diffculty contacting human being at SSA office Manila ?

[orang37]

Sawasdee Khrup,

 

Seems the malefic planet Rahu has cursed me with suspension of  my US social security  benefits: now, the second month with no payments. Steps I've taken, with no result, yet:

 

1. FedEx'd signed copies of 7162 to the US 15 days ago; those documents delivered  13 days ago,

 

2, many phone  calls to the number  in Manila listed as valid for phone queries during Tues. and Thurs. AM hours: all answered by answering machine.

 

3. signed, scanned, copies of 7162 sent by e-mail to the Manila office.

 

4. multiple e-mails to address of a Mr. Santiago in the  Manila office who, a few years ago, was very helpful. Calls to his phone get an answering machine.

 

I've been advised by Khun Nancy, a leading light of the Chiang Mai forum, that the American Consulate here (CM) will not contact Manila for me. I've been advised by several long-term expats that getting through using the 800-number to the Wilkes-Barre, PA. SSA main office is futile.

 

Appreciate any ideas, or suggestions !

 

thanks, ~o:37;

[Sheryl]

Afraid I have no answer but I can commiserate.

 

My SS payments were supposed to start last December.  I have received none and keep getting letters from SS in US saying payment was returned/can't be made because they don't have the right address. Obviously they DO have my address as the letters come to it. So I suppose they mean something wrong with the Bank routing instructions for Direct Deposit, but I can't be sure, and I don't know what it could be and of course there is no way for me to check the accuracy online since my foreign address makes it impossible for me to open an online account. I could not even get a Direct deposit form as they aren't available for download as they are supposed to be done online (never mind that those of us living abroad can't use online services!).

 

Multiple emails to Manila have been ignored. After a while I stopped asking them to directly help and just asked them for a Direct Deposit form, figuring this would take them almost no time to provide and maybe a repeat submission would solve whatever the unknown problem was. Still no response.

 

I finally got a Direct Deposit form from my bank and mailed it to SS in Baltimore EMS yesterday. Stay tuned.

 

I did try calling the US number. Estimated wait time was almost an hour so I gave up. You could try if you don't mind the cost of a long international call. Tip: As soon as the automated menu starts up say "Representative", that will get you switched to the queue waiting to talk to a human. I seem to recall it always  taking an hour or more to get through when I called them last summer while in the US. But once I got through they were OK.

 

I have no idea how to get hold of a human in Manila but you might ask @Pib as he apparently succeeds in doing this.

 

Good luck!

 

 

 

[ubonjoe]

Not visa related moved to here.

[orang37]

22 minutes ago, Sheryl said:

... I can commiserate.

 

Thanks, Sheryl, I feel less lonely now ???? cheers, Bill

[watgate]

You can call by skype and the call is free but have to make sure you call when their offices in the US are open

[Sheryl]

2 hours ago, watgate said:

You can call by skype and the call is free but have to make sure you call when their offices in the US are open

Hoiw do you make a free call to a landline phone by Skype?  Shows charges on mine.

[KarlS]

3 minutes ago, Sheryl said:

Hoiw do you make a free call to a landline phone by Skype?  Shows charges on mine.

It is possible but only to a Freephone number.

 

 

NB I am referring to UK 0800 numbers - 

[watgate]

For the ridiculously low annual amount of 25-30 usd you can make unlimited calls to the US and Canada with Skype

[marcusarelus]

This is what I got from Manila when it happened to me.

 

Based on our records, your benefits are currently suspended because the Social Security office in Baltimore, Maryland has not received the annual questionnaire form SSA-7162 which was sent to you for completion. We also do not have any record of receiving the 7162 that you e-mailed. We need the information requested on this form to decide if you can receive benefits again.

 

Please complete and return the attached form 7162. Kindly remember to indicate your Social Security number on the form. You may e-mail it back to our office at [email protected] or fax it to (632)708-9723. Upon receipt, action will be taken to resume your benefit payments. Reinstatement can take up to 3-4 business days.

 

 

This is what I emailed them.

 

To: XXXXXXX
Subject: Re: SSA benefit

 

Dear Mr XXXXXX

I have received my SS Benifit amount every month for the past year between the 2nd and the 4th of every month.  I have not received my SS benifit amount for February.  Is there some problem I don't know about?  Please advise me what to do.  

 

 

I emailed it April 10, 2012 to

Claims Examiner
SSA Division, U.S. EMBASSY
1201 Roxas Blvd.
Manila, Philippines 1000
Tel #  632-301-2416
Fax #  632-708-9714
Email [email protected]

 

 

 

 

[Bang Bang]

3 hours ago, orang37 said:

2, many phone  calls to the number  in Manila listed as valid for phone queries during Tues. and Thurs. AM hours: all answered by answering machine.

