[Colorado] Is making it impossible for the unemployed to receive their 1099-G in a continued effort to oppress the poor

[anjulasubedi]

I've spent the last two weeks attempting to help my unemployed brother in Colorado get his 1099-G. Like many Americans he is not the most tech savvy person, as a matter of fact he does not even have easy access to a laptop or desktop computer, no problem I thought I can help him "overcome" the technical hurdles that Colorado has put into place which continue to OPPRESS the unemployed or under employed in this country.

Colorado has implemented a system called ID.ME which is an online verification system which is used to "prevent identity theft" what they forgot to tell you is that it is also designed to continue the oppression of poor people in America.

I'm a software architect, and have been writing code for 20 years and attempting to walk someone through this system is nearly impossible (I live in Nevada so I can only do so much) AND by the time we did successfully navigate the system it required a LIVE representative to validate his documents with him in video chat.

Once he entered the queue for a live representative it took 5 hours, yes 5 HOURS for a live human to enter the chat only to disconnect IMMEDIATLY saying "your passport photo was uploaded incorrectly". Yes it's true I had to have my brother retake the picture of his passport because some of the numbers at the bottom were cut off. You would think the representative could have patiently waited while a new picture was uploaded, especially after waiting 5 hours on hold.

My bother has a part time job at night so we were unable to try this despicable process again until today and now the system is stuck on a page which sends a text message and asks the user to take a "selfie". When people call in for help the representatives are less than helpful and more or less tell you to "just do it on your phone".

This is not an easy system for people who are not computer savvy, yes maybe if you are in your 20s or 30s this is a no brainer but not everyone even knows how to take a selfie which might be the reason they are under employed in the FIRST place.

Its disgusting that this is even allowed, there is no other way we can figure out how to get this 1099-G so he can file his taxes and get his stimulus check. Having people wait on hold for 5 hours is CRIMINAL.

I hope people see this and we can get the message out about how under the veil of "fraud prevention" we have implemented poor oppression. If people know of another way I can help him get his 1099-G I would much appreciate it.

 

[bubblesofhope]

@anjulasubedi Same here the wait was 5 hours I figure to try tomorrow in the morning.

 

[gordon_b]

@anjulasubedi Agree 100 percent. It's happening in pa too. I went though hell getting mine done.i didn't have to do video. I know someone too who had to do that. Also I had trouble receiving a text from them, anyway got it done. They have basically stopped paying many of us on pua, by creating issues on our claims. I haven't gotten paid since they added new funds to my new claim, ,2 weeks now stuck in payment in progress with no pay dates no money at all. And they say nothing to us like we are sorry there are errors we will get to you soon. And you call a rep to help you, we wait hours then you get 10 different answers. I think they are doing everything possible to wear people down so we lose our pay. They got millions of dollars in funds from this last bill and so many have not been paid these last 2 weeks and many more before then. Every news channel should be reporting your state and mine and every other one pulling this shit when we need this help more than ever. They are criminals..it falls on the leadership of the state. The governor's. They should get on the people working in unemployment and tell them let's go. But thru won't do that. They want them to wear us down so we will give up and they can keep the money in their pockets when it was allocated for us. Fckn criminals. That's all they are..ps. can't you log in to his account and the 1099 should be in his account. His unemployment claim. Here in pa they sent it to me I think through my message center in my claim..then you can print it out..hope you get it soon..sad. for all of us going through this when we need help the most..

 

[inneedofgod]

@anjulasubedi i hear this and i see it too, its hard to be a person who can see how things could be done to be more efficient and painless...why can we just not get down to it and do the work to fix/eliminate/reform all these systems...why can we not just give each other what we all want?

but instead we have all these awkward barely functional systems we all muddle through, which leave a lot of people fallen through the cracks as they say....

i mean i feel similarly to what youre saying- but applied to just about every other area of life...our food sources and lack of farms, being a big one for me, the ineffectiveness of billions of dollars to say...USDA and how little actual help that provides directly for rural people and farms...as well as the whole SNAP/EBT/Food stamps, welfare/ low income assistance programs... or any other similar program.

