Re: General EUC Discussion - Ongoing

grandmom49 Tue Dec 08, 2009 12:29 pm

[quote="Robyn"]

grandmom49 wrote:
Robyn wrote:
MiamiVice wrote:bY THE WAY, where is UIO???????????????????????????///

......My question is, where are our friendly journalists? ...

Well, first of all, we're no longer that friendly! It's Christmas, so us non-working ones are pretty darn grouchy. Second, we're right here with you!! We're frantically claiming the crumbs of our old-EB-aka-emerging-T3 accounts as we curse the likes of Cunningham, Dickey and the rest, all of whom must be finding some perverse delight in blocking their phone lines.

But we've all come to the same conclusion: Nothing adds up. This state received how much money to upgrade computers and increase staff? Yet online Tier 3 applications are unclear, many accounts read zero regardless of tier, AWI reps convey conflicting info, and those in positions of authority can't be reached. The letters some of us recently received urged us not to call, that changes would be automatic. Wow. Just wow. This ignorance might be mildly amusing if lives weren't at stake.

Robyn, I was not aware that you are an unemployed journalist. That is too bad. (I am sincere, not snarky in this) I was specifically referring to Jim Stratton and another columnist. Now Jim did file a blog about the AWI debacle but, with apologies in advance if this offends him, it does not contain any useful information. It didn't even begin to elucidate the true proportions of the problem. AWI has brought the concept of customer service to new depths. Hang in there with us. After all it's being reported that the unemployment is slowly going away. LMAO

**nancym** Tue Dec 08, 2009 12:31 pm

At least one person over on the Open Congress S. 1699 forum from Florida who told us today that she applied yesterday, and even though she was given the "Dec 21" date on the app, when she checked her account balance today everything was properly updated and she was able to claim!

So everyone who already applied for eligibility yesterday, go back and check your regular claim link to see if you have an update and when you can claim weeks, since it might be today!

lafosl Tue Dec 08, 2009 12:53 pm

What about the individuals who have exhausted their benefits the end of Nov.? They say we do have to reapply but my balance still shows zero, does anyone know when they are suppose to transition us to the new Tier III benefits, this is just absurd!!!

grandmom49 Tue Dec 08, 2009 12:56 pm

Nancy,
I called my friend who applied on my computer yesterday to come over and try to claim her weeks. This was the response
There are no weeks available for you to claim. Please contact 1-800-204-2418, for further assistance.
Now she is all upset thinking she is going to be denied for some reason. I really think AWI needs to do the same with these application reviews that they did with the Job Search reviews. If I am correct, it would have been easier to pay the claims, review the aps when things are less chaotic, and then work with the claimants they feel do not meet the qualifications. As we have heard from many members, the application was redundant, confusing, and a down right waste of time. Why was the application needed? Every time weeks are claimed the question is asked if you worked or earned any wages during that week. If a claimant answers yes a different process takes over and the benefit is not paid until the positivie answer is explained. My gut feeling is the money AWI received to reprogram the system was spent devising this application designed to delay, delay, delay
P.S. My balance also is still 0 even though my account was supposed to automatically transition to tier 3 benefits.

scrappy367 Tue Dec 08, 2009 12:58 pm

you need to reapply. i did yesterday. i am not showing any balance today, hopefully i will in the next few days. but that sounds like good news that she can claim weeks, hopefully we all can soon.

KellyB Tue Dec 08, 2009 1:26 pm

Just got off the phone with the Governors Citizen Hotline, they took all of my information and said a supervisor from AWI will be calling me back soon, here is the number 850-488-4441. God only knows how long it will take for someone to call me but I can only assume it will be someone with a clue (if a person like that exists at AWI). I will post whatever they tell me, whenever they call..

surfer Tue Dec 08, 2009 1:27 pm

I say reapply too. see if the system allows it. if i don't see an update by wednesday morning, i'm calling/leaving mssage. while it looks like awi is trying to update all accounts quickly and this week, why take a chance...

ETA: AWI is returning calls and manually fixing applications so people can claim. So call if you have questions or if you filled out an app w/ glitches.

**nancym** Tue Dec 08, 2009 2:01 pm

grandmom--

It's true Jim did a blog about the new application and didn't give us any answers, but in his hearty defense, he often has trouble getting straight answers to questions from AWI himself. He was our hero back in the spring when we were all waiting for the new EB law to be passed and then waiting again through the 2-1/2 MONTHS for it to be implemented. He was essentially the one and ONLY journalist who consistently reported, both on his blog and in longer more in-depth articles in the Orlando Sentinel about the problems with AWI and those trying to collect benefits.