I've gotten through to a person by calling around 8am Manila a few times. It's hit and miss though. You have to keep trying. Later in the day, only the machine.

 

3 hours ago, orang37 said:

I've been advised by several long-term expats that getting through using the 800-number to the Wilkes-Barre, PA. SSA main office is futile.

Again, not true. Just keep repeating till a human picks up. I had to call PA SSA a few times last year to set up my payments because of certain issues. I remember nights (here) where I would just idly keep clicking the number on Skype, maybe 15-20 times over an hour,  till finally someone picked up.

 

Good luck.

[NCC1701A]

5 hours ago, orang37 said:

with suspension of  my US social security

do you have your "my social security" account setup? sometimes has a status report of your issues.

 

are you in Thailand?

 

has SS been able to mail you a letter asking to confirm your address?

 

 

 

[Bang Bang]

4 minutes ago, NCC1701A said:

do you have your "my social security" account setup? sometimes has a status report of your issues.

 

 

I believe you have to have a US address to set up MySS ac. I remember trying a couple of years ago. Thai address wasn't acceptable so I tried giving it my brother's MI address but then it went into a verification protocol asking a bunch of personal questions which is when I gave up.

 

Maybe that's changed now and they will take foreign addresses. Would be good to know.

[orang37]

2 hours ago, marcusarelus said:

This is what I got from Manila when it happened to me.

 

Thanks for taking your time to reply; I have done everything you describe, and the same problem was easily taken care of 2 years ago with one phone call to Manila.

 

cheers, ~o:37;

 

[orang37]

45 minutes ago, Bang Bang said:

I believe you have to have a US address to set up MySS ac.

I don't know about the MySS: but, I was able initiate starting to get benefits a few years ago, while living here, with no US residence. They (Manila) did a recorded phone interview, which I swore an oath to answer truthfully; there was some minor paperwork I printed, signed, scanned, and e-mailed to Manila. In about a month, I was notified benefits were approved  and started getting payments.

 

Your mileage, now, may vary.

 

cheers, ~o:37;

[orang37]

1 hour ago, NCC1701A said:

do you have your "my social security" account setup? sometimes has a status report of your issues.

are you in Thailand?

has SS been able to mail you a letter asking to confirm your address?

 

Thanks for taking your time to reply ! No, yes, and, while mail gone missing, or delivered weeks late (from them to me, and, presumably, me to them), has created the problem, as I said, I have proof the US SSA received FedEx'd documents 13 days ago.  They do have my current address.

 

cheers, ~o:37;

[ubonjoe]

It is good to keep in mind the reports are sent out in June. I start expecting it then.

If I did not get the 2nd notice sent about 90 days from when the first one was mailed by October I would be contacting them about it.

[orang37]

5 hours ago, ubonjoe said:

It is good to keep in mind the reports are sent out in June. I start expecting it then. If I did not get the 2nd notice sent about 90 days from when the first one was mailed by October I would be contacting them about it.

 

Indeed:

 

Form SSA-7162-OCR-SM (Report to the United States Social Security Administration)

 

The form is sent from Wilkes-Barre, PA and must be completed regularly by all beneficiaries or their representative payees.

 

*       Beneficiaries with addresses in Australia, Hong Kong, Japan, New Zealand, or APO/FPO/DPO receive the form every two years.

*       Beneficiaries in countries not mentioned above, receive the form every year.

 

The form is mailed beginning May 15^th and a follow-up letter is mailed beginning September 15^th. If the completed form is not received in Wilkes-Barre, PA by the end of the year, benefits are suspended beginning with the February payment of the following year.

 

To avoid the suspension of your benefits, complete the form as soon as you receive it, and mail it back to Wilkes-Barre, PA using the enclosed business reply envelope. Do not submit the completed form to the Federal Benefits Unit in Manila or to a U.S. Embassy/Consulate.

 

IMPORTANT: If you do not receive the form by November 1, contact us right away, preferably by e-mail.

[orang37]

Many thanks for the feedback and responses from you to this thread 

 

Hallelujah ! An e-mail just came in from Manila saying SS benefits are restored, and will arrive next week. 

 

As Mr. Micawber said to young Copperfield: "Annual income twenty pounds, annual expenditure nineteen [pounds] nineteen [shillings] and six [pence], result happiness. Annual income twenty pounds, annual expenditure twenty pounds ought and six, result misery."

 

I e-mailed back, asking for advice on the best way to contact the Manilla office, and asked, specifically, if FedExing the form 7162 to Wilkes-Barre made any difference. If I ever get a response during my lifetime ;), I'll post it, here.

