Virginia Employment Commission [VEC]
Reviews and Complaints

I tried to file a initial claim for unemployment on March 14th via the online claimant self-service after registering and the error messages stated "We are unable to verify your digital identity. Please contact the Customer Contact Center at [protected] for further assistance". So, I called the number provided and the representative informed me the system was down and she took my claim over the phone. Well I tried to file my weekly claim later that week and report the jobs I had applied to and I got the same error message for the self-service. I tried calling the supposedly 24/7 voice response system and it keeps saying they are closed and call back during normal business hours? So, I'm stuck waiting until business hours? and hoping they receive my responses via the USPS mail. I keep trying to respond to their emailed request via the link they sent and after I enter my responses for claimant statement , the system says unexpected error. So, how am I suppose to respond? This is not customer service. For people that are trying to follow the rules and use the unemployment benefits to pay bills while looking for a new job, this is unacceptable and increasingly frustrating. This is so unfair that we are expected to meet deadlines to get benefits, but how are we suppose to, when the vec process is broken? please help

Being out of state, I gave up! The claimant self service is out of commission. I received an email from VECIT regarding that its been down for months. I was denied benefits because my paperwork wasn't received by their due date but it was. All my documents were post marked by their due date but that didn't matter. I then received a document stating my vacation pay wouldn't allow me to collect for that particular week( duh) so that means they received my paperwork VEC sets this up so claimants will get frustrated and quit so I have. I hope VEC is happy because they saved the state of VA $378 per week. Way to go! Meanwhile my family suffers due to VEC incompetence. I will make sure I never work in VA again or spend a dime in their state. I encourage everyone who gets denied to email the Governors office or the Labor Secretary.

3/18/22

I am unable to sign up on the web site, digital identity unverified. I have been trying to create a new account for the new web site for over 2 weeks. I was on unemployment in 2021 and all I need is a way to get my 1099G. I cant even file my taxes due to this. I faxed a request to have it mailed to me and still have nothing.

Zachary P Cannon

I have set up a claim online, and over the phone. I did both of these Feb 14, 2022. I call every week to see where my pin is and up until today I was told its on the way. Today I was told it was never filed. When I go online there is a user with all my info but no one has my info? I also was forced to sign up for a debit type card when I spoke to a human. What is VA trying to do. And even if you call every other person gives you a different answer. This seems shady, and if I cant be helped Im going to file in NC where I live and you two states can battle it out

I was permanently laid of March, 2020 & have filed my unemployment, received many emails & letters stating is was approved, then denied, then I appealed twice, I have made several phone appts and talked to ALOT of different people from VEC to no avail I keep getting answers that say my account is blocked! I have done every last thing they have asked me to do. I have gone above and beyond to get my money. One of the first things out of their mouth is that there was FRAUD and that is why its taking time to get the account blocked? I have a straight up legitimate claim & I had NOTHING to do with any fraud anywhere anytime but I have to wait to get 2 years back unemployment?

I am getting ready to file a Federal Lawsuit against the VEC. I feel at this point I have NO choice but to file. Not one person has helped me at any time thus far!

the VEC is a complete disgrace and do not even deserve the fraud money back to them for being so careless!

I called the [protected], put in my pin # and it disconnects me. What crude business for the people is VEC trying to run. This is a crime in my opinion! Even if you are appealing, you are supposed to keep looking for work and filing a weekly claim. The labor secretary needs to get involved asap!

This is the second time I have applied for Unemployment and each time it has been a total cluster. I've been waiting since Jan 2022 to receive money and nothing so far. I The Website never works, the clowns that answer the phones make mistakes when they manually enter information, such as weekly filings, and the so-called Deputies who approve the claims must be on permanent vacation.

I've been a resident of VA for over 20 years, have paid well over $200K in state taxes and this is how you treat me? The head of VEC needs to be fired and the company that built the website needs to fired. We need to file a class action lawsuit against the state and take to the media until someone is held accountable and something is done.

