Dropped my paperwork off at the SSA office in Phoenix and the clerk told me they lost my file from two years ago

I stood there in that hot lobby for 45 minutes just to hear the lady say 'we don't have your records' so now I'm starting over with a lawyer who charges $125 an hour, has anyone else had to rebuild their whole case from scratch like this?

3 comments

3 Comments

beth2761mo ago

Brought my paperwork to the same office last month only for them to tell me my case number didn't exist in their system. At this point I think the SSA runs on hopes and dreams and a toaster connected to dial up internet.

the_anthony1mo ago

Sat in that same Phoenix office three months ago watching a guy argue with a clerk who couldn't find his birth certificate on the computer. Feels like every government office these days runs on a system where things just disappear into a black hole and nobody cares.

phoenix_bailey1mo ago

Clerks have a hard job too though @the_anthony. That guy probably showed up with some beat up photocopy of something that didn't match the name on his ID. I've seen people grab the wrong folder or just straight up lie about what they brought in. The system is old and slow sure, but sometimes the human on the other side of the counter is the one making it disappear. Three months in Phoenix and you only saw one argument, that feels like a win for government efficiency.