Was approved check sent back!
 

Hi let me introduce myself first in order to be proper and all. A reader for a little while but a new user here. My name is Flutterball and i am happy to be here with ya'll. Seems like a good place with a friendly cast of supportive people, those who understand others lot in life and aren't condeming of their problems. That is why I finally registered and am posting. I was apprived for disabilty over a month ago and got my awards letter telling me I would receive my paper check around Sept. 17th but alas it didn't come and on the 21st I called SSI and was told my check was sent back to the treasury dept because it was undeliverable! :confused: Well my address was correctly given and I receive every friggin bill on time without a hitch. I setup direct deposit after I got my awards letter so my check should go in next month as planned. My back check is now I'm told being investigated by the td. as to why it was undeliverable and it could take up to 10 days to complete that then I'm guessing then to resend my check.:confused: My proposed solution to ssi was to just put the money into my bank account and all would be good again in Whoville :winky:no need for any investigation. I am in contact with the local post office and will voice my dismay on my end believe me. But it apparently it can't be done in this most effecient low cost way. So I have bills like all of you waiting to be paid and I just wanted to share my story with ya'll as a lesson learned. Get direct deposit started on your application phase, even if you don't believe you will win. Ya'll all have yourselves a nice evening.

hi
why am i not surprised. heaven forbid something that important should go smoothly. i was finally approved ssd after 7 or 8 months, mistake on their part. you will have no choice but to having on. make sure all information and ALL questions answered.

sorry to hear that
what a PAIN! can't lol it is ones life
it's just a matter of time, THEY are certainly not interested if you have obligations we all must meet just to survive.
Tomorrow is another day closer.
take care
eva

Direct Deposit eliminates complications as you've said. Sorry you had a problem. Call your creditors and explain the situation, they'll likely be willing to work with you.

Today I called ssid and talked to two competent agents who were respectful and very helpful. It appears that my direct deposit actually did start and a paper check was never issued as I was told yesterday. I have a prepaid Greendot account as my direct deposit, and Greendot doesn't do a good job of letting you know limits on direct deposits when you set it up with them. Seems like their is a federal law of a $10,000 deposit limit on prepaid cards I set this up the very day that I got the awards letter thinking that a paper check was already in route via usps. But it wasn't as they tried two times to direct deposit and it was rejected. I never meant for the backpay to be a direct deposit! They couldn't send me a paper check without me first cancelling my direct deposit, but Denise sent a note to the treasury dept to make that happen without cancelling my direct deposit. What I learned is if the person you talk to at ssdi seems confused or lost hang up and call again as you will talk to someone else who may be very astute and ahead of the curve. My check should be here next week. Cheers!

Yikes to the underlined quote above!

Utilizing the national 800# for anything of importance is generally not reliable. Someone sounding competent over the phone doesn't always translate into them following through. Walking this info in to your local office is always advised!!! If you are able to update it online and can print a record of it, that should be reliable as well.

BUT, it's best to provide account information for direct deposit at the time of your application! This is the fastest, most secure, least complicated way.

Anyone providing direct deposit account info should know that it is for monthly checks and backpay. And using a regular savings or checking account is a better option as a consumer IMHO. If you have an issue comingling funds, you can often open a new account with very little money at a credit union or small, local bank. (I have an extra account that I opened to have a backup savings account that only required $25 to sign up.)

Opening a new savings account without a debit card is usually the easiest route for people who have previously had an account closed by a bank.

I have had very good experiences with both the local office and the 800#. Information provided has been accurate and helpful.

I'm glad you had good experiences with the 800#.

BUT, it is only that, your experience. And your experience goes against what experts in the field advise.

http://ultimatedisabilityguide.blogs...-security.html

The "experts" you are referring to are attorneys whose bread an butter is based on such "advice". The truth is, that lots of us are prevailing without attorneys.

I'm really confused by your logic here. Why would an attorney be biased against the national 800#? How in the world would it serve him to direct pro se applicants to their local office over the national 800#?

A supervisor at my local office explained to me that the local office has greater access to applicant/beneficiary records then they do at the national 800#. The local agents also receive more in depth training. They're calls are not clocked. You can actually reach them again if they make an error, making them much more accountable. All these things, and I'm sure I'm leaving others out as well, make service at the local office much more reliable.

And when you walk something in, you can get it date stamped. A papertrail when dealing with a government agency is always a good thing.

If being cautious saves even a small percentage of applicants/beneficiaries from a delay or loss of benefits, is that not worthwhile? Everything sailed along smoothly for you. GREAT. But if your bad advice causes someone a two month long delay in getting their backpay, and they're evicted in the meantime...

