I won the battle and the war in a matter of five hours.
We applied for Social Security Income for our daughter, Olivia, a month after her 18th birthday. Over the years we were told her case would be easy if we had all the documentation in place.
I hand-delivered all the necessary documents to my local office to ensure they did not get lost. I spent most of the day driving for an hour, standing in line before I could sign in, waiting for my “number” to be called, and processing the application and paperwork with the agent. I was instructed to wait for approval or denial to arrive in the mail.
The experience was very similar to going to the Department of Motor Vehicles office if that gives you an idea.
I was flabbergasted when I received the first denial. On the advice of an attorney, I filed an appeal. After a few months without a response, I discovered the appeal was “lost”. Another day lost going through the process of hand delivering the appeal. The application was denied AGAIN. So much for the slam dunk case, as many experts had predicted.
We retained an attorney who specializes in social security cases. He agreed to take the case when he read the initial medical report. Again more time went by before a court date was set. Finally, a month afterward we received the good news that social security was approved.
Once an individual is approved for Social Security Income (SSI) the monthly payment is set without an explanation of how the amount is determined. Our daughter’s rate was fairly low compared to others we spoke with in similar situations. We spoke to the attorney who was also confused and revised the paperwork but her rate remained low. Exasperated, we accepted the decision and worked hard to account for all the money coming in and out of her account as required.
Once she started earning an income (limited part-time) the management became more difficult. There is a two-month lapse before income is deducted from the monthly deposit and the reporting is difficult accounting for the differences.
I had questions about her account and called the local office. Since the pandemic, it is much easier, ironically, to get through to customer service. I spoke to one of the representatives and asked a few questions trying to clarify some of the information and ensuring they had all the information to process her income change. Quite suddenly the representative told me my questions were taking up too much time. As I continued to ask why she couldn’t answer the questions now she suddenly hung up the phone. Needless to say, I was exasperated and angry.
I decided to take action. I contacted my House Representative’s office and told them about my experience and asked if there was anything they could do to assist. At the end of my email, I mentioned the discrepancy with the monthly amount awarded. I figured it didn’t hurt to add that to my list of questions. Two days later I received an email indicating Social Security was looking into my concerns.
Two weeks passed and I received an update along with a copy of a letter from the Social Security Regional Office indicating Olivia was receiving the full benefit minus any earnings she has each month. I was upset; this information was false. I didn’t react immediately and considered the best way to respond.
The following day I sent a reply to the Representative’s office and explained my daughter is not receiving the full amount even though all the necessary documentation was submitted to the office. Approximately 5 hours later I received another email stating Olivia will now receive the full amount and all the back payments she is entitled to. Thirty minutes later the money was deposited into the account.
This win meant the world to me. As I was relaying the story to others I would become emotional. The emotions over the last few years came tumbling out. I still do not understand how it was resolved in less than 5 hours and how the money was transferred so quickly but I am thrilled.
Never give up! Keep fighting for what is right. Persistence pays off, sometimes.
Kelly Lang