I've been waiting for the SSA to do their job for two years. I am getting desperate now. Even after numerous complaints (read below), they haven't budged. It's good to know that the government is there for you when you need them like they promise that they will be (smell the sarcasm?). After reading this, if anyone has ANY ideas about what I should do next, I am open to suggestions. Everyone has my permission to pass this to anybody (I probably have to give permission for legal reasons). This is the history of my correspondence with the Social Security Administration.
I made my initial application in July of 2005 and the lack of response inspired this letter:
"I want to make a formal complaint about the way I have been treated by the Social Security Administration. I have multiple sclerosis, and I filed for disability benefits in 2005. The following is my history with the Social Security office:
1. The Disability application was mailed to me very late. I applied over the telephone, and I was told by the interviewer that a follow-up application would be mailed to me. After I didn’t receive the follow-up, I called to see what was happening. No one had even mailed the application to me. I had the telephone interview in July. I did not receive the until three months later.
2. Mrs. Salis (the woman handling my application) noticed a discrepancy (that seems very minor to me) and left a number where I could return her call. I used the number she provided, and proceeded to wait on hold for four hours. I never did speak to anyone. I hung up at 6:00 because the recording said that the office closed at 4:30.
3. When I finally did get through a few days later, it was because I just happened to have another number, and I left a message on another person’s voicemail to be passed on to Mrs. Salis. On this message, I asked that she return my call after 2:00 pm since that is when I feel best. She called me at 9:00 am (while I was asleep).
4. Mrs. Salis then told me that she had denied my application because, as she put it, I was ”not cooperating” by not contacting her at the number that she provided (that I, as I stated, attempted to use) to try to resolve the error.
5. When I told her how ridiculous the entire situation was, she threatened to hang up on me for “berating” her.
6. She now demands that I go through the entire process a second time and re-file the application, further delaying approval, and forcing me to live off of the paltry wage I am allowed to earn while I wait again for some one to consider my application.
Stress makes the symptoms of MS seem worse, and I can’t even conceive of a situation that would put more unnecessary stress on me. She decided to have a little trantrum and power trip at my expense, and now I have to deal with this on top of an already complicated situation.
I want to make sure she doesn’t handle my application. She proved herself inept. Even though the application states that I am disabled, she refused to help, and I assume that her job is to assist me. She obviously wouldn’t put forth extra effort if it were necessary. She was confronted with a minor mistake, and (instead of attempting to correct the error) she did what would make less work for her, and simply denied my application. I also do not trust her to provide the assistance I need. Since she was so nasty to me on the telephone, I can see her not giving my application the attention she should out of spite, maybe even purposely delaying my application.
I’m not sure why this process is so difficult. I am disabled. I am applying for Social Security Disability. It seems pretty cut and dry to me. I understand that you don’t want people to collect Disability income if they are not disabled. But it seems to me that all that you have to do is ask my doctor, and they will give you the proof that you ask for. The entire process is so over-thought that it is terrible for people who are disabled, and then the way people who are supposed to be helping act is making it almost impossible. It is very hard for me to do everyday things, and the SSA has made it infinitely worse. Isn’t this supposed to be the new, user-friendly Social Security Administration?"
After dealing with that, I was pawned off to another guy, and he was worse:
"This is the second letter that I have sent about my application for disability benefits. To summarize my last letter (which I will send upon request), I expressed my frustration with the way I have been treated throughout this entire process. And, even though I have heard from people in the SSA that my application had been denied, I STILL have not received an official denial.
• My application should have taken about twelve hours to process. “The applicant is disabled. He should receive disability benefits.” Done.
• I would understand if it took about twelve days, since you probably have to contact my doctor to confirm my illness. I’m sure there are plenty of cases where some one who is not disabled applies for benefits, and you want to make sure I’m not doing that.
• If the process took twelve weeks, some one is obviously taking their time getting things done, but at least it is getting done.
• It has been TWELVE MONTHS and I am still waiting. Twelve months is inexcusable.
While the SSA is taking their time with my application, I have been trying to live off of $800 per month, because that is what the SSA requires of me during the time when my application is being considered. I don’t know if you even understand the concept of attempting to live on that paltry income. Try it and get back to me with your experiences. Now, on top of your normal expenses, add my medical costs to that, and you might see how I have to live. The only problem with that little experiment is that you can go back to making your normal salary whenever you want. I do not have that luxury.
Thanks to this horrific process, it is amazing that I still am able to live in something besides a refrigerator box and that I have any kind of credit rating at all. If things keep going like this, I WILL lose my house, and no bank will touch me if I try to buy a new one. And I have the Social Security Administration to thank for this mess.
