FLORIDA — Many unemployment claimants have contacted Spectrum News about facing extremely long wait times when trying to contact the Department of Economic Opportunity over the phone, along with having their accounts locked multiple times by a software glitch.

"I called 18 times on the 19th time I got through... I waited for 4-hours and 2-minutes just for them to pick up and say 'hello' and hang up," said claimant Shaunte Lyons from Tampa. "I've been trying every day for 8 hours and I can't get through." 

Deborah Sabo from Spring Hill said she has been experiencing the same problem when she tries to contact the DEO.

"I can't get through to these people," she said. "I'm about to lose what little I do have." 

Both Sabo and Shaunte have also been victims of fraud which has caused their CONNECT accounts to be locked multiple times after they've verified their identities through ID.me. Shaunte said last month her account was hacked 3 times and $1,150 worth of payments were stolen.

"I just can't believe it. This is literally like my last two payments that I need because I'm going back to work... I'm behind badly right now," she said. "I don't know what's going on. It's been locked ever since. I'm supposed to claim again, but obviously not because I can't get into my account."​

Last month, Sabo said cyber thieves stole $850 from her account. The DEO re-issued the $250 state portion, but Sabo said she still hasn't received the $600 federal portion.  

"I'm about to lose my car," she said. "Luckily, where I live my landlord is very understanding but I have bills to pay and this here, I can't do it."​

Sabo said a DEO employee from the fraud department unlocked her account on June 1, but it was re-locked a short time later.

"I still can't get into my account," she said. "There's nothing I can do with my account."

Unemployment advocate Vanessa Brito said the DEO has acknowledged there's a re-lock glitch in the CONNECT system.

"There was something that is triggering claimants' accounts to re-lock if you had been previously locked," she said. "It doesn't affect everybody who has been locked out because that was a security measure that was implemented to reduce the fraud that we saw at the beginning of the year."

Brito said some claimants have seen their accounts re-locked up to eight times already. 

"A lot of claimants are stuck and have been stuck in that re-lock glitch," she said. "That's caused them to actually be locked out of the account and not receive payments or have any update to their claim made over the course of weeks."

As for what's causing the long wait times for callers, spokesperson Emilie Ogelsby said the DEO ended a third-party call center contract with Titan Technologies before it was set to expire on June 30. 

"The Department was not fully satisfied with the work the company was providing and so, because of performance issues, the Department has chosen to end this contract early," she stated. ​"The Department previously planned to eventually phase out all third-party contracted staff as call volume continued to decrease due to the economic turnaround post-pandemic."

A spokesperson for Titan Technologies stated the company has been trying to figure out why the DEO was unhappy with its performance. 

"For the last several days, Titan Technologies has been working with DEO officials to answer all questions about the satisfaction, quality, and proactive efforts made on behalf of the agency by our company," stated spokesperson Elton Gumble. "We remain proud of all that we've been able to accomplish over the past 15 months and the millions of Florida residents who filed their reemployment claims successfully with the help of our agents."

The DEO plans to hire 435 employees by the end of the summer to staff the call centers. 

"Utilizing internal DEO employees, instead of contracted call center staff, will allow these employees to better assist claimants with any issues," stated Ogelsby. "The Department remains committed to making sure all eligible claimants are paid the benefits they are owed as quickly as possible.​"

Brito said it's the claimants who have been suffering from a lack of support during the call center transition.

"Though the DEO is set on hiring call agents internally. So, through the state, through the department, they haven't yet," she said. "So, they're not equipped to handle the volume and yet they let people go. So, the ones that suffer, again, are the claimants." 

Governor Ron DeSantis recently signed $92.4 million in state and federal funds to modernize Florida's broken unemployment system. The DEO expects to have its new system up and running by next summer.