Our new state slogan should be changed to Virginia is for Muthas

The self claimant services DOES NOT work. I tried over a dozen times now to sign up plus written several letters. Snail mail gets to me when something is due so I'm eliminate automatically without due process for my claim. Being out of state, the system automatically changes my 304 area code to a 540 which is unjust. Of course, my claim was now denied by a deputy so I have to fight it.

My name is Amanda Abbey, I have was refused benefits that I was entitled to because of the PIN that was sent out to my incorrect address. I have been trying for 2 YEARS NOW, TO SIMPLY CHANGE MY ADDRESS TO PO BOX 832 PRINCESS ANNE MD 21853 and I was told the only way to change my address was to make a letterhead with my last 4 of social, name, new address, old address and I was requesting my 10-99G form from last year so I can file my taxes. The tax filing deadline was 1/31/2022 so now I will be reporting this to BBB as well as a few other places. This makes ABSOLUTLEY NO SENSE, DO NOT FILE UNEMPLOYMENT IN VIRGINIA THEY WILL SCREW YOU OVER LIKE THEY DID ME AND I'M A SINGLE MOTHER TO A 1 YEAR OLD AND HAVE BEEN STRUGGLING TO SIMPLY SURVIVE AND IT ALL STARTED WHEN COVID-19 HIT AND THEY CHANGED EVERYTHING TO THAT STUPID PIN NUMBER! IRS WILL BE CONTACTING YOU SOON!

Good afternoon,

My name is Vania Maldonado, my social is [protected], my DOB is 06/11/1979 and my # is [protected].

I have been unemployed since September 2nd 2021. The last income was received that month, my PTO and sick leave aside with my severance pay was all given to me in September. I applied for unemployed in October 2021. And since that time I have yet to receive a penny from my already approved amount through my last employer GPW community health center.

I am have been paying my taxes since I was 18 years old and this is the first time I have ever applied for unemployment. And the process has been dreadful since day one.

I don’t know if I should laugh or cry at this point. I truly have no idea how I have not become crazy with all the back and forth I have received from different employees at the commissions office. I guess I must have spoken to all your customer service reps, trying to get me some answers as to why this time my account has a hold on it. It’s either, my identity hasn’t been verified, if I’m a school student or not, questions about my last employer or pay, the system is down, the deputy hasn’t seen my account or how they are inundated with calls and cases and I will need to continue to wait till I can receive any payments.

Now if this was additional money then okay maybe I’d build up the patience to wait until I received what was owed to me, I mean I have been following all the rules. I submit weekly, I have been applying and following up with some employer. Yet nothing has advanced with my account. I call to verify my balance weekly and get the same response, “there’s no money in your account” How is anyone supposed to live like this? I have had to use my entire return on paying rent and all for myself to see March 1st around the corner and knowing that I don’t have the full rent amount to pay.

Let’s not even get into the fact that I’m still waiting for the approval to resubmit from the beginning of Oct 2021 since I was approved but wasn’t able to submit for one reason or another, from not receiving my pin to your online system down for weeks. But hey, I’m so used to just waiting that I’m starting to slowly give up any hope of ever receiving my unemployment benefits.

I’m praying that this email reaches the right person and that I can finally get some answers but most importantly, I am able to pay my March rent without the possibilities of getting evicted.

Sincerely,

A very frustrated unemployed US citizen.

Vania Maldonado

I am unable to sign-up on the VEC claims website. It states "unable to verify my identity." After several calls to the VEC, I finally reached someone to process my claim but effective date was date of the call. Claim should be retro due to VEC response and systems issues. I am still waiting to be able to file weekly claims. The phone number provided only allows "initial claim" which has already been completed but it will not allow weekly filing.

Was receiving vec benefits for weeks, now stopped because of vec policy violation from former employer. Called vec today and answered questions about former employer. Now deputy has to make a decision again. I waited 10 weeks before receiving my first check. How much longer will this take.

