Hi Don and Butch and the group.  I have been working for the past year with 
an advocate and she strongly discourages people from using the national 
number.  The local office is who you deal with and they know your case 
better then anyone.
    When I changed jobs it was time for me to update with them any how, and 
I wasn't too happy with my local office, and went out of my way to go to 
another office, and filed a formal complaint against the local office, and 
after that they made a 180 degree turn around.  Another thing to suggest is 
be patient  when going to your local office.  I can only speak for our 
office in Rochester, NY, and it is always crowded, and if you don't have an 
appointment chances are you will have to wait a while.  When I had to go I 
either made an appointment or went at the end of the day.  Good luck and 
hope this helps.
----- Original Message ----- 
From: "don bishop" <[log in to unmask]>
To: <[log in to unmask]>
Sent: Friday, January 21, 2011 5:26 PM
Subject: Re: social security problem


> Butch,
>
> If you got all this info via phone, I'd really suggest you contact your
> local ss office and make an appointment to see one of their counselors.
>  They might be able to come up with some workable solutions.
>
> Like most things having to do with the government, it does take time,
> but under the circumstances it might really be worth your while.
>
> Don
>
>
>
> On 1/21/2011 2:17 PM, Butch Bussen wrote:
>> Off topic I know, but I'm really discourraged.  The last month in my life
>> has been unbelievable.
>>
>> I have been drawing some each month on s s d i on my dad's number for 
>> many
>> years.  As some of you may know, my wife passed away last December.  I
>> called social security this morning to ask about getting a widdow's
>> pention.  I was told by the lady there that since my marriage in 2000,
>> that I should not have been eligible.  Therefore, I'll get a letter of
>> over payment and I will have to repay the last ten and a half years back
>> to them.  I was told many times before that my marital status wouldn't
>> effect this.  I don't know where to go from here.  On top of everything
>> else I've been going through, this is the last straw.
>>
>> Butch
>>
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