Woman goes to doctor to show Social Security she is alive | KOMO-TV – Seattle, Washington | News — The kicker to this story is that, despite computer technology, nobody knows how this could happen. Yeah, right.
No one knows how the Social Security Administration decided Doris Pennington was dead, but she has spent the past week, including a visit to the doctor, trying to convince the agency she is very much alive.
Pennington, 76, a retired schoolteacher in this Eastern Washington town, learned of the flub when a granddaughter went to the bank to cash a check from her Dec. 10.
“They told her her grandma was no longer banking with that bank,” Pennington told the Tri-City Herald, “and she said, What? My grandma has always banked here.”
As the granddaughter listened, a bank official telephoned Pennington and told that Social Security had declared her dead on Nov. 22.
Jeezus H Kryest ! Is this how the Bush admin plans to reduce S.S. payouts ?!?
Reminds you of the All in The Family Episode where
Edith receives an social security death benefit over a computer name mistake and the real stiff cannot be buried over the social security single letter computer error
This just screams Monty Python!!
The Dead Collector: Bring out yer dead.
[a man puts a body on the cart]
Large Man with Dead Body: Here’s one.
The Dead Collector: That’ll be ninepence.
The Dead Body That Claims It Isn’t: I’m not dead.
The Dead Collector: What?
Large Man with Dead Body: Nothing. There’s your ninepence.
The Dead Body That Claims It Isn’t: I’m not dead.
The Dead Collector: ‘Ere, he says he’s not dead.
Large Man with Dead Body: Yes he is.
The Dead Body That Claims It Isn’t: I’m not.
The Dead Collector: He isn’t.
Large Man with Dead Body: Well, he will be soon, he’s very ill.
The Dead Body That Claims It Isn’t: I’m getting better.
Large Man with Dead Body: No you’re not, you’ll be stone dead in a moment.
The Dead Collector: Well, I can’t take him like that. It’s against regulations.
The Dead Body That Claims It Isn’t: I don’t want to go on the cart.
Large Man with Dead Body: Oh, don’t be such a baby.
The Dead Collector: I can’t take him.
The Dead Body That Claims It Isn’t: I feel fine.
Large Man with Dead Body: Oh, do me a favor.
The Dead Collector: I can’t.
Large Man with Dead Body: Well, can you hang around for a couple of minutes? He won’t be long.
The Dead Collector: I promised I’d be at the Robinsons’. They’ve lost nine today.
Large Man with Dead Body: Well, when’s your next round?
The Dead Collector: Thursday.
The Dead Body That Claims It Isn’t: I think I’ll go for a walk.
Large Man with Dead Body: You’re not fooling anyone, you know. Isn’t there anything you could do?
The Dead Body That Claims It Isn’t: I feel happy. I feel happy.
[the Dead Collector glances up and down the street furtively, then silences the Body with his a whack of his club]
Large Man with Dead Body: Ah, thank you very much.
The Dead Collector: Not at all. See you on Thursday.
Large Man with Dead Body: Right.
This is another story that I promised not to forget so I saved it here.
http://bellsouthpwp.net/t/o/tomas42064/LAWLER.HTM
Fighting the SSA is like throwing knives at the wind — you can’t hit the target and the wind doesn’t care.
Contingency lawyers (those who actually worked as high-level mgt. in the SSA) seem to be the only hope. This seems like a case a law firm might actually take.
The part I don’t understand is why it will take so long for the SSA to correct the error. If they understand that an error has been made, they should correct it right away.
MAYBE…. An ilegal (undocumented)women was using her S.S. number and she died.
I do not think the S.S.would say, if that is what happened.
From the newer, less quality Cosby show:
(Cosby’s character goes into the SS office)
“Is this the line for the dead?”
This happened to my mother recently also. My father passed away two years ago, and last year Social Security stopped sending my mothers check. She called them and they kindly informed her she was also dead.
I dont recall what steps she had to go through to prove she was living, however I do believe it involved the expense of a visit to her doctor.
The SSA is notorious for not being able to resolve errors. Take the case of Audra Schmierer. She discovered that her Social Security number had been used by over 81 people from Florida to Washington state, at construction sites, fast-food restaurants and even major high-tech companies. Some opened bank accounts using the number.
The federal government took years to discover the number was being used illegally, but authorities took little action even then.
http://tinyurl.com/24xw5z