Virginia Employment Commission [VEC]
reviews and complaints

I applied for unemployment insurance April 2022 was laid off Randstad staffing on Jan 05 2022 (attendance policy)too many points 12 to be exact ,non disciplinary I was sent letter from vec stating I was allowed benefits from that assignment; but vec says I was not allowed benefits from jan2020 from integrity staffing ,which they allowed me and ireceived pandemic payments allowed by vec now the say pay it back because I left integrity voluntary which is false reason for separation was lack of work.Calvin l Allen [protected] /2027 s Whitehill Dr Petersburg Virginia 23803

Federal and state unemployment benefits issued during the pandemisc that I qualified for on march 8 2020. I only recieved benefits for july 25 2020 until it ened. Ifiled an appeal with the virgina uemployment commission. I won that appeal in july of 2021 awarding me benefits back dated to march 8 2020. I can not get them to give me my money. I have file two complaints with the federal labor board and the contacted va employment commission twice in the last six months. Va promises them to pay me but never do. I havre recied emailes from the commission in august of 2022 sayin my benefits were processed but I have yet to recieve a dime.

This organization is suppose to help people, all it does is make peoples lives harder and most of the people working here don't care at all about the people needing help and have horrible attitudes. I would be ashamed to be apart of such a horrible enterprise and Virginia should be ashamed of itself for the way it treats its citizens. Still have yet to hear anything about an appeal 2 months ago, because they refused to give me compensation that i was owed. They say they are overwhelmed, yet this is the lowest unemployment has ever been. The VEC makes me embarrassed to be a Virginian.

I received 2 weeks of benefit payments and then someone changed my payment information into a different bank account. I DID NOT DO this and have yet to receive help from the VEC to rectify this. When this occurred I spoke to two different agents who both said I had to call the other number to change my account information back. Unfortunately, that was impossible because every time I entered my SSN and PIN this was not recognized. I am beyond frustrated and ready to get legal assistance to file suit against the VEC. irst, how someone was able to get into my account and authorize a new bank account for my weekly deposit. Second I want the money that is owed to me. I have not filed my weekly claims because that is what an agent told me best so nobody else gets my money

Going on over 2 months of calls to VEC, Local office has sign stating unable to answer questions about unemployment. Calls to VEC are left with please clear your cache and cookies and keep trying. This was all after my account had the banking info changed without actually accessing my account. I changed it back and contacted VEC to alert them of the issue. Once I alerted them of the issue they closed my online account and refuse to help. Was able to confirm my banking info over the phone line system and get 1 back payment made, after that 1 single payment no payments have come in. Have re-verified my account over the phone and attempted to file claims on the phone but have received 0 payments now. 4 payments behind is absurd! VEC was just sued last year over this with a class action, this should be happening! They need to be replaced. I and my previous employer paid unemployment insurance to cover these situations and now you are attempting to not pay me!

My name is James Francis. My VEC unemployment account has been reset by VEC agent. Now I cannot create new account. I already lost benefit for this week ending 10/15/2022. I am calling VEC VCR (PHONELINE) but it cuts off and suggesting using VEC Portal. I spoke live agent after waiting 55 minutes. And he was most inefficient person I ever talked. He advised, he cannot do anything, just keep trying. it is ridiculous. VEC should hire some efficient dedicated person to help needy person like me. There is no guarantee I will ever be able to create new account in VEC portal. Please someone help me. my phone number is [protected]. my email is ...[protected]@msn.com. I cannot give my SS # here neither i can give my pin here. So, please contact me or resolve my problem. thanks. Regards, James Francis

I was unemployed for 3 months starting April 19, 2022 and after 3 payments I received a payment from my former company that was considered a "severance" but was really a bribe not to contact customers. That was May 26th and the VEC has STILL not reviewed the claim. I was out of work for 3 months and when I needed the $3000+ owed me even now they have not gotten to it. In addition on a later claim, I accidently pressed the "yes" button on the answer if I was receiving training, which was no, but that was another issues they still have yet to review. That was from June 5th. I have never been out of work so long and always paid my taxes but this department is useless. When you call customer service all they do is regurgitate that the issues are still under review.

What a Joke this department is and needs to be scrapped and re-started. I am working now but was really struggling and needed the money in the summer and this useless government agency still cant proceed. Whoever runs this needs to be fired and never hired again and let them experience what its like trying to receive your benefits from the very same department they ran,

I repeatedly attempted to file for an unemployment claim and I received the following message when through the VEC online portal.

