COLORADO, USA — Of all the problems Coloradans trying to claim unemployment face, waiting on hold is among the most frustrating.
People who said their claims were wrongfully on pause also said they can't get through to ask why -- and they said it can feel hopeless waiting on hold for an answer.
"Like when you call a girl for a date and she never gets back to you," Don Notte said.
He said he filed for unemployment in May, began receiving benefits and then got a notification that he was ineligible and cut off. He tried to call to ask why -- and ended up on hold.
"I'm the type of guy, I waited 15, 20 minutes then I couldn't wait anymore," Notte said. He tried calling back -- nearly a dozen times -- and never was able to get a person to answer before he got sick of waiting and hung up.
Data from the state showed the average hold on the line he called was nearly 24 minutes. The longest holds -- the average of the longest hold each day since April 1 -- was nearly an hour.
In a statement to 9NEWS, the director of the Division of Unemployment Insurance said the department always strives to improve.
"We understand how frustrating it is for legitimate claimants to have to wait any amount of time, whether that be the daily average of 20 minutes we've seen since April or the three to four hours experienced at some points during the Great Recession and the pandemic," Philip Spesshardt said.
But not getting through means people like Notte are still waiting -- frustrated and, now, growing frightened.
"Where's the money going to come from?" he asked. "Like I said, I've exhausted pretty much all my reserves."
He said after a dozen calls without an answer, he doesn't feel like the state cares about claimants.
"Myself and the people who are going through the same thing I have are inconsequential, like, 'Oh, well it's your problem, you deal with it,'" he said. "Maybe that's a little bit of sarcasm, but that's the way I feel."
Spesshardt said the state just hired a new group of call center reps who will start answering calls soon. They undergo 13 weeks of training period before they are able to start answering calls.
"We're also in the process of hiring another cohort right now. We expect the newest cohort to be on the phones by the beginning of the fourth quarter," he said. Spesshardt also said the department continues to add functionality to its website, which should allow people to "self-serve" which should eventually drive down the number of callers -- and thus the hold times.
CDLE provided the following data on its unemployment phone lines in response to a public records request from 9NEWS:
303-318-9000:
- The average daily hold was 23 minutes and 38 seconds.
- The longest hold per day on average was 56 minutes and 25 seconds.
- Total calls picked up: 32,438.
- Average calls picked up per day: 457
303-318-9035: (This is the Benefit Payment Control line, which is dedicated to assisting people with overpayment questions. People who call this number with fraud hold questions cannot be supported by this line. As a result, people needing to make payments, request a payment plan, or request a waiver for their legitimate overpayments are having to wait longer than usual.)
- The average daily hold was 13 minutes and 10 seconds.
- The longest hold per day on average was 50 minutes and 45 seconds.
- Total calls picked up: 4,390.
- Average calls picked up per day: 73
1-800-388-5515:
- The average daily hold was 23 minutes and 24 seconds.
- The longest hold per day on average was 52 minutes and 18 seconds.
- Total calls picked up: 12,933.
- Average calls picked up per day: 182
303-536-5615:
- The average daily hold was 17 minutes and 3 seconds
- The longest hold per day on average was 1 hour and 21 minutes.
- Total calls picked up: 58,906 calls
- Average calls picked up per day: 807
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