treeguy64
Hari Om, y'all!
- Location
- Austin, TX.
This past May, I went to the SSA office, in Austin. I wanted to file on my ex's SS, which would increase my monthly checks. I had to wait until this year, because she turns 62, this month.
The agent I had was very nice, but something was very "off," with her. After our session, I drove home feeling like I was in The Twilight Zone. She had spoken a kind of double talk that made little sense, to me. I had the papers she gave me, but I never looked too hard at them. Big mistake. During my session, she told me I would get a big increase in my monthly check, plus a catch-up check, including payments from last November, when I turned 66, to the present. I asked her to write down the amounts, and she only put them on her calculator, and passed it to me, over the counter in her window. Very odd.
I kept calling the SSA, over the next eight weeks, and after the fourth call, I knew my hunch was correct: The agent I had in Austin had made a mess of things. I finally looked at the papers she had given me, while I was on the phone, and found she had applied to get me Medicare, which I've had for about the last five years! I told the phone agent that I'd go back to the SSA in Austin, and ended the call.
At the SSA, today, I quickly got in, and was assigned to a great agent. He looked at my case and confirmed my suspicions: The agent I had, previously, was a brand new hire, and she had, in fact, coded my case incorrectly, and failed to transmit all of the paperwork I gave her.
Everything was resubmitted, and i was shown what my payments would be, approximately, although, once again, the agent couldn't write anything down. Rest assured, I did!
Now, I have to wait "2-4 weeks" before I get my new payments, and a catch-up check from November to the present.
I can only keep my fingers crossed. I'll never call the SSA, again. This is important: During each call, I could sense that my file was completely baffling the phone agents, but they weren't forthcoming, with me. They simply told me I needed to wait to hear from them, in the future. Nonsense! Nothing was being done to correct the errors my original agent had made. Had I not gone in, today, my case would have stayed in limbo.
I'll only go in to my local office, and speak to an agent, face to face, from now on.
Be careful in your dealings with the SSA. I strongly recommend you handle things in person, not on the phone. Also, thoroughly check any paperwork you're given, before you leave the SSA. Had I not been so freaked out after my first meeting, had I checked my paperwork, my case would have been processed, a month ago, I believe, and my new checks on the way.
The agent I had was very nice, but something was very "off," with her. After our session, I drove home feeling like I was in The Twilight Zone. She had spoken a kind of double talk that made little sense, to me. I had the papers she gave me, but I never looked too hard at them. Big mistake. During my session, she told me I would get a big increase in my monthly check, plus a catch-up check, including payments from last November, when I turned 66, to the present. I asked her to write down the amounts, and she only put them on her calculator, and passed it to me, over the counter in her window. Very odd.
I kept calling the SSA, over the next eight weeks, and after the fourth call, I knew my hunch was correct: The agent I had in Austin had made a mess of things. I finally looked at the papers she had given me, while I was on the phone, and found she had applied to get me Medicare, which I've had for about the last five years! I told the phone agent that I'd go back to the SSA in Austin, and ended the call.
At the SSA, today, I quickly got in, and was assigned to a great agent. He looked at my case and confirmed my suspicions: The agent I had, previously, was a brand new hire, and she had, in fact, coded my case incorrectly, and failed to transmit all of the paperwork I gave her.
Everything was resubmitted, and i was shown what my payments would be, approximately, although, once again, the agent couldn't write anything down. Rest assured, I did!
Now, I have to wait "2-4 weeks" before I get my new payments, and a catch-up check from November to the present.
I can only keep my fingers crossed. I'll never call the SSA, again. This is important: During each call, I could sense that my file was completely baffling the phone agents, but they weren't forthcoming, with me. They simply told me I needed to wait to hear from them, in the future. Nonsense! Nothing was being done to correct the errors my original agent had made. Had I not gone in, today, my case would have stayed in limbo.
I'll only go in to my local office, and speak to an agent, face to face, from now on.
Be careful in your dealings with the SSA. I strongly recommend you handle things in person, not on the phone. Also, thoroughly check any paperwork you're given, before you leave the SSA. Had I not been so freaked out after my first meeting, had I checked my paperwork, my case would have been processed, a month ago, I believe, and my new checks on the way.
