F**k SSI and the SSA (need to vent)

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For the last 2 years I've been fighting the SSA to get benefits. Finally on June 1 I received a "fully favorable" decision from an administrative law judge after going to court in april. For the last 2 months I've been waiting for a letter from SSA to tell me the amount I will receive. Today I got the letter and what did I find? They denied me. Two f*****g years of sending them the same s**t over and over. A file with over 40 exhibits and documents. a fully favorable decision from an ALJ based on the evidence and documentation that I provided. Still, I get a letter denying me. How do these motherf***ers at SSA sleep at night knowing that that their $50,000-100,000 salaries are based on turning people down for $600 per month. People who struggle every f*****g day to live a normal life. I wish the public gave a s**t about what people go through to get these benefits. Instead they think of us as freeloaders and parasites. The real parasites are the bloated motherf***ers that administer SSI (send out rejection letters) that get paid $4 BILLION a year collectively. So f**k YOU SSI and f**k you SSA.

I'm so sorry to hear about that ridiculous decision. Is there some kind of discrimination in that decision? Although it must be very stressful, I hope you will pursue the case and eventually receive what you deserve.

I think it's good that you can rant here. I mean, F**K THE WHOLE SSA.

Now, in your actual dealings with them, I know you will be strategic and middle-of-the-road. And I wish we had Spectrum resource centers who could help and do some of this work and fight this battle with you.

god, how depressing.
I'm very sorry for you.

Who is handling your case?

I know it sound heartless, but turning you down IS their job.

We have a small legal circle in my region that advertises every day for people to call about applying for SSDI. It's bull poop. If you can get and hold a job, you don't need SSDI, but with unemployment being what it is, they want to encourage everyone who has any condition that can be spun into a disability to go and apply for benefits (and hire their firm to help them get it).

It's jokers like this who (1) make it harder for those who legitimately need the help, and (2) put the whole system in danger of collapse because too many are taking benefits they really don't need.

If an ALJ ruled in your favor, I can't see how they can say you don't get benefits. Yes, there might be an appeals process they can go to, but the decision of the ALJ is usually final since an appeals court can only review what the ALJ had to go on.

Actually, it's the constant dog whistles about "entitlements" and framing people who need these benefits as parasites that makes it harder for those of us who need these benefits to get them.

Those lawyers take the cases because they expect they can win.

Rascal77s,

That's complete BS that they did that. They should have just given you your benefits.

You need to talk to a lawyer who will take your case to a district court judge, while SSA people can actually overrule an ALJ opinion, they cannot over rule a district court judges ruling.

For SSI, the decision of the ALJ is reviewed by SSA appeals council, who can overrule his decisions. The only appeal to this decision is through the federal district courts.

Get a lawyer.

I think it's their internal policy to "Automatically Deny" your claim the first couple of times to see if you will give up.

Rascal, don't give up, get a lawyer if you have to. Some states are horrible about it. Florida is one of the worst.
When i was young i was inpatient a long time and had a treatment team and social worker take care of everything for me in order to get discharged. If i hadn't had help like that i don't know how i'd do.. They even managed to get retroactive money for me for when i was inpatient. This was in NY state which is better than Fla. I have a friend who is struggling to get SSI right now and they've already denied him once in Fl.

Is it possible for you to call the customer service number for SS, and speak to a representative personally?

They make a LOT of mistakes over there at Social Security, and I think this sounds like it could be one.

For example, they gave me 11,000 for what they said was retroactive bc I have a child living at home; turned out he wasn't eligible for one reason or another... (they took it back); they sent me letters saying I was getting all different amounts... they've made a LOT of mistakes, that's all I can say.

I'm on disability because I supposedly can no longer do administrative work, but I know I could do a better job at it than some of the workers I've been dealing with. I'd be checking and re-checking before I sent out letters much less "denied" someone.

Hey guys thanks for all your understanding it made me feel a lot better. I just want to clarify that I have a lawyer, she handled the court case for me. Obviously we won the court case with the "fully favorable" decision but apparently that doesn't mean s**t to SSA. In the two years that I've been fighting them I have never come across a case, on WP or elsewhere, where a judges ruling was overturned by SSA. EVERYTHING is documented, they know as much about me as I know about myself. They denied me after the SSA psychologist evaluation report was overwhelmingly in my favor and now deny me when the judge's ruling was overwhelmingly in my favor. The letter I received acknowledged the court ruling. As for calling them... well I was assigned a case worker some time ago and I left her a dozen voice mails over 6 month and she never once called me back. I wish the public were aware of how badly broken this system is so they would demand to know wtf $4 billion in administration fees was being spent on.. BTW I haven't been able to contact my lawyer because I got the letter on a Saturday but I will be calling her 1st thing tomorrow morning. Hopefully she wants her money and will be all up their asses over this. I don't think she has come across this type of thing before because we parted as if it were a done deal after the court. I'm just wondering if I should contact the media over this to raise some awareness about the f****d up system, or will the media even give a s**t? Either way they've just added another 6 months of waiting while I struggle to pay for therapy every week. Anyway I hope any of you that are applying for SSI/SSDI don't have to go through this s**t.

The thing is, the only next appeal you have is to the Federal District courts, and the district courts are very slow. Because they handle most federal legal issues, so it could be a year before you even see a judge. They want to make it, so you are are so overwhelmed, and it is all too much, and that you just give up.

I urge you to fight, fight with every appeal you have, do not give up until you have exhausted all options