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Consumer Affairs


Social Security Disability


Consumer Complaints & Reviews

There are two Social Security programs available to people with disabilities:

  • Social Security Disability Insurance pays benefits to you and certain members of your family if you are "insured" meaning that you worked long enough and paid Social Security taxes;
  • Supplemental Security Income pays benefits based on financial need.

These programs are administered by the Social Security Administration, a huge bureaucracy that, like all government agencies, moves at a plodding pace. It can be very difficult to resolve disputes, as the complaints below sadly illustrate.

If you are having problems, it may be helpful to contact your Congressional representative. You can find the contact info at http://www.house.gov. Frequently an inquiry from Congress helps get things moving.

This is reference to account **, Sacramento County Superior Court, $864 filed on January 8. Nobody sent me any judgment, nobody called me for judgment, and there were no court and no judge. If unemployment development overpaid me, they were wrong in the first place because I had lost my job anyway and my supervisor had fired me and I was qualified for unemployment benefit. I was not notified from unemployment for judgment, I paid them back. Unemployment after several years brought the word of judgment to my credit and at the last minute of my loan approval, I am losing everything, including my house.

I am a college professor for 30 years and I am trying to keep my home. I am working as an adjunct faculty. Sometimes between two semesters and summer when I don't have a job, I apply for unemployment. Year 2008, I received unemployment and looks like they overpaid me. However, I paid them back with installment and everything is satisfied. Everything is cleared and paid. In spite of this clearance, again in January 2012, wrongfully this account jumped in my credit and brought my credit 70 points down. I called to unemployment development and they verified that this is not correct, and sent me a zero balance confirmation letter. This matter has reported as unpaid debt for $850 under my name to TRW, Equifax and Expedia credit rating companies.

This was very costly to me, disturbed my life and my wife's health. I feel numbness on my leg and I have chest pain of this new after a whole of struggling to refinance my home. After waiting for a whole year to get loan approval for my home in order to refinance my personal loan and take the threat of my personal lender off of my shoulder, all of sudden at the last minute, my agent called me with a very bad news about my house re-financing's possibility of disapproval if I don't fix this error.

Now, my wife is very depressed and sick after this news. We might lose our house. I lost a lot of money, including appraisal fee, and I might lose my house.

There was a bill presented to Congress in January 2011 to eliminate the waiting period for the terminally ill to collect their benefits. This bill was pawned off to other departments in the government and there has not been any activity in a year. Under the present law, terminally ill persons who are quickly approved under the compassionate law of SS, must wait five months to collect benefits. The same waiting period as disabled persons with non-life threatening conditions.

This portion of the compassionate law is not revealed to the terminally ill when filing for their compassionate benefits. Our family learned of it when a dear family member received her approval letter from the SSA. My younger sister was diagnosed on November 28, 2011 with inoperable, aggressive adenocarcinoma of the lung, kidney, liver and neck lymph nodes. There is no hope other than chemotherapy as an attempt to prolong her life. She filed for SSD under the compassionate law and was very quickly approved for disability benefits. However, what she was not told, and what she did not know, until she received her approval letter, is she must wait five (5) months to collect any of her benefits.

My sister will not receive benefits until June 2012, and the benefits are not retroactive from the date of diagnosis or approval. She has absolutely no income to supplement her husband's social security benefits, which monies are used up for mortgage and utilities. She is unable to work. She must not only suffer from her illness, but suffer financially for the next five (5) months! Benefits payments are not retroactive either. She is not alone. Many terminally ill persons are in the same situation. Many have passed away without collecting penny one of their benefits, even though approved to do so, because of this moronic half-baked law. "Compassion" needs to be in whole not in part.

Congress needs to put Bill HR 160 back on the table and get it passed. They further need to back the effective date to January 5, 2011, the date initially presented. Had they not sat on their haunches for the past year, perhaps many terminally ill persons would have had some comfort before passing on. The bill further needs to be void of the language "a person who has six months or less to live". The language in the bill should be plain and simple - "the terminally ill". The law and its language to date is nonsensical. In October, Commissioner Astrue of SSA announced a small grants program for graduate students to improve the disability determination process, including the Compassionate Allowances initiative.

SSA awarded approximately $1.5 million grant over a five-year period to Policy Research Incorporated (PRI). The Disability Determination Process Small Grant program will make small stipends available to graduate students for innovative research relevant to the disability program. That move is ridiculous. The $1.5 mil could have been distributed to the terminally ill prior to their deaths. It doesn't take a rocket scientist to research improvement of SSD. If SS is so financially destroyed, where did the $1.5 mil come from to support such a ridiculous move? SSI doesn't help too many disabled either. If one has an income of $1,048 coming into the household, they are disqualified from receiving SSI. Wake up Congress. The money in the SS fund belongs to the hard working American people who are in dire need of same.

I feel so bad for all that have complaints about our Disability system, and I agree, that something needs to be done. My question is why hasn't anyone stepped in and at least brought light to the irresponsibility, blatant neglect and mistreatment that is happening to the American Public who have paid into this system in the event something were to happen? I too have files for SSDI. I have an attorney. It has been almost 7, yes, I said 7 years and I still do not have an answer because of backlog. I am lucky enough to have a friend who is a doctor, whom I have not involved in my treatment due to conflict of interest and he told me the evidence I have in my medical records is more than enough to show I have an extremely strong case.

You must evaluate these people applying in depth. Kenneth *** (42 years old) Ocala, Florida is applying. Nothing wrong with him except for pill popping loser. Lives with mother who is on every government benefit she can get, including pills that she feeds him. Please quit giving our money to these people. Disability is for disabled people!

Social Security has been lying and treating me like garbage. The Hanover office is pretty good but someone named Jill said my money would be in my account by January 1. She lied. I've been promised so many things. I keep track and the main office needs to go to charm school as they are ruder than any DMV.