i will admit there is a darker inner part of me that feels like...all these people who would normally sit in judgement on people...have had some hard lessons this past year - knowing first hand how dehumanizing it can be to apply for food stamps, to have to try to get utility assistance...to understand from the inside...whats it's been like for the working poor, and the just plain old poor.

i mean i can...keep that inner brat part of me under check.....i acknowledge it a shitty stance to be like that. i have compassion for the people who suddenly find themselves poor when they havent known that, and havent known how much they take for granted...and now they know - we need social safety nets, without judgements or shame ...without...having it be that these systems are made so difficult to get that only the extremely persistant person willing to spend 20 hours on hold waiting to talk to someone, etc....all the ways these systems are dysfuntional

 

[smith001]

@anjulasubedi I was verified on February 19th and still waiting for my account to be unlocked. I have called twice and they said that a person has to verify their verifier. As of today 884k have been sent to id.me and 94k(they are releasing between 2-5k a day)have been unlocked/holds lifted. At this rate people veified today will be released after the september end of pua.It has been 8 weeks since i have been paid. I really hope they figure a way to automatically release holds after verification.

 

[thenewguyga]

@anjulasubedi I am sure it will add to your justified pain and anger, the states are PAYING ID Me to provide this service!!!

 

[samuel4christ]

@anjulasubedi They say the wait is "More than 5 hours", and they aren't kidding. The first time I left the website up on my computer, I walked away to start dinner, and missed the call. Six and a half hours of waiting, and had to try again yesterday. Another six hours of waiting and I finally spoke to someone. I still don't understand what was wrong with my documents in the first place. Perfect photos of both my passport and Colorado driver's license, though my face has changed a bit in the last 5 years. Guess getting old and cutting your hair off makes them unable to identify you...

Fucking bullshit.

 

[camcates21]

@anjulasubedi So I’m from California. We have to re-file a new claim (since it’s been a year since pandemic started) and we use ID.ME as well.

I personally have had no problems. Snapped a photo of my drivers license and a face scan. My sibling had to sit on hold with them for 10 hours to get her issue with ID.ME sorted.

I want to push back on your oppression comments a little bit.

The state of California has lost literally billions of dollars due to identity theft and fraudulent transactions. Literally Billions This system is designed and now implemented to prevent our tax dollars from being stolen by criminals. Personally I think that’s a good thing.

Yes. It sucks if there are problems. My sister is one of them affected, but what else do you suggest? I don’t see any better way available.

 

[shadi]

@camcates21 Also in CA and I've been dealing with the ID.me system for ~ two weeks now for probably a total of 150+ hours of "waiting". Wait time says 5+ hours, then the ETA vanishes after a few minutes, then after said 5 hours it times out. The one time it didn't time out (the first try) my photos were rejected for "obstructions". I'm guessing it was the glare from my ceiling lights. At this point I just have it running in the background at all times hoping it goes through. I've contacted ID.me support and still no response.

Apparently you can skip the ID.me process if you call in to EDD but of course they've disabled holding for a rep on their phone system for the last two weeks, presumably because of call volume for all of the mentioned issues. I've been calling 10-20 times a day (both numbers) and never even get the opportunity to just hold for a rep. My claim expired on the 15th and I've been trying to refile since then. Trying to get my last payment released before refiling via snail mail so I can pay rent.

 

[camcates21]

@shadi I know it won’t help you immediately , but my sister sat on some sort of Id.me voice chat thing. She sat and left it open for 10 hours and texted me 20 minutes ago that she got it resolved.

My guess is you will get through eventually by just sitting and waiting. I’m sorry you have to deal with this .

Jesus this system does suck when it doesn’t work right but I’ve talked to 8 people who have had no problems.

 

[shadi]

@camcates21 Yea I'm not really angry about it because I've been lucky with an easy experience with EDD since a year ago until now. If I have to I'll just send in the forms but it will mean waiting a month for a payment (from what I understand anyway, info has been "mixed" about the current situation to say the least). Thanks for the tip though, I'll give that a shot tomorrow.