My 47 year old son with Down Syndrome and an incomplete left had received a letter in 2021 saying that in 2020 he had been overpaid by Social Security DD a total of approximately 18k. We were told to fill out an Overpayment Recovery form. We sent it in --they claimed they never received it even though I sent it by fed ex and I have a receipt that it was sent. I needed to go to Congresswoman Rice's office who offered to fax it to me. After many months they got back to us. They set up a call for November 23rd --we were unable to go as my mother-in- law died so we made it for December 3rd. No one called --I got another letter to meet on January 4th--to discuss the overpayment appeal. My son and I stayed home from work --no one called. I called them the next day and was left on hold for 2 hours and then disconnected. On March 16th I got a letter from them requesting payment. I called and they told me that they couldn't connect with me (phone # was correct) on January 4th --no one left the house all day long --blatantly untrue. I have been told to file another overpayment recovery form as the first one has been denied. This is overwhelming and crazy --I work for a not for profit AHRCNYC (one of the ARC chapters across the nation) and I am pretty well versed in working with people with disabilities --and I am out of my league. I cannot imagine what others do in this situation. Any advice or guidance would be greatly appreciated --thinking of getting a lawyer.
Hi. I don't know if what you're referring to as an overpayment recovery form is an appeal or a waiver request. An appeal is what you file if you don't believe an overpayment occurred, or if you believe the amount is incorrect. A waiver request is what you file if you accept that the overpayment is correct, but you believe that you're without fault in causing the overpayment and you're either unable to repay the overpayment or repayment would be unfair for a certain reasons (https://secure.ssa.gov/apps10/poms.nsf/lnx/0202250150).
If you're appealing your son's overpayment and if a determination has been made on the first step of appeal, then you can take your appeal to the next level. The second appeals step is a Hearing before an administrative law judge (ALJ). Appeals must normally be filed within 60 days of the prior determination in order to be considered as timely filed (https://www.ssa.gov/pubs/EN-05-10058.pdf).
If you're requesting waiver, there's no set limit on the number of times that you can apply for waiver. Therefore, if you filed for waiver of your son's overpayment and if the waiver request was disallowed, you can still file another waiver request.
In any event, it sounds like Social Security has handled your son's case in an inexcusable manner. You may want to contact the offices of your congressperson or one of your U.S. senators to let them know what you've been through. Oftentimes, an inquiry filed with Social Security by a congressperson on behalf of a constituent can be helpful.
Best, Jerry