I applied for social security disability in 1991 after being honorably discharged from the military. A civilian doctor diagnosed me with disabling disease (1989). The VA rates me at 100%"Service-Connected" yet refuses to assign an earlier effective date to coincide with my service (1987-1989 when DOD injected me with harmful vaccines without my informed consent or disclosure). ALJ was inconsistent in his denial, asserting record lacked objective evidence, but then ordering a highly controversial subjective exam (MMPI). This MO of using psychiatric exams to discredit people with knowledge of official misconduct was exposed by a current affair on June 18, 1993 in A Soldier's Story. It is also well documented by Gary Null's documentary: Gulf War Syndrome, featuring a disabled colonel who faces an overly adversarial and abusive claims process (like me) Google: Kenneth Tennant to witness how abusive "authorities" can be.

I need a fair and impartial Decision Review Officer to re-open my social security claim and correct the clear and unmistakable errors. Please pass this along to whom it should concern. My mother is a widow and I have a wife and two kids depending on me. Thank you.

I went to have them send my checks to my house address on November 14 because my checking account was negative. The person I spoke to assured me that I changed my info on time. One of my checks came to my house on time but the other two was sent to my negative checking account. They didn't update my info until the 6th of December and the bank kept my money.

After 3 failed stomach surgeries over a period of many years, I finally had to file for SSDI. My doctor wouldn't even release me back to work anymore. The initial application was submitted by myself in March, 2007 when I was 47 years old. It was, of course denied despite mountains of medical evidence and doctor's statements. This took almost a year just to be denied. I hired a prominent (unnamed) law firm immediately and an appeal was submitted. A hearing was granted but it took just over 1-1/2 years to get a date. The hearing was done via teleconference and the lady judge was very cold, even hostile. It was like being grilled over an open pit. She repeatedly misstated facts and was personal in her pointed questioning. Another 6+ months pass and I get a letter from SS stating that I have been found capable of sedentary work and am not eligible for any benefits. This was a totally bogus finding and another appeal was immediately filed.

Another 1-1/2 years later, I find myself in front of the same large teleconferencing screen looking at the same judge. Not good. There was immediate tension. This judge did not like my attorney and I and things were not going to go well. Period. Fairness and the law be damned. My lawyer and I took a moment in private to discuss the fact that at age 50 a finding of capable of sedentary work is the same as being fully disabled. By moving my application date all the way up to April 2009 we could essentially make me 50 at the time I filed for benefits.

I would have to give up over 2 years of back benefits but in my mind it was that or nothing. We presented it to the judge and she readily accepted it in exchange for a full favorable decision. In other words, "Yes Mr. ***, you are indeed fully disabled under SSDI guidelines. Now if you will kindly forfeit and additional $40,000+ in addition to the $8,500 we initially deprived you of (5 month initial waiting period), you can begin collecting your benefits. And your ever-efficient government has accomplished all of this for you in only 5 years! "

As a resident of California, I am disqualified from receiving food stamps which I desperately need because this is the only state in the Union that replaces a food stamp benefit of (in my case about $217.00) with an SSI supplemental payment of $62.00. This amount has decreased over the years from $162.00 to the current $62.00. I live in the desert where food costs are high due to transportation costs alone. I cannot afford food!

I am 62 years old and disabled. After working for 31 years, I am unable to fend for myself. I get Social Security disability benefits of $752.00 plus medicare. My rent is $550.00. In any other state in the Union, I would qualify for food stamps. I am in poor health due to malnutrition. I am 5'7" and I weigh less than 90 lbs. I eat once a day and I am being discriminated against because of where I live.

In every other criteria measured, I am eligible. I demand to file a discrimination lawsuit against the Federal Government and the State Government. Please respond and I will find representation. This begs for class-action.

I received a ban letter after visiting the Social Security office to ask for assistance with adding my children to my claim. The letter said that I threatened to come back and harm someone, which never happened, and now the letter states that I can never step foot in any Social Security Office. That is not right. I could use some legal assistance. You can e-mail me at **. Thank you.

I was declared disabled by an ALJ in August. It is now October and I still have not received my refund check. I have called my local SS Office. I was told 5 times by 5 different people that my refund was being "processed' and it would soon be released to me. I called this morning to check up for the first time in almost 2 weeks. The woman there told me that I still need to fill out a form before the funds can be processed and released. I was very confused and very frustrated. I asked to speak with her supervisor and she told me she'd have them call me back. I waited an hour and got no call back. So, I called them back, only to find out that supervisors do not make call backs.

I really don't know who to believe or trust anymore. I thought I was doing everything I could do in order to get my refund. And I feel I was lied to all along. This is really unfair. I feel this is why our country is in the mess it's in now, because we have incompetent people running it. I'm now going to be evicted from the home I've been renting for over 10 years and I have no food or money. Thank You America.

I simply went to change my address. Because I'm disabled and I moved so it was supposed to be simple. Well, the agent that tried to assist me was very rude and was getting smart. I had questions and she told me to wait until she put all my info in the computer and she never answered my questions. I asked her name and she gave it to me. She asked if I was mad and I said yes that she was rude and I was going to report her. She replied, "It won't do any good, and I don't think I was being rude."

My daughter was disabled in a car accident in 2004. From 2004-2010 she received disability benefits. Then all of a sudden Social Security says she isn't disabled any more. I have doctors that say she is. I went though one appeal last month which was denied. The person who ran the hearing was very rude and belittled my daughter and told my daughter she could walk to a job. My daughters knees are shot from the accident plus she can't control anger due to TBI. Her case worker loses paper work and doesn't return calls.

Around 4:50 pm I called to check the status of my SSDI claim. The man who answered the telephone stated his name very low. I thought that he said "Marty or Mark. He asked me general information and said to me Did'nt you call here yesterday? I replied yes.Everytime I speak to someone on the telephone I receive different information. This man kept me on hold for over 10 minutes. I am shocked at the treatment that I was given over the telephone by this person who is paid to give out information. Before having to stop working for the second time due to a disability I worked 10 hours a day 40 hours a week and I do not appreciate this man treating me with so much DISRESPECT!!! I worked with the public everyday and I realized that if I had no patients that my job would not need me. This man needs to understand that if people with disability needs did NOT call in Social Security would Not need HIM!!!!!!!

