Hello. Thank you for this service. I was inquiring about Unemployment Insurance claims. I was wrongfully terminated and accused of something that never occured. I was eligable and then ineligable for UI benefits, yet never received cash assistance or ...

Jurisdiction: 

Area of Law: 

Question: 

Hello. Thank you for this service. I was inquiring about Unemployment Insurance claims. I was wrongfully terminated and accused of something that never occured. I was eligable and then ineligable for UI benefits, yet never received cash assistance or UI of any type. Now I am billed from a different state for an amount with accrueing interest being added for an amount of money I never received. I have already let the offices know I never received this, and even met with a federal judge to clarify this matter. They continue to harass me with this bill. What can I do to stop this insanity and prevent them from continuing to harass me with this bill?

Selected Answer: 

DakotaLegal's picture

  

  
There's one thing I often suggest to people who are receiving a bill, for goods or benefits they never received, or never even asked for. Initially, treat the bill as though it’s justified. I’m in no way saying you simply accept the bill or make any compromising statements about “owing” anything. But you can get the agency to explain the details of the bill to see what proof they have of the debt. This includes getting: a written summary of the total sum (supposedly) owed, any interest or penalties, the date the account opened and closed, a statement of all payments supposedly received by you, and any addresses or prior communication sent from them to you.
 
There are two reasons for this approach. First, in an age of identity theft, you need to see if your social security numbers or personal identity has been compromised. Second, state agencies are under special obligations to report all relevant data to a (supposed) consumer. By forcing the state agency to review the details of the claim, they often, with a little prompting or challenge, catch their own mistake. Most states also have an “Ombudsman” program, to review state procedures: your own state might be able to help identify a counterpart n the other state: http://www.azgovernor.gov/ Administration/ Gov_Staff.asp.
 
Be certain to find out if the state has farmed out their ‘debt collection’ function. As we’ll discuss, this passing of debt collection to a third parity may give you more rights to sue for damages, if the collection was wrongfully conducted by a private (as opposed to a state agency) company.
 
I also wonder if you had been injured at work, but instead of receiving any state comp payments, you instead received payments from an insurer? This is one reason some claims are disputed for repayment, because the insurer may have asked for reimbursal from the state fund…and the state may in turn go after you. Here’s a case where that happened… http ://caselaw.findlaw.com/az-court-of-appeals/1489291.html.
 
From here, I’m going to assume you have made this demand on the state agency for all the records. There are also other things you can do to try and check this process. Because a false state benefits debt collection has serious implications for your credit, and could even be viewed as a criminal matter, your also have legal rights that are being violated.
 
Affordable Legal Help
 
If you cannot afford full legal fees, there are some good alternatives. You can contact Arizona legal aid…http://www.sazlegalaid.org/contact.html. If you are not eligible for legal aid, or you might be too far from their offices, try the Arizona Pro Bono program: http://www.azbar.org/professionaldevelopment/careerandpracticeresourcecenter/volunteeropportunities/probonocommunityvolunteeropportunities.
 
Contesting Unemployment “Debt” In Court
 
Again depending on who is trying to collect the debt, you might be able to contest the alleged debt in court. Depending on the size of the debt, you might be able to go into small claims court. In reality, however, most states have passed laws that limit taking a dispute against a state agency into court. It might be useful to take a look at Arizona overpayment rules, for a comparison with the other state: § 23-1068(B) (1995), Ariz.Rev.Stat. Ann. Here’s an Arizona case, talking about how aggressively a state can pursue unemployment benefits… http:// caselaw.findlaw.com/az-court-of-appeals/1419451.html. You can find the other state’s rules, (under the State and local Rules section) here… http://www. usa.gov/Topics/Reference-Shelf/Laws.shtml.

All Comments

DakotaLegal's picture

  

  
There's one thing I often suggest to people who are receiving a bill, for goods or benefits they never received, or never even asked for. Initially, treat the bill as though it’s justified. I’m in no way saying you simply accept the bill or make any compromising statements about “owing” anything. But you can get the agency to explain the details of the bill to see what proof they have of the debt. This includes getting: a written summary of the total sum (supposedly) owed, any interest or penalties, the date the account opened and closed, a statement of all payments supposedly received by you, and any addresses or prior communication sent from them to you.
 
There are two reasons for this approach. First, in an age of identity theft, you need to see if your social security numbers or personal identity has been compromised. Second, state agencies are under special obligations to report all relevant data to a (supposed) consumer. By forcing the state agency to review the details of the claim, they often, with a little prompting or challenge, catch their own mistake. Most states also have an “Ombudsman” program, to review state procedures: your own state might be able to help identify a counterpart n the other state: http://www.azgovernor.gov/ Administration/ Gov_Staff.asp.
 
Be certain to find out if the state has farmed out their ‘debt collection’ function. As we’ll discuss, this passing of debt collection to a third parity may give you more rights to sue for damages, if the collection was wrongfully conducted by a private (as opposed to a state agency) company.
 
I also wonder if you had been injured at work, but instead of receiving any state comp payments, you instead received payments from an insurer? This is one reason some claims are disputed for repayment, because the insurer may have asked for reimbursal from the state fund…and the state may in turn go after you. Here’s a case where that happened… http ://caselaw.findlaw.com/az-court-of-appeals/1489291.html.
 
From here, I’m going to assume you have made this demand on the state agency for all the records. There are also other things you can do to try and check this process. Because a false state benefits debt collection has serious implications for your credit, and could even be viewed as a criminal matter, your also have legal rights that are being violated.
 
Affordable Legal Help
 
If you cannot afford full legal fees, there are some good alternatives. You can contact Arizona legal aid…http://www.sazlegalaid.org/contact.html. If you are not eligible for legal aid, or you might be too far from their offices, try the Arizona Pro Bono program: http://www.azbar.org/professionaldevelopment/careerandpracticeresourcecenter/volunteeropportunities/probonocommunityvolunteeropportunities.
 
Contesting Unemployment “Debt” In Court
 
Again depending on who is trying to collect the debt, you might be able to contest the alleged debt in court. Depending on the size of the debt, you might be able to go into small claims court. In reality, however, most states have passed laws that limit taking a dispute against a state agency into court. It might be useful to take a look at Arizona overpayment rules, for a comparison with the other state: § 23-1068(B) (1995), Ariz.Rev.Stat. Ann. Here’s an Arizona case, talking about how aggressively a state can pursue unemployment benefits… http:// caselaw.findlaw.com/az-court-of-appeals/1419451.html. You can find the other state’s rules, (under the State and local Rules section) here… http://www. usa.gov/Topics/Reference-Shelf/Laws.shtml.