Virginia Employment Commision Demanding repayment of alleged overpayment of unemployment benefits Richmond, Virginia

I was found eligible for unemployment benefits in January 2009. The Virginia Employment Commission approved my application, computed my weekly benefit amount and paid the approved amount each week as expected.

In January 2012, I received a notice from the VEC that I had received an overpayment of $ 3,187 during a 19 week period of 1/9/2010 thru 5/15/2010. This was my first notice and was not sent to me until 2 years after the stated period. I question the reason for the 2 year delay in notification. The notification coded the overpayment fault as "A", which means a VEC accounting error. The reason for overpayment was stated as "social security benefits were not deducted".

I accurately and honestly submitted my work, wages, and pension information when I applied for unemployment. I was not informed of a Social Security reduction of benefits based on social security factors. This reduction had been in effect for 6 years prior to the VEC determination of my unemployment benefit amount. Yet the VEC had neglected to include the deduction. I had no idea that I was being overpaid until 2 years later. The VEC states that I need to return the overpayment amount even if the error is theirs, not mine.

I was granted an appeal hearing which occurred at 10:00 AM EST on April 10, 2012. The hearing began with a VEC statement that I had failed to apply for an appeal before the Feb 8, 2012 deadline date stated in the notice I received. The appeal notice was in nearly microscopic font, which I missed when I received and read the notice.  On March 17th, I re-visited the notice and found the appeal date requirement. The hearing officer stated that I had forfeited my right to an appeal. At that point, the telephone hearing was essentially over.

I was asked to submit a statement. I made a statement on my behalf and was told that it was not relevant because I had forfeited my right to an appeal.

I asked for and was given a telephone number and web site address for client appeal issues. The telephone number was dedicated only for submission of 1st time unemployment applications. The web site presented a client appeal form. After filling out the form and clicking the only button, the page went blank. This is what I got from a seemingly incompetent VEC employee whose only objective seemed to be finding a reason to collect money from me.

What resources are available to me for pursuing this issue?