I applied for a SSDI in 2002 but I had a lawyer who was worthless.

My disabilty did not just happen in '02. I have had a bad neck since age 23. It took 3 years and still was turned down. I had 3 doctors around the State saying I could not lift more than 5 pounds. I have severe DDD from neck to spine, carpal tunnel, have had surgery and the list could go on for ever. It started getting really bad when I found out I had hypothyroidism.

Now, I have osteoporosis, lung nodules, nodules on my arteries. I want and deserve my disability insurance.

In 1/10 i applied for ssi/ssd. i was denied in 5/10.i filed an appeal..to which i was denied in 3/11. i am now in process of council review. i have many documented mental issues and have been on meds and therapy. since 1/10 i have had many new issues come up such as being violently assaulted and stalked.the stress of that has put me in the class of PTSD. i am also very paranoid since the person is still out on the street and still stalking me. the judge who denied my appeal claims that my therapist did not document this. i feel that they should have had their own dr look at me and go though my yrs of files to verify my claim. they had a vocational person tell me that i can work as a sandwich maker..wth..

if i am paranoid why would i want to come out of my home and why would u feel it is ok for me to have a knife in my hand at any point esp when 1 of my issues is psychotic features..yes for yrs i worked and paid into my ssd. i have enough credits and can not understand how i was denied money i paid into. when i call sii bout how long the coucil review would take i was told it could take up to 8months. i understand that i am not the only person in this situation but right now this is making me more depressed and agitated knowing that my home and mental status is being threatened by this long delay and the fact that i was denied.but yet i know 2 ppl who that receive ssi just because they are junkies and they use federal money that i paid into to continue to get high with.

i am shocked and disgusted that the excuse of a drug problem is enough for some one to get approved and they are not being made to seek help at all...but i am doing what i am supposed to do and it does not inc drug issues cause i don't have any..and yet i have to fight tooth and nail for again money i paid into. it is disgusting. this long drawn out process has done nothing but add to my mental distress.

My son's ex-girlfriend and his father that never did anything for him went to the social security administration office here in Sumter South Carolina and the child support division. His ex-girlfriend pursued him to put his benefits into her name. I don't know what they told them at the SSA to have that process done for them to make that decision done without my acknowledge.

Then his ex-girlfriend became abusive to him. I had to call the police on her because she stabbed him. And the police advised me to get my son's benefits back into my name and went to the SSA and they told me they weren't going to put it back into my name. They were going to put into disability and special needs name and he was staying with me. And then he decided that he wanted his own place and disability and special needs had put him in his own home with no furniture or anything nor clothes. Then he was going around into other people's homes taking beds, TV, couches just for him to have something to sleep on and to sit on.

I called SSA to complain about disability and special need not being provided to Jermaine. SSA told me that it was my place to get him the things for his house and I feel as though that it wasn't my place to do so when disability and special needs get his benefits. They refused so he went out to steal what he needed for his home. First of all, they should've put him into one of their home settings to see if he was ready for his own home. But they didn't. They weren't going to put his check back into my name because of an over payment. And they said before they do that, they would cut his benefits off. The whole time I had Jermaine's check in my name, I made sure he had everything that he needed including money and I gave him some of my money as well. He does not want disability and special needs over his money anymore and why would they let a woman that he really didn't know and a father that never did anything for him in a day of his life persuade them to take his benefits out of my name?

So now he is in jail for first and second charges of burglary due to lack of things that he needed, which disability and special needs didn't get for him. I feel that if they are geting his benefits, they should've provided him with everything for his home--not just stick him into a home with nothing. I hold disability and special needs and SSA responsible for him being in jail. If they did what they are supposed to do, he wouldn't be in the situation he's in right now. As a mother, I did what a mother could've done for her child. I got some money from SSA and I obtained an attorney for him and it cost $2,500 in all but I have to pay $100 a month to pay them off and I had to get a bondsman to help me get him out on bond and that's $1,500.

Gayla ** at disability and special needs called me personally and said that they would pay $2,000 to get him out and I would pay the rest but when I called her yesterday, she said for the money Jermaine has in his account SSA said that they would have to send it back from out of his account. So now she is avoiding my calls so I got in contact with his accounting. They told me they have to send his money back since November of last year. Now I gotta put my home up to his bondsman and $500 to help my son. I feel that I shouldn't have to do that when they got his money just siting there. I'm on a fixed income of veterans affairs $661 and social security of $180 a month and I got my own home to take care of and they can't help me get my son out of jail. My son is mildly retarded and he is siting in jail and they are abusing him in there. Everything that goes on with Jermaine I report it to Gayla ** and SSA tell her not to do anything. I had another son, they did the same thing and they put his check back into my name so why can't they do the same for my son Jermaine?

My fiance was granted disability in 2003-2004. Every thing was okay. However, in 2007, they wanted to review his case. When they did, they decided he was no longer disabled, however, we have about 10 doctors (including the one that the social security office sent us to) that state that he is disabled. We contacted attorney after attorney, however, all we got was bad news.

No attorney would take our case due to him already receiving the SSD payments. We did not know any of our legal rights not to mention some of the ways the SSA words things with statues and etc. I was so upset that we had gotten our final decision and it was unfavorable. That is right, unfavorable. However, I knew nothing because in the eight pages that we received, nowhere did it say what our next steps of action were. I just did not know and had no one to turn to for legal advice. Can we sue the SSA for the wrongful decision that they made on my finances case?

i was recieving disability benefits and now 70.oo of my goverment benefits are being taken away from me and this is causing me a heartship the money taken away from me is to much money and is an unfear amount when my income from socialsecurity does not pay for all of my disability exspences. i was in a hospital and medication had to be changed because of added stress level after unfair increase of deduction from benefits accured i became overwelmed and started having severe panic attackes

my husband is dying of lung cancer, he can hardly walk or get out of bed, has been turned down for almost 3 years now, mounds of paper work sent in, had to get legally separted, they said that would work, denied, 0 income, denied, 3 monthe behind on rent and bills, food stamps denied, my husband will be dead before anything happens, we have a daughter that should be getting support also, denied, what happened to our system, what has to be done before people sit up and take notice, bail out money needs to help the less fortunate, not the wealthy.

unbeliveable emotional stress what more can i say.