Have not even been able to create an account, much less apply for benefits, after weeks of trying. I consistently get the error "We are unable to verify your digital identity. Please contact the Customer Contact Center at [protected] for further assistance." This is the kind of instant-return result that means the system didn't even try to check.

16 years on unemployment for 4-5 months through the winter. I have been off 5 months and I got 3 weeks then cut off. MANY phone calls and a different answer every time and still nothing. I work for the Federal Government, never an issue till this year. This has to be said, many of the people I have tried to talk to CANNOT speak English clearly, I have to wonder if it has been outsourced.

I have been approved since November and have not seen one payment with the new system update has made it impossible to file claims let alone submit info that they request I was never sent a Pin number until yesterday 02/23/2022 this is a horrible experience When I call the customer service number they tell me that there isn't anything they can do to just keep trying the website

I am at my wits end here; I have waited for 18 months with no end insight and have not received my back pay and being held liable for an overpayment that was never my fault to begin with. This is a serious ongoing issue that seems to be swept under the rug by everyone involved and no one that I have spoken to, seems to know anything.

I have never heard back from anyone regarding my paperwork that was sent in September 2021; in reference to the owed back UI payments or my overpayment appeal. I have been trying to get this corrected since July 17, 2020; when KB and I were corresponding. However, she stopped responding and so did the Winchester Employment office. Unfortunately, I have been dealing with all this for close to 2 years and everyone has been telling me different things.

I had to turn in 18 months of paperwork in 3 days but still 18 months later and again no response from anyone at VEC especially when the issue started because VEC's records were incorrect and at least KB immediately saw that.

The only time I receive a call back is when I email government officials. In my opinion, that shows extremely poor customer service and although; everyone says my case has been escalated it still has not produced the owed money or even someone telling me when I should receive it. All I am informed is, "Well, I am not sure who you spoke to but that’s incorrect; you will need to send 18 months of documentation in 3 days." Ok, so what about the weeks I wasn't paid. "Oh, well that's closed but you can fill out papers to see if they will approve it." Approve it? I turned everything in and none of this was my fault. I did my part. I even tried explaining at those times about 6 weeks I had to handwrite, the Governor wasn't requiring jobs because of COVID. She then told me, "Well we can see if they approve it." Approve what, it was a Governor order state wide!

I received the following email on September 7, 2021. The lady Deborah honestly was rude and no help. She kept telling me to send more paperwork and that she couldn't tell me anything. How is she my case manager and cannot offer any assistance except "Yes, we received that." "Oh no, those weeks are closed." "No, I cannot tell you anything." "No, we don't have any social media." And I know that is incorrect because I have all the documentation from the VEC Facebook page and correspondence; however, she did not want to hear about that.

I just saw this email regarding $5,000 worth of over payments. This is absolutely ridiculous. I was laid off due to COVID 19 and everyone received benefits. I need to speak to someone in the higher level offices immediately. I will not be responsible for you offices incorrectly entering in my information which showed me not working for 2019. It's not my fault it was not corrected and everyone kept inputting my information wrong.

When I spoke to one representative by the name of Nelson he stated that could happen. However, VEC is required to go back from onset and place me in the correct program which would be the UI. According to his calculations, I would still be due payments due to the fact that the money I should receive from the UI program would be more than the COVID $158.00 program. And since I did not receive the UI benefits along with the government provided incentives, it would take a little while to figure out. But I would not be responsible for an overpayment because the correct program would show that.

On February 19, 2022; I received a letter in the mail regarding Voluntary Quit Statement Forms. The forms were due on February 21, 2022. I am not sure how you can mail the letter out on 2/12/2022, I received it on 2/19/2022 and it is due on 2/21/2022 on a holiday. I attempted faxing the packet of 43 pages to a fax number at VEC so that it would at least have a timestamp of 2/21/2022. And that fax cost me $101.00 to do.