 

cheers, 0:37;

[Sheryl]

My SS still won't take a foreign address.

 

And will only accept a US address that can be verified by a credit bureau check i.e. it needs to show in your credit history.

 

Which is why I haven't been't been able to set up an account. My credit cards etc. are all with my Thai address.

 

Sent from my SM-J701F using Thailand Forum - Thaivisa mobile app

 

 

 

 

[Sheryl]

Re reaching a human at SSA in the US:

 

I finally did so, but to no avail, at least for my situation which was trying to resolve an account suspension which appears to have occurred due to an SS error in the first place. Apparently they entered either the wrong ABA code or wrong bank account no for my direct deposit, causing all payments to be returned to them. Since I am unable to open an online "MySS"  account (see above) I have no way of knowing what direct deposit info they have on file. I was able with great difficulty to extract from the woman on the phone in the US the fact that the correct ABA and account number are not what they have on file, but that's it. She refused to make a correction, saying it cannot be done over the phone and I have to go in person to my local benefits office. When I explained there is none ion Thailand she told me to contact Manila. My pleas  that emails to them had gone unanswered now for months and impossible to get them on the phone got me nowhere.

 

So I am back at a dead end. Sent off another round of email to Manila, so far nothing to show it.

 

This exercise in futility cost me a small fortune (1 hour international call fee inc. the wait time) so I thought I'd post it as a warning to others -  depending on what your problem is, the US office may not be able or willing to help. So unless you have free Skype calling set up, you might not want to bother (and no, it does NOT make sense to purchase it if you do nto normally need to call the US. )

 

If any others are interested in adding their names to a letter of complaint about the Manila office, please PM me.

 

 

[Pib]

Sheryl, 

   Sounds like you are trying to contact the main SSA 1800 number....highly unlikely they can help you will this problem.   

    Since your application is already approved and payment being made but bouncing back to SSA, you need to call the appropriate number listed below based on your SSAN.  Chances are high you will immediately reach a voice recording giving you 2 to 3 minutes to give you name, SSAN, call back number (but I'm pretty sure they only call back to US numbers), and and explanation of your problem.  You may get lucky and a human will answer especially if you call numerous times.   But at least at the below numbers you should immediately be sent to voice mail so you describe the problem.  I would not hurt to call....spend 3 minutes more worth of money.

 

Problems like this highlight the need for a US phone number. I would recommend getting MajicJack for around $40 per year...giving you unlimited free calls to/from the US.  Once you have that US number you could get a Google Voice number for free assuming your Gmail/google account was registered as a US account (i.e., opened when still in the US or using a VPN with a US IP address to open a need google/gmail account), and then you could get a free TextNow number (it's voice and text). 

 

Basically get one US number and you could quickly expand to three numbers....never have an issue calling US number for free/super cheap.   

 

https://www.ssa.gov/foreign/phones.html

 

 

https://www.ssa.gov/foreign/phones.html

[Sheryl]

Thanks Pib. I will try at that number, which I definitely diod nto have. You are a fountain of knowledge!

 

Re calling the US the thing is I almost never have reason to do so, I have called the US maybe 2 times in past 5 years. I use email for all my communications and would even if calls were free.

 

And I don't use Gmail. Don't use Google account either but have one, opened long after leaving US and registered as a Thai acocunt.

[ThaiBunny]

Using the SSA email address (ssa.gov) I've had success (2018) with contacting the following person and getting responses Ivee.Gomez

[Pib]

 

1 hour ago, Sheryl said:

Thanks Pib. I will try at that number, which I definitely diod nto have. You are a fountain of knowledge!

 

Re calling the US the thing is I almost never have reason to do so, I have called the US maybe 2 times in past 5 years. I use email for all my communications and would even if calls were free.

 

And I don't use Gmail. Don't use Google account either but have one, opened long after leaving US and registered as a Thai acocunt.

 

Good luck Sheryl. 

 

When it comes to contacting SSA in the U.S. for different types of issues/problems while the SSA 1800 main number can help with light-duty issues they predominately are just a Q&A type service or take down a problem you report to them and then they send an internal message to the Payment Center that manages your record.  There is an International Payment Center if living outside the U.S. and different Payment Centers if living in the U.S. 

 

For the International Payment Center at Baltimore they they have subsections where each section handles a certain range of SSAN's like shown in the earlier SSAN-phone number chart.  And if you were getting a pension based on your spouse's earning record, you would use his/her SSAN to determine which phone number to call as his/record is the master/controlling SSAN for both you and his/her pension. 

