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Locked accounts plague certain unemployed Floridian's for weeks

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TALLAHASSEE, Fla. — At this point, Torey Dennis knows an unlocked and issue-free unemployment claim is never a guarantee.

“I check my account every day just to make sure,” she said.

Torey filed last year and dealt with some issues then. She said things were going smoothly until she had to reverify herself. After that, she says her account started to lock and unlock.

She says after she logged in early this morning, ”From my phone, April 19, 2021, Tori Dennis was locked out of CONNECT.”

She sent ABC Action News a screenshot that shows that, but within a few hours, she was back in. It’s happened about 5 times now and she has no idea why.

“Magically in my account just keeps getting locked,” Dennis said.

ABC Action News asked the DEO about it once again with an emphasis on what to say to someone who has been locked as many times as Dennis has.

“It seems like it always happens when I am trying to claim my weeks. When it’s time to claim my account just locks,” Dennis said.

ABC Action News received a phone call from the DEO Monday afternoon. It says it’s aware people are getting re-locked after completing the ID.Me verification and it does seem to happen to some folks as they claim their weeks which is why DEO officials are going in each time to unlock them. It would explain why someone like Dennis has been locked 5 times.

“What is wrong with their system like what is it?” Dennis asked.

The DEO couldn’t say exactly what’s causing this issue but says they have a team working on it.

In the meantime, every time you get locked — wait 24 to 48 hours to see if your account is unlocked again.

If not, you can fill out our spreadsheet that ABC Action News sends in every Friday to the DEO.