I am in the serious-poor stages of COPD-Emphysema (along with a few other serious incurable diseases), on oxygen 24/7 perm., and Social Security still won't believe me. I have also been through the worst medical nightmare from 2004-2006 with doctors messing up on important heart and lung tests, and also using very old and uncalibrated

medical equipment.

I should have been put on oxygen back then as my 02 stats were in the 60's-80's (from my new oximeter), but nobody would believe me. When I made complaints to the CA Medical board because I could barely breathe, I had much dizziness, bleeding problems, and was in so much pain, they didn't even care. Doctors mocked me and called me a liar.

I couldn't even walk 3 blocks to get to the grocery store and eventually couldn't even get across the street to the park. My 11 yr. old daughter had to push me in a manual wheelchair (that her dad found for me in an alley) from 2004-2006. I was still barely working p/t then and used my income tax (2006) to get a cheap 3-wheel electric scooter to take this burden off my

daughter. I would never have put her through this but this was very serious, and none of the docs would help me. It was doctors #7,8 and 9 that gave me more tests and found out I have ulcerative colitis, high cholesterol, 20% sclerosis on the left side of my neck, Osteoporosis, Degenerative Disease Stage 2, and serious-poor COPD. I was finally given pain meds and meds for my bleeding at the end of 2006 and finally put on oxygen 24/7 perm. in Feb/March 2007.

I used to work 50 hours a week and ride the tandom bike with my daughter 5-10 miles most every day, swam laps, skated, and many other fun things years ago. I worked hard for 36 years of my 52 and paid many taxes. I even have the credits from my SSDI to get over $1000 a month. I first found out I had COPD in Nov. 2003 with 66% of my lungs functioning. I had smoked and toked for 25 years but quit 13 yrs. ago. I could feel my breathing getting worse over the years but in 2003 I couldn't even finish reading a chapter in a book to my daughter, and was unable to finish my work. I had to keep cutting down on my work load more and more.

Since I could feel my health getting worse, I filed for my SSDI in Oct. 2004. I was only making $800 mth. then and this is also below the S.S. guide lines ( I used to make $1500 or more). It was quite a struggle trying to do this little work and I could barely breathe, but I kept trying, just so we wouldn't become homeless. It was not easy living on $800 mth. to pay $555 rent, bills, and food. In Feb. 2007 I was let go of my job because I couldn't do the work anymore.

I worked at home telemarketing for the Sac. Assoc. for the Retarded for 12 years. They were kind enough to give us enough money (about $800 mth.) to live on until we filed for welfare in June 2007. After being denied 5 times from the Soc. Sec., I filed a Pro-Se Civil Action Suit in the Federal Court against them in Feb. 2007. I couldn't even find a lawyer to help me then but thank God after 1 years (Sept. 2008), the federal court judge has allowed me my motion for summary judgment and denied the Commissioner.

I guess the federal court judge doesn't have the jurisdiction to give me my SSDI. I also refiled in April of 2007 for my SSDI, because I was so worried about how long this court case would take and worried about paying rent, bills, etc. I did finally get a lawyer to help me with this 2nd case, too, but only because my doc signed medical reports that I am no longer able to work

and seriously disabled permanently. My doc also noted that my serious health started in Oct. 2004, when I first filed for my SSDI. I can't understand why I even need a lawyer because all they seem to care about is the money, just like our gov.

Now I am told that my SSDI case has been sent to the Administrative Law Judge (in Sacramento) and it will be another year or more before it is reviewed and then I have to go through another hearing. I can't take much more of this and I may not even live that long. I have a very dear son, brothers, and other family members that I haven't been able to see in over 10 years. They all live in Texas, Illinois, and Oklahoma, and we haven't been able to afford these trips.

I was hoping and praying to have a very big and happy reunion with all of them using this back pay from my SSDI, and also pay everyone back that has been so very kind to help us over the years. This reunion may turn into my funeral the way things are going.


My husband has been charged with overpayment of a large sum of money. I have just read only a few situations of others and this is ridiculous. When is this going to stop? I lived through the IRS era when they scared the wits off of people when they couldn't pay them. I read about human beins committing suicide because they didn't want liens on their home. Eventually, even the IRS has new policies now and it is time someone takes a look at the SS system.

I plan on praying on this and hopefully open a door for all people that need help. We can understand all their SS talk, policies, dates, reviews, etc. If you say the word appeal, they look at you like you may know something about their background. It only takes one to get te ball rolling. I remember when I owed the IRS back taxes and they deducted 1/2 of each of my paychecks monthly. I brought that on myself and was thankful that I learned a lesson. Social Security owes us respect, dignity and understanding. They are like doctors, they hold our life in their hands!!!!!

As a garbage man for 23 years I was severly injured. I have been out of work for over 5 years. My health has gotten much worse. I now also have stomach ulcers, athritis and severe depression from the financial situation I have been put in.I have been turned down by the ssd adm again and again.

Although my IQ was 98 even I know how corrupt the ssd adm is. I even have proof with plenty of evidence. I also know of tax payers who died of cancer and were turned down by the ssd adm doctors. As a result of the corrupt ssd adm. I would be living in Penn Station but I have a wonderful sister who believs that charity begins at home. I believe the moral of my particular story is that People should do evry thing they can to work off the books and to save as much as possible for an emergency fund and that to love their family as much as possible and hope they do and will continue to do so.


