LAS VEGAS (KTNV) — The Nevada Department of Employment, Training and Rehabilitation says some unemployment insurance claimants may have their accounts frozen or transactions blocked.
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13 Action News reached out to the agency after several people called the newsroom to report they were having trouble taking money out of their accounts.
Anthony Polselli is at a loss for words, frustrated his Bank of America account is frozen and unable to access his money from unemployment.
He says this all started last week when someone withdrew thousands of dollars from his account. He notified the bank and got a new debit card. When he tried to use it, he found out his account was frozen and was told to reach DETR.
“We did need to send our ID’s to DETR, so DETR could send it to Bank of America, so Bank of America could unlock our accounts,” he said.
He says he began getting sent back and forth between DETR and the bank and became frustrated, not getting answers to when he could access his money. Polselli says he’s heard others on unemployment having the same issue.
“It’s unthinkable that you just can’t go get your money. I mean there should be no excuse,” he said.
This means no money to do anything for Christmas and is worried, the delays could mean having no money to pay bills.
“This could turn out into a nightmare like other people are going through and for me, it could snowball into something that cannot be good,” he said.
If your card is valid and it was blocked or frozen, it could take 5 to 7 days for the account to be verified and reopened, a spokesperson says.
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DETR also says no action is needed on behalf of the claimant and the agency will work to resolve the issues.
Polselli says he understands the need to fight fraud but believes DETR and Bank of America are dropping the ball for claimants like him.
“Someone’s not doing their job and the way they’re implementing measures is not working,” he said.
Read the full statement from a DETR spokesperson below:
DETR is working in partnership with Bank of America in an ongoing effort to protect cardholders and the State from fraud. For a limited number of claimants, debit cards may be erroneously frozen or blocked. Valid individual cards that are frozen, blocked or closed will take 5-7 days to pass through the full verification process to be re-opened.
