BostonUniStudent t1_irw88n8 wrote on October 11, 2022 at 2:43 PM

Have you contested it yet? People do this without an attorney. And right now DUA is offering very lenient forgiveness on debts. You can talk to an attorney about this, but there are deadlines that approach quickly. You may need to put in a pro forma appeal before deadlines approach.

It's possible they just instantly forgive the debt, obviating the need for hiring an attorney later.

Scratch_Disastrous OP t1_irw8xwg wrote on October 11, 2022 at 2:47 PM

This is super helpful, thank you. I can see that there's an appeal process, and it sounds like I only have a few days to do this. I'm contemplating sending an overnight letter to them. All of the online forms require me to go through my DUA/PUA "account", but I don't have any account like this because I've never requested unemployment assistance (someone else did on my behalf).

I'm just worried that my letter will go into some government black hole and I won't find out about it until my tax refund is intercepted.

BostonUniStudent t1_irw9nxg wrote on October 11, 2022 at 2:52 PM

If it were me, I would make an online account. Just to see what letters they have for you. The paper trail will mostly be there in digital format, associated with your social security number. And it also makes appealing very easy.

I had to go through this process myself two weeks ago. I filed in Massachusetts, when I apparently should have filed in New Hampshire. I live in Mass, work remotely from here, but originally was hired in New Hampshire for a national remote company. I got misinformation from the Mass DUA call center. They recommended filing locally. But they just recommended I file for a waiver on the debt. I did it in 2 minutes. They make it easy online. And it was instantly discharged. You should find out if there's going to be any tax implications and stuff like that. But filing for a waiver on the debt doesn't claim ownership of the debt. And it doesn't preclude you from later filing a police report claiming fraud. It just would prevent them from attaching to your tax return when you file next year or quarterly.

Scratch_Disastrous OP t1_irw9xtl wrote on October 11, 2022 at 2:54 PM

I like this, and will give it a shot to see if I can actually create the account and see the letters/forms. It would be great to submit the appeal online and have the ability to track it. Thank you so much!

Scratch_Disastrous OP t1_irwb0yc wrote on October 11, 2022 at 3:02 PM

Unfortunately, someone already has an account with my SSN (presumably the person who fraudulently submitted for benefits back in 2020). I can't change the password because all of the contact methods for password reset are theirs (email addresses and mobile/text numbers). I'll keep calling the number.