 

Or if you have just applied for SS and still awaiting final approval the main 1800 call number folks would only forward an internal message to the section evaluating your application....but once the application is approved you are handed off to the Payment Center. 

 

Then we have the challenges of contacting/getting a response from the Manila SS Office.  Unless you know email/phone number of the Manila SS rep who "currently" manages your SSAN....and Manila rotates SSANs among their rep every 12 months...then it probably best to email/call Manila central contact point.  Be sure to include your name, SSAN, address, and call back number along with description of the problem in every email because when they receive your email whoever has "central email box monitoring duties" is probably going to see which Manila rep is currently managing your SSAN and relay your email to that rep.  Then you just hope the rep who is currently managing your SSAN is responsive, not on leave/in the hospital/etc., responds to you, etc.  

 

Dealing/communicating with Manila or the Baltimore SS offices can be very, very, very frustrating for some problems.   But once they do get your problem corrected any back payments due will all come flowing to you like a dam bursting.

 

Edit: And I will add the Baltimore International Division/Payment Center gets much higher than normal call volume in Feb and Mar because each year when a lot of people never got their Are You Dead or Alive letters sent back to SSA and payments are suspended effective the earlier Feb payment, well, lots of folks living overseas are calling the numbers in the chart above trying to get the payment going again....and of course Manila experiences higher contact volume for the same reason since they are responsible for SS beneficiaries in approx 40 countries on this side of the world.

 

 

 

[Sheryl]

On 3/22/2019 at 7:23 AM, Pib said:

....Then we have the challenges of contacting/getting a response from the Manila SS Office.  Unless you know email/phone number of the Manila SS rep who "currently" manages your SSAN....and Manila rotates SSANs among their rep every 12 months...then it probably best to email/call Manila central contact point.  Be sure to include your name, SSAN, address, and call back number along with description of the problem in every email because when they receive your email whoever has "central email box monitoring duties" is probably going to see which Manila rep is currently managing your SSAN and relay your email to that rep.  Then you just hope the rep who is currently managing your SSAN is responsive, not on leave/in the hospital/etc., responds to you, etc.  

 

Dealing/communicating with Manila or the Baltimore SS offices can be very, very, very frustrating for some problems.   But once they do get your problem corrected any back payments due will all come flowing to you like a dam bursting.

 

Edit: And I will add the Baltimore International Division/Payment Center gets much higher than normal call volume in Feb and Mar because each year when a lot of people never got their Are You Dead or Alive letters sent back to SSA and payments are suspended effective the earlier Feb payment, well, lots of folks living overseas are calling the numbers in the chart above trying to get the payment going again....and of course Manila experiences higher contact volume for the same reason since they are responsible for SS beneficiaries in approx 40 countries on this side of the world.

 

 

 

Now that gives me some hope! I do know who my Manila case worker is and she is very much the problem. Good to know I won't be stuck with her forever.

 

Main Manila email generated an auto reply (promising action in 5 working days) then total silence.

 

Untold emails to my caseworker over a month and half, totally ignored not even an auto reply acknowledgement.

 

Could never get through by phone to any of the numbers.

 

What finally worked was that another member (thanks, Orang!) gave me the name and email address of someone who had resolved his issue. I emailed this person and got within 24 hours a real (niot auto) reply saying I needed to contact my case worker. I replied to that explaining I had been doing so for more than a month with no reply and was getting rather desperate as no benefits for 4 months, and had called Baltimore and been told there was an error in the bank routing info and that only Manila could fix it. (This info was from main Baltimore number, I had not yet gotten the right number from Pib above).

 

Lo and behold the very next day my very AWOL caseworker sent me an email saying she had found the problem (wrong ABA number) and fixed it. I can only assume the other woman took pity on me and spoke to her.

 

God only knows how many other peple's emails to her are unanswered.

 

So we will see. If it does not work I will call the US payment center number Pib kindly supplied.

 

BTW the whole problem was an error by Manila to begin with. I had supplied them with the correct ABA. They apparently made a mistake entering it. Granted my handwriting is not the best, but if there was any doubt as to a numeral all they needed to do was ask.

 

Also BTW in the reply I finally got from the ^&%$*  who is my Manila caseworker, she did tell me that IDD for Thailand is "still in testing stage" for those wondering.

 

 

[Pib]

A Manila error (entered the wrong date during the telephone interview) created a six month long problem for a family member.  Once the error was made only Baltimore could correct it because Manila is basically a application taker and doing simple stuff....Baltimore does all the heavy lifting.  I was able to contact Baltimore every two weeks or so and bug Manila periodically also.  The error caused incorrect benefits payments, over-payments, payments had to be recalled...just a total mess which took a long time to clean up due to a Manila typo when entering a date.   