"We are not able to authenticate your digital identity based on the information you provided or the device you are using. As a result, please call the Customer Contact Center at [protected] for further assistance."

When I call the number, there is an extensive phone tree, and at some point, the call ends. When I called the phone number and chose option 4 to discuss general questions, I was told to keep calling [protected] at 8 am every day until I reached someone. I want to resolve this issue and file a claim with the Virginia Employment Commission, but until the online and phone problems are addressed, it seems most people will be unable.

They are the worse people to deal with, nobody is really concerned about helping you. All they do is stand around and talk among their selves, might help a few people. They are totally a waste of VEC and Virginia's time and money. They are racist. I went there trying to fax something in on an injury and did not have the fax number, I rushed there trying to get it faxed. They said they did not have any fax numbers for me to use. After 20 minutes of being there someone ask could they help me and I told her what I needed and they laughed she said she would try to find a number. One would think that every VEC would have fax numbers. She went somewhere to try to get one, walked back 25 min later and me still setting there waiting, she was walking like she was in another world and did not even mention to me that she could not find one, very sad. I got up went to the lady setting at the back desk and she said she was so sorry, by this time they were getting ready to close, I set back down just to see what they would do. Well 4:25 come around and they were all telling me that we leave in 5 minutes and that they close at 4:30 PM. I said I know that I was still waiting on the lady to get me the fax number and that she had not said anything to be about it. You need to clean this VEC up or close the doors.

Peggy Mapes

I’ve been unemployed due to being Layed off September 9th 2022. I’ve been looking for a job since then and couldn’t find one quick enough so,I decided to try this unemployment. After calling everyday for a month due to the website not working, I finally got in contact one month later with a human and she automatically told me to call the number that doesn’t work. I explained to her that neither the website and or the automated number doesn’t work, she basically said keep trying and then proceeded to hang up on me after I waited for almost an hour just to get someone on the phone. Also I’m a retired veteran with 20 years of faithful service

I literally can't file a claim. The website instructs you to use the online portal which says it "can't verify my identity" even though everything entered was correct. It instructs you to call a number which will not allow you access unless you already have the PIN number generated by the website. You can't talk to a person without the PIN from the website. I managed to get through to a real person twice by navigating unrelated channels in the voice automated system.

The first person I spoke with said he was told that superiors instructed him to "only take 200 claims per day" and that I was after the 200 limit and would have to try again a different day (which SCREAMS corruption). They are boasting that unemployment is going down...NO...CLAIMS are going down because people are being arbitrarily capped/blocked from the system entirely.

The second person I talked to said that even he couldn't help me file a claim unless I went through the correct channel in the voice automated system even though I told him it didn't work. He wouldn't connect me to a real person and said I'd have to call back and go through that channel. I did and that channel told me to go to the website and hung up on me.

In short, VEC appears to be intentionally blocking eligible claimants from filing initial claims to suppress their unemployment liabilities...all while bragging about how unemployment is "going down" on their website banners.

If you have to deal with these people, I'm sorry to tell you this...but you are probably on your own.

I filed my claim, received 3 checks, then received a letter than a company wholesale communications stated they rehired me on 7/10/22 when i was laid off my current job (a different company till 7/14/22). I don't know who wholesale communications is. I completed the form vec sent me and they sent it to fraud even though i told them i didn't know that company, no paperwork on that company signed, no offer letter and i was working for a mortgage company at the time. It's now been 6 weeks no income from vec, cannot get to a deputy to discuss. They can see no money paid out to me from this company, they cannot locate company and neither can i. Now i am locked out of filing my weekly benefit even though i am not being paid i am trying to keep my weekly filing up to date for back pay. I have called them a dozen times no help, no money, cannot get food stamps. It would take them less than 5 minutes to clear my case and get my unemployment started back, but they refuse to help me.

The VEC is so corrupt. They receive their salaries on time, and they don't give the persons impacted by loss of employment their money.

I filed for unemployment in January 2022. I still haven't received a penny. When i first filed for unemployment I couldn't even file for weekly benefits because they said " you have a questionable identity issue", the issue was caused by them as they randomly entered 1940 as my birth year and I am born in 1992. To get that straightened it took them 6 months. Now after that, they come up with a new issue, another hold. The reason for the hold is " educational benefit" and not sure what that means. I wasn't a student, I didn't receive an educational benefit from my last employer.