These are the things that I had to delay or sacrifice because of how long it is taking to handle my application:
1. I haven’t been able to afford a visit to the dentist, so I’ve had to neglect my oral hygiene.
2. I haven’t been able to purchase new clothes for myself in over a year.
3. I can’t afford my current living situation, but I can’t afford to move, either. What do those at the Social Security Administration suggest that I do while I wait for them?
4. I am allowed by the SSA to make only about $800 per month during the application process, and since I have no other income, I have had to avoid medicines and medical treatments that could have helped. Tysabri is about to be re-released and they are projecting it to cost about $2,100 per month. At my current income, I’m not sure how I am going to afford that. I have about $1,000 in the bank at the moment, so I will not even be able to afford my first dose.
5. I am not able to drive safely right now. When I do start again, gas prices are high enough that (thanks to my current income) I will not be able to afford to drive.
6. I should incorporate to protect myself and my belongings from potential lawsuits. Thanks to the time it is taking to process my application, I can’t afford to do it yet. Every day without forming a company, I am at risk of losing everything I own.
7. I am very lacking in entertainment of ANY kind, since I have to stay in and be frugal.
8. I need new prescription glasses. Unfortunately, they will cost money that I don’t have (thanks to the SSA).
This process has been a nightmare. I can’t conceive of how this could have gone worse.
This is how it can go worse:
After I composed this letter, I received a phone call from the person currently handling my application, Tom Flanagan. He had tried to confirm my illness with my doctor, which seems to be standard (and smart) policy. But instead of consulting my neurologist (who has all of the information he should need), he contacted my family doctor. I haven’t even seen my family doctor in years, so he obviously doesn’t have the records of my MS. Now I have to wait AGAIN because of a foul-up that should have been avoided (since the contact information of my neurologist was asked for and provided on one of the multitude of applications that I had to fill out).
Then, he told me how “disappointed” he was in me because he thinks that I’m the one holding up the process (after a year of delays from the SSA, he sent the form to the wrong person and he is scolding ME?). I was trying to be cordial with him, but he just yelled at me for the way that I am handling his mistake.
A few days later, I got a phone call from my neurologists. They cannot answer every question on the form required by the SSA, therefore for legal reasons they will not fill out the forms at all, delaying my application AGAIN. After I attempted to handle that, Mr. Flanagan didn’t return my phone call for days. That seems a little hypocritical after he had the nerve to scold me for not doing his job for him fast enough. Again, he was horrible to me when I finally got through to him. When I asked why he didn’t return my call, he actually asked me, “Why should I call you?” Perhaps because he is supposed to be helping me?
Update: I just received a letter denying my claim. In it, the letter states that I would not “attend a special disability exam nor would [I] give permission for a contracted physician to visit“ my home. I said no such thing, and I was never asked. Neither option was ever even suggested.
I have been trying to be friendly with all of the people that I have had to deal with, but the fact that I have had to deal with this caliber of people is making that very difficult. It has been over a year, and people are still messing things up. How much more of this do I have to deal with? I have to reiterate…
I am disabled. I should qualify for Social Security Disability. What exactly is the problem?"
Then, I got a "statement" from the SSA. When I initially made my application, I was supposed to get a certain amount per month. The statement said that since I hadn't paid into Social Security for a couple of years, the amount decreased by more than $200 per month. So, while I am waiting for them to approve me, I am making $0 per year, and my future income (as insignificant as it already is) decreases drastically. I wrote this letter:
"This is the third complaint letter that I have sent to the Social Security Administration. To summarize my previous letters, I expressed my frustration with the way I have been treated throughout the entire Disability application process. I applied for benefits in July of 2005, and, even though I have proof of my multiple sclerosis, I am STILL waiting for approval.
My current complaint has to do with my Benefits Statement. I received one recently, and it shows that I should expect an estimated $1350 per month if I started getting benefits at the time of the letter. This is about $200 per month less than my statement showed at the time of my application. So, basically, my benefits are decreasing drastically as I wait for the SSA to review my application.
The people that I spoke to about this at the Social Security Administration were rude and unhelpful, telling me that that is just the way it works and there is nothing they can do about it. Unfortunately, I didn’t get the name of the woman that hung up on me before she disconnected.
This process has been absolutely infuriating. Not only am I waiting for something that should have happened YEARS ago, but every time I ask a question, I am treated horribly. How much longer do I have to deal with this?"