I receive ss disability. I have been working and trying to get off of ssd. I received a letter from ssa stating that an overpayment was made due to my work. I contacted the ssa. They told me I would need to fill out an ssa form 662 or 632?. I printed the form and filled it out 8 pages. called a waiver form. The purpose of the form was to say to the ssa that stopping the ssd benefit for next two months to pay back the overpayment would cause hardship and that deducting the amount of overpayment at an amount of 155 per month for 12 months would take care of the overpayment.

I went to Carrollton,ga office where I was living at the time. I brought the 8 page form with me to get the matter taken care of in person and update any work information that ssa did not have. I started back to work for coca cola part time and seasonal on May 20 2008. I met with a worker at the ssa in carrollton. He had a hard time doing his job so he asked several people for help. After receiving help he assured me that my benefits would continue as usual minus the $155. This was on July 1,2008. On July 9th I did not receive the benefits.

I went back to the carrollton office on the 9th and was told that whatever meeting I had on July 1st was entered incorrectly and incomplete and that an emergency check would be deposited in my account within three days. Of course, this did not happen. When I called to speak to the woman that made these promises, she was on vacation and nothing in the computer showed that what I was saying had occurred. I finally had a frustrating conversation with Miss A., the supervisor.

After finally getting her to listen to me. She agreed something has gone wrong and that she was going to find out what happened and she would get back to me. Today on July 18th I have heard nothing from her, I called her and she said I told you I would call you. She lied, no call. Meanwhile, my bank account is overdrawn, I can't afford to go to my part time job because I have no gas,no money, no groceries, and the people at ssa could not possibly care less how this is affecting me. I have no answers, there is no oversite. I plan to make it my lifes work to assure that ssa is responsible and answereable to the public. I also intend to find out how these people get their jobs and why no one cares that they have no idea how to do their job and that it does not matter, because they have no one to answer to.

My bank account is seriously overdrawn with $280 worth of overdraft charges. I have no gas money to get to work, no groceries, no answers to why this happened and if it will ever get fixed.


My friend has a severe back problem and was just diagnosed with something wrong with her female organs. She went to her attorney and asked if he thought she could get disability because she had to cut back on her schedule because of the pain and it was getting harder and harder for her to work at all.

Her attorney said he could get her disability if she was five years older or was hispanic! I don't have a problem with hispanics until I hear something like this. She has worked all her adult life and she is in overwhelming pain and she can't get help? This is rediculous!

This is not the first incidence of if you were hispanic we could help you that I have heard. My sister, who has 9 kids, ran into hard times and went for welfare. She was denied. She asked why some hispanic people she knows are both working and have only 4 children and they get full benefits. The social worker told her they know how to work the system, if you knew how you could get full benefits too!

I currently know of a lady who has 3 children, lives with the children's father and has lied and said he doesn't live with her, and she gets full benefits, she also gets housing assistance, and now she is even getting the local churches to pay her utilities for her. I reported her over 2 months ago and nothing has been done. What exactly are our government offices doing to us?

For those of you who always say I am racist, My best friend is Hispanic. Like I said earlier, I don't have a problem with any race. But, when the government offices push legal, hard working Americans aside so they can help people who lie and cheat, then I start having a problem.


In February of 2008, I received a letter from social security notifiying me to submit a child claim to for my son at my local office. Apparently, his estranged dad had filed for disability benefits and listed him down in 2005. My son was due retroactive monies in the amount of $12K. I'm the parent who has custody, so naturally, I must be assigned as payee.

I went into the local office in Harlem, 125th street to submit the claim in February. They told me it takes around 30 days. I received NO correspondence, and followed up a month later. Turns out that the individual never submitted the claim at all-till this day, I'm not even sure WHAT she did.

Anyway, went into the office AGAIN, this time they claimed their system was down, and they would have to submit the claim by paper, which meant they would have to fax over the paperwork to the processing center. Again, I was told that it would take approximately 30-60 days to process.

Everytime I called the SS 800 number hotline to check the status, I was always told that my name was not on record as the child's payee. How could it not be when I've already submitted the claim to my local office?? I always inquired. The customer service reps told me that my info MAY just show up as soon as the claim actually goes through. So I waited. For months.

Finally, after awhile, I reached out again, only to discover that the social security payment center had mailed the 12k check to my son's deadbeat estranged father! The customer service rep told me to go back into my local office. As soon as I explained what happened to them, they updated my records electronically, which THEN allowed me to be listed as payee for my son under his father's record. Being that the claim was submitted by paper and faxed, the representative at the local office failed to go BACK into the system and update the record electronically-that's why my name was never under the record everytime I called to check the status, and that's why once the payemnt center received the check, they sent it to him!

I was livid to discover that all the months I'd gone through going back and forth with these ppl to try to get what was due to my son was in vain. NOBODY wanted to be held accountable for the major screw up that they caused. Their solution? They claim that they sent him a notice telling him to return the check. Are you kidding me?? A month after they sent the check to him, do you honestly think that he's going to return it?? He's a deadbeat father who owes THOUSANDS in arrears, but wouldn't bother to do the right thing by sending his son that money.

Anyway, so now, they're giving me the run around. Telling me that they are waiting for a response from him before they take action. What kills me is that this process will probably take MONTHS. And I think it's totally unfair that my son and I should have to suffer the consequences because of their screw up and negligence. CLEARLY the reps in their office are extremely unprofessional. Everytime I call to speak to the appointed supervisor at the local office, I get her voicemail, and she NEVER returns phonecalls. I need to take this a step further, and would appreciate some advice.

Economic damages caused because I am a single parent raising my son with NO help from the father. Social security basically aided a deadbeat father by erroneously sending out retroactive benefits to him when I provided evidence that the child was in my custody. I am in between jobs right now for the past six months, and I was counting on that money to help out with household bills and to take care of my son.

filed for SSD Oct 2005. Submitted over 200 pages of records and addresses and authority sheets for all other records. State failed to review any records submitted PERIOD. Only records they obtained. They also failed to get copies from the Dr whose records I provided. Second Appeal, noted in review all the records the state contractor ignored were a part of the SSA scanned record. Noted on appeal no records considered that were provided. Denied.