It would seem to me that if you are going to receive a check once a month (possibly for a lifetime), you would get a checking or saving account for direct deposits. :confused: Perferably at a bank that has "no minimum" amount fees and free checking.

I'm with you on this Mz. Migraine! I am still in "stage 1" in my SSDI, but they have my checking account info already. I am keeping my fingers crossed that they will need it sooner than later.:smileypray: Karen

Response from a poster in regards to information from the national 800#.

http://neurotalk.psychcentral.com/thread152381.html

I just recently found out about a debit card the government has for people like me, who can't open up a checking or savings account. I called the 800 # and they took all my updated info. I told the woman about an account I used during the application process and since has been closed. Monday, I will call the 800# again to make sure they still have my udated info. I hope this works for me!

It takes the same amount of effort to call your local office as it does the national 800#. :confused:

If you had a problem with opening an account, there are banks and credit unions where you can open an account even if you have an issue with Chexsystems. The following link has a sticky that lists which do not use Chexsystems. You can also go about attempting to deal with cleaning up your file. Even having a savings account without a debit card would be better. I don't have any experience dealing with this problem, and if I've guessed incorrectly, and it's another issue, please don't just assume that you're unable to open an account.

http://creditboards.com/forums/index.php?showforum=75

You should also write to the President of your former bank and notify them of your disability and see if you can resolve any outstanding issues. They will wipe out overdraft fees, even hundreds of dollars worth, in certain circumstances.

I am the OP and I must say my ordeal with getting my retroactive backpay is still ongoing and not resolved after almost 20 calls to the 800 number and my local office. First of all it was I who discovered why the "check" was returned to the processing center to begin with. I've thought I had this resolved many times thus far but it just never ends, I did open a traditional local checking account here and made sure they got the routing and transit numbers correctly entered on their end (as you do) I have been schooled in the ways of this agency. I have talked to people whom I have wondered how in the world thay ever got a job with our federal government to begin with, told multiple wait times, tried different remedies and have had a few very friendly astute, smart and articulate agents who could not right the ship on my behalf. While others have talked down to me and told me I call too much and it's slowing my case down. The new direct deposit has been in place for over two weeks with the new bank and all they have to do is release the money but that seems to be a problem. I get different information or lack of every time I call. Yes, a supervisor has taken my call and it got nowhere either and I've been reminded that they are just an information service. This is very much insanity and ongoing....

Flutterball, anything the slightest bit complicated is difficult for most at the 800#. Sorry you're having such trouble. Was the Supervisor at the local office? They can help expedite things, but it seems they can choose to ignore you if they want to...calling everyday can annoy the local office, and they can attempt to punish you for perceived bad behavior, IMO. If you know someone that seems to always get there way, bring them along to advocate for you, and go into your local office.

Next step beyond that is to ask for help from a US Congressman or Senator. Fixing a screwup takes much longer (in many cases) even though it would seem logical that these issues would be expedited.

For also those in the application stage, please provide SS this info asap. Even at the time of application isn't too soon!

You wouldn't ask the receptionist in your doctor's office to interpret your X-ray. An LVN may have a better idea, but could still be wrong. The RN probably knows more than he/she would be willing to admit, but won't do it because it is the job of the radiologist.

The radiologist might be able to record your visit to the office in the electronic record with a little training, but he/she should be interpreting X-rays.

Expecting the 800# TSR's to be able to read a crystal ball and tell you when another component will finish and what the answer will be is just asking too much. However, expecting them to interpret what HAS happened, is reasonable. Expecting the adjudicating staff, the claims reps in your office, to answer phone calls about office hours, making appointments, etc. takes them away from doing the job they are trained to do - processing claims.

Thanks Janke! (I seem to do a lot of this, hmm?)

Isn't it true that the 800# TSR's don't have the same access to applicant's records as those at the local offices, and they also don't have the same level of training, as well? So perhaps they should be able to answer simple questions, but it's unfair to expect them to deal with more complicated issues?

I signed up with a direct deposit directly on their site and it never mentioned a cap for a direct deposit from ssi. I am certain without I wouldn't have been so dumb as to have done that with full knowledge of a cap.

It would have been in the fine print from the bank with the prepaid credit card.

Clearly, lots of people get backpay over 10k, so there should be a warning on the SS link. They should update their website.

You shouldn't feel dumb, and the good news is, now you have a regular bank account.

Hopefully your backpay will not be delayed much longer....

Dear Flutterball,

I'm sorry to hear about your frustrating experience. It may be however
like everything else, the mix up may be part of the human condition. In
other words even those in government make mistakes and although
correcting a mistake made could be done in a simple manner they are bound by procedure which takes time.

Joydee