Before you ask, yes, I did see the email come from the CSS application; however, some days it will allow me to log in and other days it will either tell me that the captcha is wrong or they cannot verify my identity. I have called their offices about this numerous times. The one-day last week, allowed me in, but would not save my responses. I also submitted trouble tickets; however, I have not received a response and the VEC representative stated that if I could not log in, give it time and that they would mail me the same information. But I didn't know that it would be required of me to get turned back in on a Saturday Evening and a Holiday on Monday. Your office takes close to 2 years to look at my case and still ends up being incorrect. I was supposed to be in the UI program, not the PUA. But that was an error on VEC's part that you are attempting to make me pay for. Please go back through all the records carefully.

If you need any additional information or supporting documents for the incorrect Voluntary Quit Statement please let me know. I have also attached a link that will take you to the supporting documents that you need and I faxed them. I was going to fax it to all 4 numbers; however, since the 1st number cost $101 I did not fax it to the others.

Today I tried logging into CSS on my cell and was able to get in and file an appeal because they denied my claim. When I went to upload the same faxed information it cost me $101 to do, the system kicked me out. AND now AGAIN it tells me We are unable to verify your identity. How can that be when I was just logged in? All the COVID money they are wanting me to pay back when it was their fault the program was wrong, I feel that this money was given for absolutely nothing because once they are done, I will be paying that back and then some. And also get the dang CSS fixed or go back to Gov2Go. It is ridiculous we are penalized because of your systems and employees being incorrect and not working properly.

I haven't received a payment since Dec 2021. No letter was sent out stating the reason. When I called the unemployment office and spoke with a agent. I was told that I didn't sign up for the workforce site which I did. I went back in to verify and I was signed up and this was back in Dec.

I also sent a email to the workforce agent and they confirmed that I was registered. The VEC website doesn't work and will not let me login.

I am a military vet and was unemployed due to the draw down of Afghanistan and haven't received unemployment since Dec 2021. This is ridiculous

Today (Sunday) the 'automated' phone system is saying it is closed and hung up. How am I supposed to file a claim if I cannot call the system? I also am not able to log onto the portal as it says I do not have an account, but when I call they constantly state that my account is missing some sort of information of which I have already provide every week for the past 8 weeks. I have not received a check nor am I getting any kind emails or mail stating that is anything is wrong or anything is needed... i only find out when I call and sit on hold forever that they tell me my account is still not set up and that I will have to wait again.

This is ridiculous. The constant circles and outages is ... (loss for words) disgusting.

I applied in November of 2021. I have not received a check. I am told everything is good when I call, then next time I call I'm flagged. I never receive anything in the mail to let me know what the problem is. Many people In my small town are seasonal workers. Some applied in October 2021. None of us have received payment. We get many different excuses as to why. Usually a different one every time we call.

When filing my new claim with VEC online a little over 4 weeks ago, I was advised that my date of birth had been ran against the Social Security Administration and came back as inaccurate. I called to file the claim initially on 1/19/22. I was advised that the VEC had a new system and this was an issue they were aware of, however I would still need to prove that I am who I say I am and was born when I say I was born. I have in the last 4 weeks sent 3 faxes and a certified notice to the VEC. The only one they acknowledge the receipt of is the certified mail. I called today to follow up on the processing of the updated information and have been advised there is no time frame that can be given on resolving my claim and that it can take an additional 3 weeks or up to 3 months. Meanwhile, they are withholding my benefits and refuse to update the information via the phone, even though they possess all the necessary documents to make the change. Furthermore, I have requested a supervisor on each call and have not received a return call back. I have also made 2 appointments with the local office and neither of the appointments were kept by the VEC. I have contacted the advocate office at [protected] and she advised that she does not handle complaints with VEC for unemployment benefits. I have emailed the governor's office twice with no reply. I have asked to be verified through the ID.me method and they have yet to send me the email to do so. They refuse to allow me to transfer to the claim specialist to have the issue escalated and I am getting nowhere.