Now awaiting hearing NO RECORD in scanned format in file, NO records of medical provider in file only 6 pages provided because state contractor only stated 16.00 was authorized for these records. which are in the hundreds. A Judge insist on going forth after noticed of this missing record issue of hundreds of pages. Seeking counsel for Federal Civil,action under 42 USC 1983 and RICO multiplier against state contractor Dr and staffers a real knuckle dragging take no prisoners ATLA lawfirm to address this issue Class action in all of Fla. I wanna be the lead plaintiff. food stamps and bankruptcy and denied medical treatment



You wait on the phone 20 minutes or more, then you get a rude person on the other line that could care less about what you are going through. Social Security sent me one payment of $322, then tuened around and denied me.PLEASE help me, I am a very sick single mother, who HAS A JOB, and tries to work when I am able, so they hold it againest me that I work 3 to 10 hours a week, just to try to support me and my sons. I have worked hard all of my life, and I do not know where to turn.


I just want to kill myself, this has made me an emotional wrek, on top of my severe pain!


The Social Security Administrators told us that my daughter, now 11 was entitled to benefits at a result of my ex-husband's disability. She has been recieving these benefits for 9 years. In April, 2006, the payments abruptly stopped with no explanation whatsoever, I contacted SSA to find out what happened and their response was that my daughter was no longer eligible for the benefits as my ex's also stopped......AND.....that my daughter (8 years old at tghe time) was to pay back about $48,000.00. Needless to say, this was a mistake made by SSA people.

However, for nine years, they kept sending us forms to fill out as to how my daughter's money was being spent, etc. Pretty much at the end of every year, they sent us the correspondence stating what the benefits will increase to in the following year....and..every January they sent us the tax form indicating how much they paid.....

In November, 2002, they sent us a letter stating that they were not paying enough and they were sending a retro-active check....Yet, when they demanded the money from my 11 year old daughter, they claim that she was not entitled to the benefits from January of 2000. I ask you....how could such a thing go on for NINE years???? How many hands do you suppose all this paper work went through (or should I say INCOMPEDENT HANDS)????? I think that the reason the Social Security Administration is in total confusion and it is so unfortunate that many of us who paid into it for so long (most of our working lives) will not be able to collect the benefits due to us because of such FUMBLES.

The funny (not really) part is that when I tried to contact the appropriate personnel, such as the COMMISSIONER (the person who is suppose to over-see the entire SSA, I was told that the COMMISSIONER does not talk to PEOPLE. Well....I KNOW that we the PEOPLE pay these workers. And I strongly beleieve that when a person either can not do their job, does not know how to do their job or does not WANT to do their job, that person needs to not HAVE that job. Being that the SSA is a FEDERAL agency they think that they can blatantly abuse their positions and power to bully the PEOPLE around.....Especially an 11 year old child. What do you....the PEOPLE think???



While attending a mental evaluation for my disbaility I met Dr. O Michels. He was rude, swaying me to answer in particular ways. Hinting at words I had forgotten (memory test)pressuring me and being a plain bully, I went in becuase i suffer mental issues. i must say this man does not know how to deal with individuals. I have also heard from others that this happends a lot ..the doctors social security sets you up with try to bully you and get you to answer in a way they want to make sure you do not get disability


Due to his lack of manners I had a panic attack in the appointment and a very bad mental break when i arrived home. I am reporting this person to social security and letting others know they should do the same when they deal with someone who is pressuring/swaying and being totally unreasonable. This man even tried to change my answers around. what a poor excuse of a doctor he was.


Social Security Review. So many issues, where should I start. I requested a waiver/reconsideration form about an overpayment they claim happened 10 YEARS AGO. I requested it in writing, sent certified mail,(Have receipts to prove it), Social security never responded to my written requests. After about 3 Weeks, I called the Toll-free number. They had no records on file of my request but said they would Re-send the forms the following day. I finally received the forms after 3 days of my calling.

Then I filled out the forms immediately, and mailed them, (certified mail) I never got a response from the Baltimore Office. Yet they stopped my monthly checks.

I finally went to my local Social Security office in Flushing, Queens, and showed them my copies and receipts.

Which was all sent timely. The forms were dated and stamped. The first lady I spoke to DID NOT speak fluent, or good enough English that I could understand, so she got her superviser, who did speak fluent English. She gave me blank forms, The same exact waiver/ reconsideration forms that was originally mailed to me, and asked me to fill them out again, which I did and returned them the following day, (I kept the ticket as proof that I was there). I was put on 6 Months Provisionl Payments until they determined If I was Still Disabled.

I spoke to a Mrs. Bokser at the Flushing office on the phone and she stated that their determination was I am STILL DISABLED. I was told I have to wait until the decision made in the Albany Office gets updated in the computer at the Baltimore Office.

They stopped my provisional Payments. They been reviewing my case for over a year now. Mrs. Bokser at the Flushing, NY office said everthing that was needed to be done is done, except I still have to wait until my case is updated.
P.S. When I initially went to the Flushing, N.Y. office they had my old, out-dated address, yet the Baltimore office had my current, correct address.


I am now 5 or 6 months behind on my rent. At this rate I might be eventually homeless altogether.

I also requested in person and over the phone to go in-front of a judge,and was told it not necessary yet, or that this case is not at that point yet. I need this issue resolved immediatey. My next step is to request in writing to go in front of a judge. It is necessary If Social Security cannot resolve this issue in a timely manner.



I went in to discuss a serious problem about receiving my disability check. there had been a mistake and I received notice I will have 0 income for the next 4 or 5 months! They were keeping my next 5 checks of $564 monthly.

