More Social Security Follies

Here's some more evidence to prove what most of us intuit to be true: lots of Social Security workers believe their main job is to send people away so that they don't have to do any work.

Case in point: yesterday I went to a Social Security office on the near west side to try to sort out my client Rhonda's overpayment issue. All I wanted to do was meet with a Social Security representative in order to explain that Social Security had calculated her overpayment amount incorrectly. I had all of Rhonda's bank statements which clearly showed that Social Security's overpayment amount was about $3,000 too high.

So I walked into the office, took a number and waited for my name to be called. After about half an hour I was called up to the front window. I explained the issue briefly, handed the Woman Behind the Glass a brief memo outlining the problem, and also handed her the Appointment of Representative form which Rhonda had signed authorizing me to represent her before Social Security. The WBTG asked me to return to my seat while she talked to her supervisor.

Twenty minutes later she called me back. The scowl on her face did not bode well. "The overpayment notice came from the southside Social Security office on Sacramento," she said. "So you have to go there." Now, I've been doing this work for almost 20 years, and I know a thing or two about Social Security rules. "Actually, that's not true," I said, trying to remain pleasant. "I can do Social Security business at any Social Security office." The WBTG picked up her magic phone, asked her invisible supervisor if I was correct. And whaddya know, I was.

Still, she scowled. "The other problem is that you haven't submitted an Appointment of Representative form, so I can't release any information on your client's overpayment." Keep in mind that she said this while holding the Appointment of Representative form in her hand.

I stood in stupefied silence for a moment, then said, "You have the form right there."

"Right," she said, "but you didn't submit it earlier, so it's not in the file."

"That form is all you need to discuss this case with me."

"But the form shows that she appointed you as her representative just last week," she said, "and this overpayment is from a year ago."

At this point, I knew I had three choices. I could yell, laugh or ask her to pick up her magic phone yet again. I chose the third option. It worked. After talking to the invisible supervisor, the WBTG informed me that I could, indeed, meet with a Social Security representative who could, indeed, accept the documentation I wanted to submit. I would just have to wait until someone was available. And that would be in, oh, an hour. Luckily I brought a book.

After a few chapters of Death in Venice, I was called back to meet with a worker who listened to my explanation, accepted my client's financial documentation, and told me that really, you were supposed to go to the Sacramento office. I decided to move in for the kill. "Oh, but everyone in this office is so friendly and knowledgeable," I said. "That's why I came here."