Hello all,
Sorry i haven't been on AllDeaf for awhile, I'm getting close to graduating for my Associate's degree and i've been traveling and keeping busy!
but I am in a situation with SSI and I need your help to help me understand and figure out what to do. So, Let me start from the beginning.
I applied to SSI in fall of 2012, my first year going to college. I was receiving a few checks from SSI while they were deciding if i was eligible for it or not. I applied i believe in early September. So then between late November to early December, i was denied SSI because they believed that I was not deaf enough even though I sent them proof i am deaf by showing them my audiogram. But to them it wasn't enough. My dad is a representative for me on my SSI so both of us appealed against that idea from what SSI was saying. So, from december all the way to early April, I was not getting payed from SSI because we were appealing them. But then they decided I was eligible for it. So in early july, from the time that SSI did not pay me (December-April) They paid me the money for the time they did not pay me (about $2000.) and half of that money was used towards paying my tuition for school for the upcoming fall semester for 2013. So from there on out until last wednesday everything was fine. I obeyed their rules from keeping my accounts below $2000 and I thought i was doing a good job.
So recently on wednesday (November 19th, 2014) my dad and I received a letter saying that I owe SSI $5,000 because of an overpayment because both of my accounts were over $2000. And I was shocked because I had been keeping both of my accounts below $2000. Because they said SSI is looking at 3 different things; 1) Income 2) Resources and the other thing I forget. But they are saying that I went over my resources which I don't understand what that means. But both of my accounts have been within $400-1000. So we went to the SSI office on friday, and we talked to an SSI Claim representative and that person said that it doesn't sound like the situation I'm in would be waived unless i show some kind of proof that I have been keeping under $2000. And the guy we talked to wasn't very helpful. So after our drop-in appointment with the SSI claim rep, we went to the bank and we print out my bank statements starting from February 1st,2013 to February 1st, 2014 and we looked at each month and it was below $2000 and we have no idea how SSI are getting those crazy numbers from the bank. So we went back into SSI office and talked to a different claim rep, and she looked at my statements and looked at the computer and they are completely different numbers. She said it was like someone was hitting a repeat button on the computer and was not paying attention to what they were doing.
We asked about the $2000 that they paid me on those times they did not pay me when i was declined, she said that will be waived because it was their fault and it would be removed from my account. She said that she would be making some changes from their computer regarding to what the bank is sending them from my statements.
My dad and I were so frustrated because SSI has become such a huge problem for us. The both of us decided we want to drop SSI but then another problem came up. They said that If I drop SSI, I'm basically telling them that I don't want medicaid/medicare and I would mess up VR to help me pay for school. So Now i'm at the point where I'm feeling like is this even worth it to keep SSI just to keep those benefits that I might need in the future?? I had a lot of nervous breakdowns because I'm currently making and designing a book for my design classes and finals week is getting close including the fall semester ending and I have this SSI problem on top of that on my plate and I have been extremely worried and been losing sleep and I have not been feeling well because of this and I don't know what else to do other than come here for advice and information to those who have had more experience with SSI than me since I only had it for close to a year. What would you do if you were in this situation? But there is a few questions I have about SSI,
1) If i were to get married, If i don't have SSI anymore but my husband do and if we have a joint account together, would we still need to keep that account below $2000 if we have a joint account?
2) because SSI is saying that my resources are over the $2000 limit, is it a good idea to show them that I'm paying some expense such as a cellphone bill or rent, etc by getting a credit card to show them that I have credit?
I'm really stuck and so frustrated and completely overwhelmed. I do need help and information. I'm a college student and I have no idea how i'm going to pay back $5000 if it doesn't get waived. It will take me a couple years to even pay it back. Thanks for reading this!!!