In having experienced very rude people in that office before, i went in with a small video camera and placed it right on the SSA Worker's desk and explained they were mistaken. The man was extremely unhelpful and rude!(which was why I took the camera) Not only that but he said the only way I could get a check would be to LIE on a form he handed me. I pointed out where it read I could go to jail for lying and then signing! I refused to do that and he then ended the session without helping me!

I left the Dillon, SC office on monday with my video and I emailed my complaint to SSA and I informed them that I was treated poorly and I was very disrespected I informed them that I recorded the session and have proof of my mistreatment! I then traveled 60 miles to Florence SSA office wednesday and the same jerk was there and was very mean to me again! I told him that I was there to speak to someone else and told him to leave me alone! I received help from a very nice lady name Mrs. Prinkle. She took time to assist me. When we discussed my treatment in the Dillon, SC Office she said that she was told that I was treated badly because of my bad attitude! (Attitude? I was video taping, i assure you i was very polite!)

Mrs. Prinkle said she would have $575.00 (my monthly normal check) deposited to my bank account by today. I think the Stevens Employee somehow stopped that payment from being deposited as it was to be in there by now! He has a personal vandetta against me now because I have proof he should be repremanded


Because of this man's actions I am experiencing extreme hardships. My electric will be shut off by next friday. My car insurance is due to cancel 3/8/07. My rent will be late and assessed a $5 daily late fee! water bill is late right now! I live solely on my $562.00 and my bills are $570.00. I could be incorrect and i might recieve my disability but it is already later than she told me it would be. I have my accusations on video! I have proof he told me to lie. And i have proof he was not doing his job!



I have been an appeal with social security since 1995...The Social Security Administration have lost my complete case file from the District Court..this last time it was the cassette tapes...At each of the appeals hearings the alj's have misquoted, have made misstatements, misinformed, have ignored important testimony from their VE's, ignored my treating physicians reports, ignored that my last day of work 05/31/1993, and allowed their ME's to lie. I allege similar fault BY THE ALJ AND MEDICAL EXAMINERS. I am feed up and want them to get the facts straight, to quit lying so it is favorable in their way.


Economic: By not acknowleging the correct protective filing date 10/27/95 and the correct onset date of disability of September 19,1992 means that I am entitled to benefits. I am not able to pay the medical bills that I acquired for my disability.

Medically: I was not able to get the correct medical treatment because I was did not have medical insurance and I could not pay for them out of pocket.



I am on disability and I decided to go to work on my own. I reported my employment immediately to SSI. They cut my benefits in half which I had no problem with. I got sick in June and had to stop working. I called SSI to report that I am no longer employed and it has been three months now and I still am not getting my full benefits.


My lights are going to be turned off and I use a machine to breath. I am going to be evicted for non payment of rent because with just half of my benefits I cannot pay for all of this. I have had to borrow money to pay atleast some of my services. It is so unfair because it took them just a matter of days to cut me off but to get me back on I have had to wait longer than three months. I am a disabled woman and I do not want to become a homeless disabled woman.


I was injured on the job approximatly 10 years ago. Expecting to recover, Social Security never entered my mind.

I was then in 2 automobile accidents which caused my injuries to become worse to the point my Family Doctor, Neurologists, Neurosurgeons etc. have all stated that I should file for Social Security and Social Security Disability to which I did and the gentleman at the office stated that I should qualify for both of them with no problem.

This was over 5 years ago and after hearings, obtaining an attorney, numerous medical records, etc. I have still yet to be approved. I have a neurological disorder called restless leg syndrome which causes me to basically not get but an hour or two of sleep a night. 7% of Americans have it and only 3% have it as severely as I do whereas it spreads into my arms causing them to shake and constantly be in pain.

I have buldging discs in my lower back causing me not to be able to sit or stand for any extended period of time. I also have serious nerve damage down the front and back of my left leg, constant severe head aches and am still recovering from a broken wrist in three places which limits me as to what I can do with my right hand (by the way I am right handed). I also suffer from Spondiolistisis, arthritis and weakness in my lower back. I can not bend, twist, pick up heavy objects, travel for long distances in an automobile or aircraft.

Due to the fact I rarely get anymore than a couple hours of sleep (sometimes none) sleep at night I am unable to function the following day. I have gone three days without sleep causing me to walk around the house without knowing what I was doing.

I have seen your Review Board person who obviously works for you and she stated I was capable of being a crossing guard, bellman (remeber I can't lift heavy bags), jobs that I am simply over qualified for. I ran my own business for years, I think I can do more than hold a door or a stop signe for people, if she had read my reports, she would have seen that I can't do the tasks in which she suggested.

I had a friend who had almost the identical injuries I have, identical (excluding the broken wrist) and he was approved in a matter of 2 moths. I have a pile of medical records a mile high proving my disabilities and continue to see my doctors who all say the same thing, there is nothing we can do for you except put 2 12 inch titanium rods down each side of my spine.

After researching this proceedure and speaking with people who have had it done I don't think this is what I need to correct the problem, if anything I think it would make me worse.

The thing I do not understand is how could my friend have applied at the same time with the almost exactly same problems I have, get approved in 2 months and I have had to survive on $123.00 a month after working since I was 12 years old?

I am at the point where my next step is to go to the Mayor then the Governer then the Senator and as high up as I have to go to get what is rightfully mine. For years I purchased and renovated properties, paid thousands and thousands of dollars in taxes and I get $123.00 a month to survive on.

To show you how honest I am, when I originally became disabled I did not apply for unemployment because I had a savings of my own and did not feel as though I should take money from people who realy needed it. When my savings ran out I filed for unemployment, they told me that I had not applied in time.

I did not need the money at that time I thought I would apply when I needed it and once again I was denied. What is it with the American Governmental System. We have billions to send to Iraq, Millions to send to Louisiana, Billions to send to the survivors of the Sunami but what about the Americans own people who pay taxes, work hard.