He has to walk a fine line at times not to aggravate the higher ups at AWI, because he often gets ignored by them, and has even had a few run-ins with them claiming he tried to contact them at the last minute when it wasn't true, stuff like that.

His blog is about economic issues in general, not just unemployment, so when some of us contact him about problems with AWI he generally posts about that right away. I actually called him yesterday to alert him to the chaos going on with this form, and he responded right away. My guess is he's still looking at what information he can verify and what he can post without being misleading, like any good reporter.

surfer Tue Dec 08, 2009 2:51 pm

Jim is excellent. he doesn't copy chunks of press releases, and that's a rarity these days. (I also was in that field.) He's juggling a lot because every media company has downsized and demands more than ever, but he remains unusually responsive. Dealing w/ any state agency is hugely frustrating when you want more than a canned reply -- you need answers but u can't p-off your sources...
Also, awi doesn't want to look bad, not after the widely publicized EB fiasco in Florida. I personally think it's too late, but let em try!

sharonB Tue Dec 08, 2009 2:56 pm

OK, folks. Am I reading this right? I too claimed for benefits under the Tier III early yesterday morning. My account is still showing my last payment and info dated back to the beginning of Sept. Nothing has been updated, in other words. Should I try again or wait? At the end of my claim application, it said I cannot claim again until Dec. 21st. which is two weeks. I would like some suggestions to what might be going on, if anything, or wait awhile longer? Oh, Sept 14th was my last unemployment payment for $300. I really need the pace picked up....

Thank you

Update: I tried to re-apply and the system will not let me. Balance is still zero and my account has NOT been updated since Sept. Thanks

sc4ram Tue Dec 08, 2009 3:00 pm

Sharon-

My AWI cronology is similiar to yours , (I applied for EUC lll yesterday and exhausted EB in early September) . Along with my confirmation it told me to claim weeks on Dec 22 and my claims info has not yet updated.

I intend to give it a few days before I do anything . FYI

sharonB Tue Dec 08, 2009 3:08 pm

sc4ram wrote:Sharon-

My AWI cronology is similiar to yours , (I applied for EUC lll yesterday and exhausted EB in early September) . Along with my confirmation it told me to claim weeks on Dec 22 and my claims info has not yet updated.

I intend to give it a few days before I do anything . FYI

Thank you for the post. I tried to re-apply for the heck of it and it wouldn't take. Good Luck to you!!

Teresa Tue Dec 08, 2009 3:14 pm

ok I filed yesterday, my last check received was back in July. Even though it still shows no new information for me and a zero balance, I took a chance and hit the claim weeks button anyway. It let me claim 2 weeks in November. So, it will be interesting to see what happens now, and when and if a check gets cut anytime soon.

**nancym** Tue Dec 08, 2009 3:15 pm

I just got off the phone with a very lengthy call with Melody, who was immensely helpful in not only helping me fill out the application form correctly, but also in trying to gather information about what problems we are having so she can get back to her people at AWI to get some corrections done or at least get some clarification out there to the public.

I don't have answers for all questions yet, but I can answer a few at least, and I have some confidence that my application finally was done correctly because she stepped me through it! She knows I help out on a few forums for the unemployed so I think she took extra time to hear about our points of confusion, knowing that I would post whatever info I could get here and on other forums. So as I said, I'm still waiting for answers for a few more things but here are some pretty firm responses:

1) The question about whether or not we have opened a new claim within the last 12 months, what exactly does that mean?

A) That means any NEW claim, i.e., if you were laid off in the last 12 months and applied for the first time, OR if you had work enough to open up a new claim on a new benefit year. It does NOT include the EB application that we all filled out last spring, or any other extension application within the last 12 months.

2) What about the date of first eligibility that came up at the end of the application that says it's Dec 6, contradicting the info we've been given that claims are payable back to the date of signing of the bill, the week starting Nov 8?

A) The date given on the form is misleading (probably based on the fact that the form had a double use as a new claims form and as an app for Tier 3). We will definitely be paid for weeks starting the week of Nov 8-14.

3) What about those who were told they would automatically be switched over to Tier 3 from EB, the ones who were still on EB after Nov 1? Should they fill out this application?

