In October of 2008 I had a hearing to waive the supposed 4000.00 + overpayment I got about 10 years ago. So of course my tax refunds from then have been taken throughout the years. Also SS garnished my wages for about 11/2 years. Anyway the Judge ruled in my favor because the evidence showed it was not my fault. Any way this year after Financial Management took my Tax refund again to go towards the SS Debt, I got totally pissed! I went to my local office and told them I wanted all my money back. They agreed and said I should get it back. So they sent everything to the payment center in Jamaica NY, which I hear is totally disorganized and I agree after speaking with people there!!!
Anyway, they have all the paperwork with all the money that they have taken, and they are still supposedly trying to figure how much I am supposed to get back!! What a bunch of dumb people they are! This is the 2nd month I have been waiting on those people and still no letter letting me know what is going on.
How long is it before they are supposed to send you a letter to at least telling you what is going on?
When people are supposed to send them a payment they keep after you and want it then. But when they owe money back it's a different story.....
Some thoughts
Sorry I don't have much to add that you're probably not aware of already. There is an appeals process, but it sounds like you're past that and just need repayment.
You may want to contact the office of your local US congressional representative. They may be able to help.
If possible, you may want to adjust your tax withholding so you wind up getting a small or no refund. This will give you more current income, and reduce the chance of a refund being improperly seized.
not happy
The Government is all screwed up as far as I can see... Financial Management should have been notified that I did not owe any debt any more, but the Jamaica Payment center is not run very good according to someone at my local office...I have called them before and they are not very smart there... Thanks for the suggestion about calling one of my Congressional Representatives.
By the way, how long is it before they are supposed to send me a letter letting me know what is going on? They got the file case on April 6.2009
Response time for Social Security issues
I checked, but couldn't find anything regarding required response times. There are probably required response times for things like disability claims, but the agency is woefully behind meeting even these requirements.
You may want to see if you can track this online. See http://www.ssa.gov/onlineservices/
Once you have an ssa.gov "password", you can see the contact, direct deposit, Medicare and payment information they have on file for you. It'd be nice if you could view your "account status" online, but I'd be a bit surprised if you could find the information you're looking for. I haven't used the service yet, so I can't vouch for it.
If you use it, be careful you're at https://secure.ssa.gov. Be careful of some domain like "http://ssa.gov.fakesite.com/login". Be especially careful to confirm the browser address if you're asked to enter private information.
not happy
So I called the payment center directly and talked to them. They are not very smart by the way. The only thing the person I spoke with could find is that this years tax refund was taken from me.
She also told me to contact my local office because the local office can supposedly cut checks?? I have tried to contact the worker at my local office but she never calls back or anything....I left her a nasty message today to that extent, demanding she get in touch with me or I would have to see a lawyer about this whole thing.
What is your out take on this? Can a local office cut checks for thousands of dollars? If so, I was unaware of this and should have been told this a very long time ago....
Correcting overpayment issue
I don't have much direct experience in this area, so can't comment much.
I did find this in the SSA FAQ's regarding overpayment appeals. I assume, however, that you've already gone down this path:
http://ssa-custhelp.ssa.gov/cgi-bin/ssa.cfg/php/enduser/std_adp.php?p_fa...
Here are four other links with information regarding wage garnishment for overpayment recovery. It doesn't sound applicable to your case, but there still may be practices similar to your situation :
http://ssa-custhelp.ssa.gov/cgi-bin/ssa.cfg/php/enduser/std_adp.php?p_fa...
http://ssa-custhelp.ssa.gov/cgi-bin/ssa.cfg/php/enduser/std_adp.php?p_fa...
http://ssa-custhelp.ssa.gov/cgi-bin/ssa.cfg/php/enduser/std_adp.php?p_fa...
http://ssa-custhelp.ssa.gov/cgi-bin/ssa.cfg/php/enduser/std_adp.php?p_fa...
Checking Social Security procedures
You may want to see what the SSA's Program Operations Manual System (POMS) has to say about this.
List of all categories in POMS
https://secure.ssa.gov/apps10/poms.nsf/chapterlist
Overpayment categories
https://secure.ssa.gov/apps10/poms.nsf/subchapterlist!openview&restrictt...
Underpayment categories
https://secure.ssa.gov/apps10/poms.nsf/subchapterlist!openview&restrictt...
not happy
Thank you for the links. Actually they were handy and helpful. I finally went down to my local office on Friday. And my worker was working at the window...amazing or what...She said they were missing The Judges decision letter, which I happened to bring with me so she photocopied it and now is a manager to manager conference to the payment center to get a timeline hopefully. I also mentioned to her that according to CFR rules, that refunds are to be made promptly..She agreed and says promptly or not, they sometimes take their time at the Payment center. They are supposed to call and let me know after the conference tomorrow...I will let you know the outcome of it, if they even call me to let me know...