselves and their families, and to pay their bills. Instead of investing in something that works, Florida’s government is using a website that’s glitching out, can only be accessed from 8:00 am to 8:00 pm on weekdays and doesn’t have enough operators to answer the flood of calls coming. The government is taking the easy way out and leaving the citizens most vulnerable to fight COVID-19 alone.

I got my debit card a few days after. It shouldn’t affect how much money I receive, and it won’t charge me any fees. But I don’t trust them.

That whole week was filled with anxiety and dread. I jumped through so many hoops just to be able to speak to an actual person, and each person would tell me something that contradicted what the other said. My unemployment money is almost out, and I have one week left to claim the check. I don’t know if I’d rather be broke or deal with them again. 

Those of us taking these extra steps are taking them because Florida never had a plan for something so devastating to happen. And the state still doesn’t have an efficient plan that supports citizens facing the consequences of unemployment. 

If our Governor, senators and representatives don’t want to fight for unemployment benefits that actually help Floridians, there’s a simple solution. Come November, they can be easily voted out. See? Simple, efficient and easy. Everything Unemployment isn’t.

DISCLAIMER:

The opinions presented within this page do not represent the views of PantherNOW Editorial Board. These views are separate from editorials and reflect individual perspectives of contributing writers and/or members of the University community.

Featured photo from FIU Flickr.