A) No, they do not need to fill out the application. There may be some confusion because those people are first given that extra week of Tier 2, then given Tier 3 after that. So they will get two separate checks, the first one covering that one week for the end of Tier 2. (I don't know how long a gap there might be between this process of Tier 2 and Tier 3.)

4) What if I was on EB and filled out the application anyway, am I SOL?

A) No, at least not in THEORY! These applications done online are now being checked manually by AWI claims people who should be able to immediately see that you were just on EB and they would simply cancel your application because it was not necessary. (Again, I do not know how long this manual process will take.)

5) Does the fact that AWI decided to pay Tier 2 first, in spite of the DOL suggestions that that might delay payments for some people, result in some people being disqualified because that extra week takes them over the Dec 31 deadline?

A) As far as could be determined on this phonecall, that is, unfortunately, correct. (This applies ONLY to those people who were finishing up their 13 weeks of Tier 2 on Dec 26, then will be given that extra week of Tier 2 for the week of Dec 27 through Jan 2, thus disqualifying them for Tier 3, at least until Congress passes the necessary extensions of those deadlines.)

6) My last question for Melody was specifically for myself and for anyone who actually did work of any kind between the dates stated on the form. This is why I didn't want to fill out the form without assistance, since I had no regular part-time or FT work, but had bits of contract work, all of which was reported previously, so I really didn't know how to answer the questions. She helped me step through all that, essentially answering yes, that I had worked, even though it was self-employment, and then much, but not all, of the form was similar to the questions asked on the regular claims forms when you report any work at all. She helped me with specific little quesions on that form and it also gave me the opportunity at the end to add 5 lines of explanation about the occasional temp project work that I had, that it was not very regular and only on an as-needed basis.

If anyone has a more complicated partial work situation, if you really get stuck on this form, I recommend calling one of the contact numbers on our AWI contacts thread here and getting specific help with the form if you can. Though I know probably most of you have already filled out or attempted to fill out this notorious form by now![code]

motley Tue Dec 08, 2009 3:36 pm

Thanks for the info Nancy, and thanks for asking about people like me who were set to expire tier 2 on 12/26/09 and now won't be eligible for tier 3 due to added week, after reading some posts that people had said they saw there accounts updated today to reflect 13 weeks i thought florida had in fact starting paying tier 3 first but i guess that is not the case. Thanks again for the update Very Happy

KellyB Tue Dec 08, 2009 3:38 pm

nancym wrote:I just got off the phone with a very lengthy call with Melody, who was immensely helpful in not only helping me fill out the application form correctly, but also in trying to gather information about what problems we are having so she can get back to her people at AWI to get some corrections done or at least get some clarification out there to the public.

I don't have answers for all questions yet, but I can answer a few at least, and I have some confidence that my application finally was done correctly because she stepped me through it! She knows I help out on a few forums for the unemployed so I think she took extra time to hear about our points of confusion, knowing that I would post whatever info I could get here and on other forums. So as I said, I'm still waiting for answers for a few more things but here are some pretty firm responses:

1) The question about whether or not we have opened a new claim within the last 12 months, what exactly does that mean?

A) That means any NEW claim, i.e., if you were laid off in the last 12 months and applied for the first time, OR if you had work enough to open up a new claim on a new benefit year. It does NOT include the EB application that we all filled out last spring, or any other extension application within the last 12 months.

Thanks for the info!!! Did she happen to mention when payment for retro weeks will happen?

2) What about the date of first eligibility that came up at the end of the application that says it's Dec 6, contradicting the info we've been given that claims are payable back to the date of signing of the bill, the week starting Nov 8?

A) The date given on the form is misleading (probably based on the fact that the form had a double use as a new claims form and as an app for Tier 3). We will definitely be paid for weeks starting the week of Nov 8-14.

3) What about those who were told they would automatically be switched over to Tier 3 from EB, the ones who were still on EB after Nov 1? Should they fill out this application?

A) No, they do not need to fill out the application. There may be some confusion because those people are first given that extra week of Tier 2, then given Tier 3 after that. So they will get two separate checks, the first one covering that one week for the end of Tier 2. (I don't know how long a gap there might be between this process of Tier 2 and Tier 3.)

4) What if I was on EB and filled out the application anyway, am I SOL?

A) No, at least not in THEORY! These applications done online are now being checked manually by AWI claims people who should be able to immediately see that you were just on EB and they would simply cancel your application because it was not necessary. (Again, I do not know how long this manual process will take.)

