People back at work still receiving unemployment checks
ORLANDO, Fla. - FOX 35 News first told you about a new problem Floridians are finding with the Department of Economic Opportunity’s website.
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“I’ve got to get it back to them, and I want it stopped. If I keep getting more, I’m gonna be like, 'OK, no, no no.' I don’t want to owe a big debt back to the state,” said Debbie Purvis, of Marion County.
Purvis has been happily back to work for a few weeks now, but she says the federal government keeps depositing unemployment checks into her bank account.
“They go directly into my account, so it’s not like I can just package it up and send it back,” Purvis said.
FOX 35 News has learned Purvis isn't the only one in this position.
Senator Victor Torres’ office started getting similar complaints on Tuesday.
Representative Carlos Guillermo Smith is getting similar calls.
“She was called by her employer to return to work on April 24. She has not been able to find a place in the CONNECT SYSTEM to report her return to work and is still receiving payments, even though she’s told them in a message on the site of her return to work and not requested for any more weeks," Guillermo-Smith said, reading from an email he’d received.
His constituent received an overpayment of $247 from the state and a $600 overpayment from the federal government.
Buried on the DEO’s website is the “fraud and overpayment” section.
The website says repayments are accepted by check or money order with an attached payment coupon or by credit card, but people are skeptical.
“I don’t trust DEO with anything,” Rep. Guillermo-Smith said. “We’re just sitting here waiting for answers. And it feels like Groundhog Day every single day. These folks wake up and they get the same BS from DEO over and over again. They can’t get a hold of them, can’t get answers."
For now Guillermo-Smith is recommending if you encounter this issue, keep trying to reach out to the DEO, create a paper trail and hold onto the money until the government asks for it back and you can document sending it.