So
I am attempting to apply for unemployment. According to the guidelines
issued by DC I should be eligible because COVID19 has shut down my job.
I tried to apply on-line. Things were going rather well. I was able to answer all of the questions. I then came to a section where they were going to verify who you are by asking you a set of questions. There were five of these. Each question had four answers one of which was always none of the above. (I have listed more than four questions the reason for which will become clear shortly).
So here are some of the questions asked to verify you are actually you:
1. The square footage of your house.
2. The year your house was built.
3. Who you bought the house from. (I've only been in my house for 17 plus years so how hard would that be. I was actually able to remember the name)
4. The amount of your original mortgage.
5. The amount of you most recent refinancing and that was down to the penny.
6. A list of phone numbers that may or may not be associated with you.
7. Street names that may or may not be associated with you.
8. A list of towns where people you know might live.
I mean after all everyone should remember all of those.
There were then three more questions. Verifying who your employer was. Asking if you'd worked in any other state. Finally when you were hired and when you're last day of work was along with why you were let go.
And this is where my problems started. I was repeatedly asked those same three questions over and over. I could not advance beyond that.
So I cancelled and decided maybe I should try another browser. I had started in Firefox. I used Safari and Chrome and got the same results. I then noticed that the recommended browser to use for the site the Explorer. Nothing like being on the cutting edge of technology.
I took a breather from this for a day or so. I decided I would try and call. These were the usual results I got when I called. A message saying all lines are busy call back. A message from Verizon saying all circuits were busy try the number again. Finally the phone was answered and you got nothing.
On a lark after lunch on Tuesday I tried calling. I actually got through. There were all the usual menu options of picking the right place to direct the call. Also some preliminary questions. I was then put into the hold line.
First off the hold music was absolutely terrible. Some classical trumpet solo. Really got on my nerves.
The second thing and more important is how long I was on hold. I was on hold for four hours. Four hours. And I never spoke to anyone.
In fact I stayed on the line an hour after the office closed at 4:30. I have a funny feeling I could have stayed on hold for hours and hours probably until Wednesday morning and still not have talked to anyone.
I know these are really tough times and agencies are overwhelmed. I'm lucky that I have access to some other funds. But what if I didn't. How are people supposed to get through this? How are people expected to stay on hold for hours? What if you don't have access to a computer? (From what I read the site cannot be accessed with a smart phone.)
As always in any sort of crisis the people who need the most help and need it the quickest are going to be the last people who are going to be able to get it. And there is something terrible wrong about that.
I tried to apply on-line. Things were going rather well. I was able to answer all of the questions. I then came to a section where they were going to verify who you are by asking you a set of questions. There were five of these. Each question had four answers one of which was always none of the above. (I have listed more than four questions the reason for which will become clear shortly).
So here are some of the questions asked to verify you are actually you:
1. The square footage of your house.
2. The year your house was built.
3. Who you bought the house from. (I've only been in my house for 17 plus years so how hard would that be. I was actually able to remember the name)
4. The amount of your original mortgage.
5. The amount of you most recent refinancing and that was down to the penny.
6. A list of phone numbers that may or may not be associated with you.
7. Street names that may or may not be associated with you.
8. A list of towns where people you know might live.
I mean after all everyone should remember all of those.
There were then three more questions. Verifying who your employer was. Asking if you'd worked in any other state. Finally when you were hired and when you're last day of work was along with why you were let go.
And this is where my problems started. I was repeatedly asked those same three questions over and over. I could not advance beyond that.
So I cancelled and decided maybe I should try another browser. I had started in Firefox. I used Safari and Chrome and got the same results. I then noticed that the recommended browser to use for the site the Explorer. Nothing like being on the cutting edge of technology.
I took a breather from this for a day or so. I decided I would try and call. These were the usual results I got when I called. A message saying all lines are busy call back. A message from Verizon saying all circuits were busy try the number again. Finally the phone was answered and you got nothing.
On a lark after lunch on Tuesday I tried calling. I actually got through. There were all the usual menu options of picking the right place to direct the call. Also some preliminary questions. I was then put into the hold line.
First off the hold music was absolutely terrible. Some classical trumpet solo. Really got on my nerves.
The second thing and more important is how long I was on hold. I was on hold for four hours. Four hours. And I never spoke to anyone.
In fact I stayed on the line an hour after the office closed at 4:30. I have a funny feeling I could have stayed on hold for hours and hours probably until Wednesday morning and still not have talked to anyone.
I know these are really tough times and agencies are overwhelmed. I'm lucky that I have access to some other funds. But what if I didn't. How are people supposed to get through this? How are people expected to stay on hold for hours? What if you don't have access to a computer? (From what I read the site cannot be accessed with a smart phone.)
As always in any sort of crisis the people who need the most help and need it the quickest are going to be the last people who are going to be able to get it. And there is something terrible wrong about that.
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