5) Does the fact that AWI decided to pay Tier 2 first, in spite of the DOL suggestions that that might delay payments for some people, result in some people being disqualified because that extra week takes them over the Dec 31 deadline?

A) As far as could be determined on this phonecall, that is, unfortunately, correct. (This applies ONLY to those people who were finishing up their 13 weeks of Tier 2 on Dec 26, then will be given that extra week of Tier 2 for the week of Dec 27 through Jan 2, thus disqualifying them for Tier 3, at least until Congress passes the necessary extensions of those deadlines.)

6) My last question for Melody was specifically for myself and for anyone who actually did work of any kind between the dates stated on the form. This is why I didn't want to fill out the form without assistance, since I had no regular part-time or FT work, but had bits of contract work, all of which was reported previously, so I really didn't know how to answer the questions. She helped me step through all that, essentially answering yes, that I had worked, even though it was self-employment, and then much, but not all, of the form was similar to the questions asked on the regular claims forms when you report any work at all. She helped me with specific little quesions on that form and it also gave me the opportunity at the end to add 5 lines of explanation about the occasional temp project work that I had, that it was not very regular and only on an as-needed basis.

If anyone has a more complicated partial work situation, if you really get stuck on this form, I recommend calling one of the contact numbers on our AWI contacts thread here and getting specific help with the form if you can. Though I know probably most of you have already filled out or attempted to fill out this notorious form by now![code]

**nancym** Tue Dec 08, 2009 3:51 pm

KellyB wrote:

Thanks for the info!!! Did she happen to mention when payment for retro weeks will happen?

I'm still waiting to get a better picture of that, but my own personal conclusions, not what Melody said, is that this is a gradual process because our applications are being manually gone over by their claims agents. I can't imagine what a pile of work that is, or what order they are doing it in. Is it in the order of application? I have no idea? Maybe it's just divided up by last name letter? Again, no idea. I don't think Melody could answer that either right at this moment.

I will post more as soon as I can get any further firm info, but for now, I would do what I'm doing myself--if you applied yesterday, keep checking your account for an update. One person posted somewhere that even though the account balance still showed zero, they were still able to claim by hitting the Claim Weeks button!!

And if anyone hasn't applied yet who exhausted their benefits before Nov 1, go ahead and fill out the application--please read my orange notes in previous post first! If you applied and really think your application was seriously screwed up, I would try to call, but I wouldn't call just because your account is not updated--that's just going to make the phone lines more difficult for everybody.

And if you were on EB after Nov 1 and haven't applied, don't--you're supposed to see your account switch over, but it might be taking them a little bit to do that as well.

KellyB Tue Dec 08, 2009 4:16 pm

Thanks again Nancy, I actually just received a call from an AWI representative, after I called the Governors office. She looked over my application from yesterday. I had a problem with "Florida" and "Zipcode" coming up instead of my actual answers, but she said all the questions were answered correctly. They think the problem only showed during proofreading but downloaded correctly.

I also asked her when they expect to make the payments from November, her response was that all of those payments would be made within 4-6 weeks from the date Pres. Obama signed it (December 18th will be 6 weeks). She also said it usually takes 7-10 days to get our applications to the point were they can make payments, but it will happen at different times for everybody because they are checking them manually. My plan is to try claiming those weeks daily.

lafosl Tue Dec 08, 2009 4:25 pm

Thank you Nancy that infor was very helpful. Thank you for thinking of all of us!!! rendeer

tj21121008 Tue Dec 08, 2009 4:41 pm

just spoke to mikel who is on cosandras team and he said everyone should be updated with in the next coulple of days and i asked about the 14 weeks and he said florida chose to pay the 1st week tier 2 befor we could rool into tier 3 he said thats beed the method behind this madness.. so i hope he is right and we get atleast 14 weeks and we all should get busy calling sen palosi because time is running out on hr 4183 and she is the one to bring it to a vote he dont have time to waist everyone so lets get blowing up her phone i have !!!!!!!

grandmom49 Tue Dec 08, 2009 5:20 pm

My apoligies to Jim Stratton and his supporters. I actually am one of them. As I'm sure you will all agree, it is very, very frustrating to feel so helpless. I am too old and too set in my ways to be homeless, but unless this mess gets straightened out that is what I am facing. I honestly do not know how so many of you have survived for the time since your benefits ended. The only job offers I have had are from scammers wanting me to be their american financial managers processing bogus payments & checks thru MY bank account. Even when AWI gets everything processed we will all have the same bleak prospects in another few months. And every day I read about the millions & billions of dollars being spent for advertising, lobbying, and to support causes in undevelped nations around the world. And my heart breaks with every story I read about the deprivations of people around the world including here in America. Bottom line is, I was venting in some of my previous posts and am just looking for answers like everyone else.

