Do you write letters to agencies when they have made mistakes, or do you just get the mistake taken care of and move on?
I am writing this to encourage all of us to go further than just reporting an error. I am encouraging you, when you are pissed off to have your say.
When that package from Amazon never arrived because of some cock and bull story, send an email to the CEO of Amazon and let him know that is not OK.
When your check book doesn’t balance because the bank made an error (AKA- Wells Fargo) send that letter to the head of your branch and bring it to his attention.
When an item that you ordered does not work, let the company know that it is annoying and bad practice not to test items before shipping as it takes your time to send the non-functional item back.
I am encouraging you to do so because of my recent administrative hearing with Social Security.
Here is my story:
April 20, 2004: In a meeting with a Social Security agent, it was determined that my husband and I were to receive retirement insurance benefits.
It was stated at the time of my interview that I would also be eligible for my pension through STRS, beginning July 2004.
The determination by Social Security was that my husband, Marshall, had 40 quarters and that I had 40 quarters and we were eligible for a Social Security benefit.
June 16, 2008: I informed Social Security that my husband was deceased.
June 23, 2008: I received a letter that confirmed that as a widow I was to receive benefits.
Aug. 8, 2011: I received a letter saying Social Security had paid me too much in benefits and that I would have to pay back the overpayment and sorry for our mistake.
Oct. 3, 2011: I was told I would have monies withheld until June 2020 to pay back this misappropriation. Social Security stated that they made a mistake and that I shouldn’t have been receiving a benefit. I needed to pay back a substantial amount of money.
I began my journey to get an administrative hearing which led me to Rep. Mike Thompson’s office.
Last week I got my hearing after five years of delays.
Did I change anything by stating the unfairness of my situation? Probably not. Did I change a law that states if you can’t pay back the entitlement you don’t have to and if you do have the funds you have to pay them back even though Social Security made the mistake to begin with? Did they make a mistake?
So why bother, to contact the CEOS, to write the letters, to affirm your position, to try to make sure the next person isn’t annoyed, mistreated, or unheard. For me, being heard by the administrative judge was satisfying. Perhaps, who knows, maybe someday she will be on a committee that rethinks some of this powerful Administration’s positions. Maybe fairness will prevail. For now, my situation is resolved, over, and I can file my documents away knowing I had my day in court

Ellen Blaufarb is a marriage family therapist formerly connected with the Benicia Unified School District.

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