Lots of people are unemployed...including soon-to-be former Governor Blagojevich. So it's understandable that the people who work for various unemployment offices are really busy. My local office usually has a line around the block before the office opens in the morning.
At this point I've been unemployed for almost five weeks, but I had yet to receive a single payment. I started trying to call them last week. Usually, they're so busy that I have to call at least half a dozen times before I am able to get through to an operator, who is only able to transfer me to an account representative. And the representatives are always busy, so it goes to their voicemails. By noon yesterday, I had left 13 voicemails.
Then I got a letter yesterday telling me that my claim had been denied because I had not worked during the eligibility period. WHAT??? I had worked at the same job without so much as taking a vacation for 18 months.
So I called and they told me that the best thing for me to do was to go to the office. So at 1:30
yesterday afternoon, I turned up at the office in a blind panic. When I checked in, they pulled up my file and the woman says, "Well here's your problem: You didn't have a job. This says the employer you claimed to have worked for denies you ever worked there." So I show her my final pay stub, my dismissal letter and my business card (you never know) and she says, "Well, you'll have to file an appeal," and then calls for the next person in line.
Okay, I am not about to simply be dismissed. I've never been on unemployment before, so I have no idea what's going on and I want to talk to someone. Obviously, no one is returning my calls, so I'm not going anywhere until I speak to someone. So I stand my ground and ask if there's someone I can speak with. The woman rolls her eyes and puts my name on the list.
At 4:45, they call my name (the office closes at 5). They take me and several other people and put us in a smaller room, where we wait to be called one by one to speak with a representative. Finally, they call my name.
The woman pulls up my file, then says, "Okay, this says your claim has been denied. Let's see why." I give her all my paperwork, she takes my dismissal letter, and then looks at the page in my file that applies to my job. "Well, here's the problem. Someone checked the wrong box. This says that your employer didn't even dispute your claim, and someone accidentally marked that they denied you worked there. I'll just uncheck it and you'll get all your money by Monday."
This has been so stressful and frustrating, that I burst into tears right there in the office. Apparently, this happens a lot, so she just hands me a tissue and says, "Okay, everything's fine now. Off you go."
Then today I was temping, and when it was done and I turned my phone back on, three people from unemployment had called me to let me know that there had been a problem with my claim, but it had been resolved.
Now, I understand that these people are overworked and underpaid and probably have a lot of people, like several of the people I was waiting with yesterday, who refuse to deal with them rationally and humanly but prefer to scream at them about "messin' with my money." But give me a break. I've been panicking for a week, leaving several messages per day, and only AFTER I turn up in person does anyone return my messages? Maybe they should solve part of the unemployment problem by hiring us as caseworkers.
At this point I've been unemployed for almost five weeks, but I had yet to receive a single payment. I started trying to call them last week. Usually, they're so busy that I have to call at least half a dozen times before I am able to get through to an operator, who is only able to transfer me to an account representative. And the representatives are always busy, so it goes to their voicemails. By noon yesterday, I had left 13 voicemails.
Then I got a letter yesterday telling me that my claim had been denied because I had not worked during the eligibility period. WHAT??? I had worked at the same job without so much as taking a vacation for 18 months.So I called and they told me that the best thing for me to do was to go to the office. So at 1:30
yesterday afternoon, I turned up at the office in a blind panic. When I checked in, they pulled up my file and the woman says, "Well here's your problem: You didn't have a job. This says the employer you claimed to have worked for denies you ever worked there." So I show her my final pay stub, my dismissal letter and my business card (you never know) and she says, "Well, you'll have to file an appeal," and then calls for the next person in line.Okay, I am not about to simply be dismissed. I've never been on unemployment before, so I have no idea what's going on and I want to talk to someone. Obviously, no one is returning my calls, so I'm not going anywhere until I speak to someone. So I stand my ground and ask if there's someone I can speak with. The woman rolls her eyes and puts my name on the list.
At 4:45, they call my name (the office closes at 5). They take me and several other people and put us in a smaller room, where we wait to be called one by one to speak with a representative. Finally, they call my name.
The woman pulls up my file, then says, "Okay, this says your claim has been denied. Let's see why." I give her all my paperwork, she takes my dismissal letter, and then looks at the page in my file that applies to my job. "Well, here's the problem. Someone checked the wrong box. This says that your employer didn't even dispute your claim, and someone accidentally marked that they denied you worked there. I'll just uncheck it and you'll get all your money by Monday."
This has been so stressful and frustrating, that I burst into tears right there in the office. Apparently, this happens a lot, so she just hands me a tissue and says, "Okay, everything's fine now. Off you go."
Then today I was temping, and when it was done and I turned my phone back on, three people from unemployment had called me to let me know that there had been a problem with my claim, but it had been resolved.
Now, I understand that these people are overworked and underpaid and probably have a lot of people, like several of the people I was waiting with yesterday, who refuse to deal with them rationally and humanly but prefer to scream at them about "messin' with my money." But give me a break. I've been panicking for a week, leaving several messages per day, and only AFTER I turn up in person does anyone return my messages? Maybe they should solve part of the unemployment problem by hiring us as caseworkers.
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