GASTONIA, N.C. — A Gastonia grandmother's plans for her dream home nearly got derailed after the North Carolina Division of Employment Security (DES) wrongly demanded she pay back nearly $10,000 in unemployment benefits.
After several stressful months, Melissa Holland turned to WCNC Charlotte for help, and following multiple messages, the state agreed to review, and ultimately overturn, Holland's case.
In March 2020, Holland's family sold their home in Statesville and moved to Gastonia.
"We found what we thought was going to be our forever home," Holland said.
She found a job as a home health aide for Kintegra Health, but she was laid off after her first week.
"'Due to COVID, we're not going to be needing you anymore,'" Holland recalled. "'So you're laid off, go file for unemployment.'"
She filed a claim and got approved for unemployment benefits in early April 2020.
At the top-right corner of the April determination letter, her last employer was correctly listed as Kintegra's former name, "Gaston Family Health Services."
"I was worried about being able to bring in the money for my family," Holland said. "It made me feel better when I found out I was approved."
But after receiving unemployment checks for months, she got a letter in July 2020, rejecting her original unemployment claim.
In the July determination letter, a different employer was listed, Sherrie's In-Home Care, which was her previous employer before she quit to take her new job with Kintegra in Gastonia.
She doesn't know how the switch happened because in her original unemployment claim, she specifically stated she voluntarily left Sherrie's for a new job, but subsequently got laid off from Kintegra due to the pandemic.
North Carolina DES then sent her two more letters, demanding she pay back $8,985 in unemployment benefits and preventing her from receiving any more payments.
"I was furious," Holland said. "I was mad to the point that I started crying."
She appealed the decision and sent several messages, trying to explain the wrong employer was written on her state forms.
"I tried to tell them, and I tried to tell them," Holland said. "They would not listen, no matter what I did."
The state rejected her appeal, and her family's plans for their dream home disappeared until she contacted WCNC Charlotte.
After a reporter sent multiple messages, DES agreed to review Holland's case.
On March 12, 2021, the state told her it made a mistake, and she no longer had to repay any of her benefits.
She said DES also deposited more than $2,716 to her bank account, an amount, she said, the state withheld last summer.
"I was like, 'Really? Holy cow!'" she said. "I was surprised. I was very, very surprised."
With the state's repayment demand wiped out, and the new money she received, Holland said her family can bring their dream of a forever home back to life.
Holland said the state still owed her $1,895, and WCNC Charlotte will follow up to make sure she gets paid the rest of the amount.
If you're having trouble collecting your unemployment benefits, email us at money@wcnc.com