**nancym** Tue Dec 08, 2009 5:45 pm

grandmom49 wrote:My apoligies to Jim Stratton and his supporters. I actually am one of them...

That's ok, grandmom, it's not like you were calling him names or anything, lol!

We have a LOT of new people on this forum, especially in the last few weeks. I just wanted to give a little history for those newcomers so they would know how much he has helped us in the past. In fact, he is a registered member here who checks in on us once in a while, and even half-jokingly asked if anyone were "so inclined" he gave the email addresses of two of his bosses if we wanted to put in a good word for him! He's like a lot of journalists right now, also concerned about keeping a job.

Actually, not sure if anyone posted it, but his blog was updated with a new entry today:

http://blogs.orlandosentinel.com/news_local_blogonomics/2009/12/states-unemployment-website-is-frustrating-its-users.html#comments

**nancym** Tue Dec 08, 2009 5:59 pm

Ha-ha--speaking of Jim Stratton, just saw this email he sent this morning (but I didn't see it til just now), asking me to post this:

Hi guys. I’m working on a story today about the problems with the AWI site – specifically about the issue of Tier 3 benefits being retroactive or not. My understanding is that the site is somehow indicating that benefits will NOT be retroactive.

I’d like to talk with some people who’ve gotten that impression while applying. I need folks who are willing to give me their names. You can reach me at the numbers and e-mail below.

By the way, I’m pretty sure the benefits WILL be retroactive. I think this is primarily an issue with the online application.

As always, thanks for your help,

Jim Stratton (jstratton@orlandosentinel.com)
Orlando Sentinel
407-420-5379 (office)
321-438-4610 (cell)

Blog-o-nomics -- www.orlandosentinel.com/jimstratton

Facebook -- http://tinyurl.com/bs9gc8
http://twitter.com/JimStratton

motley Tue Dec 08, 2009 6:27 pm

Nancy, dont suppose when you were speaking to unemployment today, they mentioned a hold up with people who were still collecting benefits ( not tier 3 )? i claimed as usual this morning at 7:30 am showed processing payments for both me and my neighbor this afternoon between 1-3pm now when i checked to make sure payment was made it still shows for both of us our last claim info from payment on 11/24/09. i called awi and the guy i spoke to said i did'nt claim until 1:30pm this afternoon so that's why no payment was made today i let him know that i actually claimed at 7:30am and just asked him nicely that i would rather he was just upfront with me if he is aware of a problem or holdup which he said he would be but he did not see any problem. Just went through this last claim period, claimed on 11/24/09 payment showed payed that day, i get my checks mailed so due to thanksgiving figured check would come saturday 11/27 or worst case monday 11/30 didnt show up saturday so i called and they said it went out on 11/25/09 well sure enough didnt end up getting check until thurs 12/3/09 when i looked at the postmark on envelope it wasn't even sent out till 11/30/09, so once again if they would have just been straight up about it not going out till then it would have saved me from telling the landlord one thing and then not being able to deliver.
Anyhoo just wondering if you or anyone else new if there was a problem with payments processed this morning.

**nancym** Tue Dec 08, 2009 6:44 pm

motley--There was no specific mention of a hold-up with ongoing claims, but I can tell you from past experience with AWI that when they have tons of new applications and claims to process all at once at times like these they have to run their batch processing a little different than usual throughout the day or night. So what you might be used to might be slightly irregular til they get over this hump of the new Tier 3 claims.

The only thing I saw as a possible gap was for EB people who might have to wait a bit in between getting their last Tier 2 extra week and getting set up on Tier 3. I'm not sure exactly how that will go, but I got the impression it shouldn't be that long.

In your case with the previous mails, I never trust what someone says on the phone about something being "sent out" on a specific day. Most big organizations have some kind of mail room that has to bundle stuff for staged deliveries because of the quantities. So if a csr says something went out according to a computer, it doesn't mean they are necessarily lying, just that they may not be aware of just what their mail room or mail service may be up against.

Check again this evening before they close the online access, or early tomorrow morning. If not updated by then, guess you'd better call again, but it's probably just a brief delay. Note also that what we see online is not always as up to date as what the reps are seeing on their screens.

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