I am the author of this story. In the comments, I wrote an update about what happened with SSI after we moved; I called the same local office and they refused to change the address unless I sent a letter from the landlord or Management Office saying where I live.
At the time, I was having problems contacting someone from my management office for a “composition letter”. (Anyone familiar with NYCHA [NYC Housing Authority] would understand this frustration.) So, once again, my mom called the main SSA number and had them change it. (She is also on SSI, so we tried to kill two birds with one stone.) They did warn me that the local office may need the composition letter (which we received a few days later and I sent out to the local office to avoid any problems).
At the end of January, my mom received a letter from SSA saying her benefits were being discontinued because of conflicting addresses; we later found out that the lady who changed our address saved both addresses for my mother, and her account was flagged for fraud. My mother sent the composition letter and they reopened her case.
Unfortunately for me, when SSI canceled my daughter’s benefits, it also canceled my authorization to advocate for her; it took another few weeks of calling multiple offices to get everything straightened out.
Then, it happened again. I sent my paystubs for a specific month. Usually, they send confirmation of my paystub information, but this time, it was different. They only sent information regarding three of the paystubs I submitted. Once again, I received a letter from SSI saying I made too much money for a specific time period (the same month that one showed three of the four paystubs), I owed them more money, and it would be taken out of my daughter’s monthly benefits. I knew this wasn’t right. After reviewing the recent letter and my paystubs, I knew I didn’t make the amount of money they claimed.
So, I called the local office, and I was transferred to the rudest employee. (I know this is the employee who refused to review my daughter’s account when I asked her to double-check my overpayment because I knew some of it was a mistake. She also insinuated that they don’t make mistakes because this is “what we are trained for”.)
After explaining to her that there must be a mistake, I was expecting her to at least check my daughter’s account.
Rude Employee: “Why don’t you double-check your paystubs and then give us a call back?”
Me: “No, there is a mistake. On [week #1 date], I made [amount #1]. On [week #2 date], I made [amount #2]. On [week #3 date], I made [amount #3], and on [week #4 date], I made [amount #4].”
Rude Employee: “Ma’am, you are not adding your paystubs correctly. You made more money, and once you have the correct amount, you’ll see why you owe the money.”
We went back and forth like this for at least ten minutes, with me giving her the actual amounts from my paystubs and her insisting I was wrong. I was getting frustrated and decided I needed to speak with someone else
Me: *Angrily but calmly* “Ma’am, you are frustrating me and are not listening. I need to speak to someone else. May I please speak to a supervisor?”
Rude Employee: *Click*
She hung up on me.
I was now furious. I called the local office back and had to wait for another fifteen minutes before getting a live person. Thankfully, it was a different employee. I began to yell at this other employee about my previous interaction with the rude employee. (I am not proud of the yelling.) Once I was done, the employee addressed me.
Employee #2: “Ma’am, I am sorry you are so angry, but I want to help you. Let’s move on from the actions of the previous call and tell me what the problem is that you are having.”
I took a deep breath and explained everything. She put me on hold to look up my account, and then, finally, she returned.
Employee #2: “Sorry about the hold. There was a discrepancy with the [week #4 date] paystub. Instead of inputting [amount #4], they put what you made for the entire month. I have corrected the amount, and you no longer owe an overpayment. Is there anything else I can help you with?”
Me: “Yes, one last question. If I ask for a supervisor, isn’t the employee supposed to transfer me?”
Employee #2: “We are supposed to handle every problem with every solution we have available; if we can’t solve the problem, there is a request for a supervisor, or both, then we are supposed to take your information, and you receive a call back once your account is reviewed.”
I thanked her for her help and apologized for yelling at her. I decided to contact the employee who handles the paystubs in our main office to ask her for my entire pay period since the time my daughter was on SSI. When I returned home, I found every letter that SSI had sent and reviewed them with my paystubs. It turned out that a huge chunk of the overpayment (about one-third) was wrong. I realized that for two months, they sent me two paystub confirmations for each month, meaning my income was inputted twice.
When I first received notice of the huge overpayment a couple of years ago, I went to the local office to fight this overpayment as it claimed I made almost double the amount; this was the first time I met the Rude Employee. I had to bring a spreadsheet of my expenses, and all she did was question my expenses — for example, she said I was paying too much rent, even though I pay according to my income — and she refused to look into the overpayment. Had the Rude Employee at least looked into the account, she would’ve noticed the error.
With this new information, I called the general number for the Social Security Administration, explained the situation, and asked if I could appeal the overpayment decision from a few years ago. They informed me that I could, but I would have to call the local office to get it done. Once again, I called the local office and spoke with another employee about appealing the overpayment from a few years ago. He scheduled me a phone appointment. (The office was still closed because of the global health crisis.)
I was quite nervous because I was afraid I was going to get the Rude Employee. Thankfully, I got a very nice employee, and she and I had the same last name. I explained to her that someone from her office was constantly doubling my income.
Nice Employee: “Yeah, that’s a common mistake.”
She put me on a brief hold, and when she returned:
Nice Employee: “Here’s what I am going to do. Fax me everything you have. Once I have everything, I will investigate this matter. If you are right, your overpayment will be canceled, and if you overpaid, we will return it to you.”
I was happy that, finally, this overpayment was being investigated. Lo and behold, the next month, my daughter received a few hundred dollars more, and I received a letter saying that the huge overpayment was done in error. So far, everything is over and in order… for now.
Related:
The Grind Keeps Starting Younger And Younger
