BUFFALO, N.Y. (WKBW) — Rose Ingrao is desperate for answers. She wants to know why, after receiving unemployment benefits for a year, the payments have stopped, and her account run dry.
“I have days where I don’t even check anymore because I know nothing’s going to be there,” she said. “Where is my money?”
Ingrao says, this past March she had to re-certify her benefits for this year, and did so over the phone. She says everything went smoothly, and she got confirmation from the Department of Labor how much her payments would be.
“A week later, I got the first check,” she said.
Then she says, the payments stopped, and the only correspondence she had with the Department of Labor has been auto-generated e-mails on how to prevent unemployment fraud.
Desperate to talk to someone, she even replied to one of those e-mails saying, “Can you please tell me where my unemployment money is? I haven’t received ant money in over a month!”
“It makes me sick to my stomach,” she said.
Ingrao says she’s lucky to have family and friends support her during this time, but she’s had to pick up odd jobs to make ends meet. She says she’s always applying for work.
“I haven’t made over 100-something dollars on any given week,” she said
We contacted the DOL with her story, and a spokesperson says the department is looking into the inquiry but cannot discuss individual claims due to privacy.
7 Eyewitness News then provided her information to the DOL, and within an hour she says she received a call from a representative saying her money is on its way.
She called us with her reaction.
“I feel so relieved,” she said.
For those who haven’t received benefits after reapplying, the DOL says it can take up to three weeks after the application has been processed.