When it comes down to the point of us, AMericans needing assistance we are denied. Wrong, Wrong, Wrong. As a matter of fact if I don't get some resolution to this matter quickly and I do mean quickly, I believe I will write a copy of this letter the the local news paper and let the Americans know what our Government is doing to them and not to count on them in times of need.

I'm sorry, I am not a vendictive person but I am at my wits end. I have been forced to move in with my mother at the age of 42 and it's quite embarrassing.

I do however have Medicade who by the way will not pay for the medicine the Doctor has prescribed for me to give me a days worth of less pain... all because of the cost.


I am a disabled, self-employed person. I work from home as a language interpreter. My disabilities began in l987 and I have been on SSDI since l991, whereas my income was too low in the past, for why I received SSI in addition for a while. In l992, the SSA decided that I should not present my paystubs every month but send them an annual tax return. I followed their instruction and sent in my tax return in l993.

Soon, they accused me of having caused an overpayment. I retained an attorney in the process. The judge (Judge Turner, Santa Cruz/CA) stated in writing that he could not adjudicate the overpayment claim without correspondences obtained from the SSA in Baltimore. The SSA in Baltimore didn't have the requested correspondences, yet Judge Turner decided I was at fault. During the appeal process, I had a car accident and left California soon after. (I was unable to cope with the expensive rents in California.) I was not able to pursue the Appeal process unfortunately at that time.

I was living in Texas when the SSA came up with an overpayment allegation of over $ 6,000.--, which in no time was inflated to $ 18,000.-- (SSDI and SSI combined).

When I moved to Arizona in 2001, my case was referred to the Prescott Social Security Administration. I have tried to resovle this matter by correspondence with them, however with no success.

In 2001, my income was too high, for why the SSDI and SSI were stopped. In 2002, my income dropped substantially and I qualified for SSDI reinstatement. However, the SSA decided to do a disability review. I had applied for reinstatement of SSDI payments in November 2002. During the disability re-evaluation, the SSA paid provisional SSI payments. The disability review was completed in March 2004 with a favorable decision. In April 2004, the SSDI payments were resumed, however with incorrect amounts for a few months, as their District Manager Eugene Moreno refused to accept the DES' decision that I was disabled. By August 2004, Mr. Moreno had no choice but to acknowledge that the SSDI was reinstated as per November 2002. Instaed of paying the difference of SSI and SSDI to compensate due SSDI payments, Mr. Moreno deducted Medicare premiums from my SSDI pyaments although the State was paying the Medicare premiums already. Mr. Moreno also began to collect alleged overpayments without a decision and hearing, by disregard of SSA policies and guidelines. He skipped due process and violated SSA laws.

I contacted Senator McCain for help. Senator McCain's office investigated my complaint and decided that Mr. Moreno should not collect Medicare premiums as they were already paid by the State of Arizona. Mr. Moreno had to refund me the wrongfully collected Medicare premiums. By Senator McCain's decision, Mr. Moreno had to refund also the illegally collected overpayment recovery monies back to me.

As my dealings with the SSA in Prescott (Mr. Eugene Moreno) proved to be useless because he continued to disregard facts in the matter of alleged overpayments, I retained a Social Security attorney, who took my case this summer. This attorney mislead me to the belief that he was representing me. The overpayment allegation is awaiting an ALJ Hearing in May 2006. In November 2005, the SSA contacted me for a telephone interview. They recorded the interview by my consent. The attorney chose not to participate in the interview.

I was asked questions about income, assets, and resources. I gave honest answers. The SSA then sent me an error-loaden review report, giving me 10 days to correct errors. The attorney stated that I had to send my corrections to the attorney, not to the SSA. I sent my corrections to the attorney within 8 days. The same day I received a new overpayment allegation from the SSA, stating I was overpaid Supplemental Security benefits of & 2,500.-- in 2003. This was a wrong decision.

In 2003, I was paid provisional Supplemental Security payments, to be replaced by SSDI payments when the SSDI payments were reinstated, effective retroactively since November 2002. I asked the attorney to appeal. The attorney's assistant questioned me about my status:Are you receiving SSDI or SSI ? he asked. I found the documents that confirmed that I was receiving SSDI. I was not receiving SSI. The last SSI payment was paid in December 2003. In January and February, and March 2004 I received neither SSDI, nor SSI. The attorney withdrew as soon as I faxed/mailed my proof that I was receiving only SSDI. He no longer represents me. He insisted I should present my bank statements to the SSA for 2003, 2004, and 2005 to show my assests and resources. The SSA and the attorney claimed that I had exceeded the resources/asset limits in 2003, 2004, and 2005. SSDI receipients assets/resources are irrelevant as long as they don't receive SSI. I do not receive SSI since December 2003, as I qualified for SSDI since Nov. 2002. The SSI overpayment allegation is fiction. The SSA ows me SSDI backpayments for the time frame of November 2002 through March 2004. To Senator McCain, Mr. Eugene Moreno promised -in writing- that he would process these backpayments, however he never followed up with it. I have a copy of that letter.

Mr. Eugene Moreno seems to have manipulated my SSDI information in the SSA data system, now pretending I am receiving SSI, not SSDI. This manipulation is illegal. I am receiving only SSDI, no SSI. I don't have to expose assets/resources to the SSA. They can ask me only for my income, which I always present to them by tax returns, every year, as ordered by the SSA.



My SSD application was denied for four years. I could not work due to Bipolar Illness. I was advised to file for interim assistance a.k.a. GA-U/GA-X from my state. In my state, that's under $350 monthly.


Pyschosis I did not ask for kept me from working. Some of the SSA docs even wrote that I was acting crazy to get benefits! Please... I made ALOT more working. The amount of time it took to prove that even though I could work extremely limited jobs, I could not make a living made me homeless. I was denied due to the forementioned. I finally got a good lawyer and we won! But the road travelled was not easy. I would never CHOOSE it. This message from a fellow connisseur of soup kitchens.


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