No one answers the phone. Their customer service reps sound like they just woke up from a nap. It's disgusting.

I need this issue resolved immediately.

september 23 went to unemployment office around 8:30 am .Lady give a card to call [protected]. When I called system kept asking for a pin which I don't remember it . been over 10 years since I received benefits. tried to sign up as new account .could not get to talk to real person without a pin. locked up my account need help .this week has ended no benefits?

I have been in a battle with VA unemployment since I filed on July 3rd or 2022, I have been calling every single day my unemployment was denied based on the monetary decision i Immediately sent the copy of my last check stub and w-2, than i called than they notified me that I had to send a appeal letter which was submitted before the due date every time I call it's something different with them now for 30 days every day that i had called seen the appeal in the system now on 9/2/2022 it must have deleted out of the system. I think Virginia is set up to hurt people now I'm facing an eviction with 5 children because of their lack of not doing their job accurately and in a timely fasion.

I file appeal online they disregard it all together they send me a letter please appeal by letter with in 30 days I fax them 3 pages why im appealing within the 30 days they approve my benefits 2 years later say im not approved its there fault why I got approved in the first place they are so disorganized I get a letter saying I did not file with in the 30 days when I have proof I did then the 3 pages I wrote them are gone on the appeal then I get a letter saying I have appeal date in person then by phone 2 seprate dates they dont what hell they are doing at this place they send me a letter appeal is final and I filed late they automatically go with employer every time no matter what you say who are they decision makers are horrible at what they do they dont believe the peron working there they believe the employer every time no matter what theys are peoples lives your playing with most horrible not give a [censored] people have seen its there mess up and I have to deal with im so frustrated with they peopl.

I tried to file my unemployment claim in April 2022 and couldn’t get into their system. When I called them they told me I had a fraudulent claim on my account back in September 2021. I never filed that September claim nor did I know about it. So, I submitted all the documentation they requested in May 2022. The fraudulent claim is still on the account today, August 9, 2022. Also, they have my name wrong in the system. I’ve submitted documentation for that as well. It’s still hasn’t been corrected. It’s obvious that the operations of the Fraud Department as well as the VEC as a whole is absolutely ineffective and inefficient.

I have been waiting for 14 months and nothing.Each rep will tell a different lie.I emailed a Lydia fisher and she told me I should be on peuc not Pu a after 14 months really you came up with that.I called customer service they stated that was a lie she told.They keep stating waiting for a deputy I Don t believe there is one. Ve c I believed embezzled the money its not adding up all these people waiting something not right.

In the week of April 11,2022 I filed my weekly claim. I noticed an incorrect answer to a question. I attempted to correct it in the review process, but the system wouldn't allow it. It also submitted the claim.

I have filled an appeal , I have tried the "Help Line" 3 times with no assistance.

No benefits received for 6 + weeks. The question answered incorrectly was concerning receiving training or classes. When trying to be employed, why should improving one's skills be an impairment? Or a reason to NOT receive the approved benefits?

[protected]@gmail.com

I signed up for UI benefits towards the middle of April 2022, on May 2nd I received my first and only payment and have not received anything since. I had tried to change my banking information around the 5th of May and went 4 weeks with that as being the reason why my payments had been delayed, however towards the middle of June I finally received a letter in the mail stating there was an overpayment from July of 2020. I filed an appeal at the recommendation of my RESEA coach around June 19, 2022 as well as sent in the waiver for the overpayment that I filled out. It has now been 12 weeks since I have received any payment and I have been calling and trying to get this matter resolved as quickly as possible since I still have bills that need to be paid, but I keep getting contradictory information finally around July 7, 2022 I was informed that the VEC has not even looked into the appeal or the waiver, which the waiver was due by July 3rd and I sent it a few days after I received it in the mail, and was also told that I could be waiting up to 8 months to get this resolved. I was also told that my payments were being processed, however due to the overpayment, the benefit payments are being distributed to pay the overpayment! Meanwhile I have no internet to do any job searches, my phone is now off so no potential employer’s can get in contact with me and my I am a 2 payments behind on my car payment and in danger of losing my only means of transportation as well!