 

And yea, a few weeks ago I got an email from my Manila rep saying IDD is still not ready for prime time....still in testing phase.   Standby to standby.  

 

I hear you about looking forward to a new rep...I looking forward to a change also. Then again I might end up being assigned your old rep and you get my old rep which means neither of use will be any better off.  I would be delighted to get the rep I had two years ago....she was awesome....faster than a speeding bullet in answering emails....not even sure if she is working there anymore.

[Sheryl]

19 minutes ago, Pib said:

...I hear you about looking forward to a new rep...I looking forward to a change also. Then again I might end up being assigned your old rep and you get my old rep which means neither of use will be any better off.

 

????

Indeed.

 

All of this could have been avoided had I been able to open an online MySS account. I could have checked the bank data and corrected it myself.

 

I do have a US address (with US DL issued to it) and tried opening account with that but got the "cannot verify" error message because none of my credit cards etc are at that address and SS uses a Credit Bureau for address verification. Why, I cannot imagine as it would be easy enough for a fraudster to get hold of an address. Any number of $9.99 onine services will kick up an address given somone's name and age..

 

What I wonder is whether there is any way someone whose US address does not verify  in a Credit Bureau listing can open an account? As there surely must be such people. Not everyone has credit cards etc. Would it be worth my while to go in person to an SS office when next back in the US to try to do this?

[Pib]

Regarding the mySSA online account, you are correct that you can only open a mySSA if the address entered during the registration process matches up against what a credit bureau report as your address....and it might not even be your most current address....it's suppose to be but credit bureau records have issues/sometimes incorrect info/may show your address but not have it listed as your most recent.   I forget which specific credit bureau SSA uses....it not a combination of "several" credit bureaus but just one of the big three credit bureaus.   Even address formatting issues can cause mySSA registration problem (i.e., your street address might have been 123 Oak St but your credit bureau report reflects 123 Oak).  

 

When I opened mySSA account around 3 years ago I used my APO address here in Thailand.  Same and only address I had been using around 7 years for most bank accounts, filing my federal tax return, etc. OK, that was reflecting on my credit reports.  I was able to get thru the registration process....got mySSA account established. 

 

However when my spouse tried to register for her mySSA account who has the same address onfile as I do everywhere....same APO address, etc...the system would reject it.  I mean we been married for decades...lived together all those decades....same address on every account we have for decades....just same everything.  Anyway, the mySSA registration system locked her out due to too many attempts in trying to get registered. So called SSA and explained the problem.  SSA unblocked further registration attempts, stayed on the phone with us for 15 minutes trying to work the issue...still couldn't get thru the registration process.  The the SSA rep said trying entering a previous address....so, the wife entered our address in the US where we lived for 13 years before moving to Thailand....still didn't work.  The the wife entered a short term rental address where we lived for 6 weeks right after selling our home we had lived at for 13 years and just before moving to Thailand.  So, the credit bureau had a 7 year old address that we lived in for only 6 weeks as the wife's last/current address although it also reported the APO address which was really her most current address....address for the last 7 years.  

 

But you know, once you are registered and if not receiving benefits yet, your mySSA online account in the Profile area does not even reflect your current address....you have to manually add that in if I remember right.  The address you used for registration was purely for registration/verification purposes...not to populated your mySSA account with your current address/your address onfile with the SSA.

 

But once you apply for/start receiving SSA benefits the SSA will force populated the address you have onfile with them into your mySSA account.  And if it's a non-USA address (even an APO address) while you can see the bank name your benefit payment is going to and type of account you can not see the routing number or account number....nor can you update it online.  Instead you must contact SSA via phone/correspondence to get it changed.  But if you have a US address on file with SSA you can change your banking info online.

 

I remember a ThaiVisa post from a couple of year ago where they could not register online....just couldn't get thru the registration process probably due to an address issue.  Was back in the US on a visit, went to a SSA office in erson to try to establish a mySSA account, and they could not help....said everyone must do it online/get thru the online verification process. 

 

But once you do get a mySSA account you can change your address to a foreign address by contacting SSA....having a foreign address does not cause your mySSA account to be deactivated....it just prevents you from doing certain things via the mySSA like someone with a mySSA account who has a US address onfile with the SSA.  Like my spouse and I used had our Thailand APO address onfile up until recently, but since the APO is shutting donw later this year we changed it to your Bangkok/foreign address by contacting Manila who thankfully responded quickly and updated our address in this case.  Our mySSA accounts now reflect our foreign Bangkok address.

 

Yeap, if you can get a mySSA account opened, you can have a foreign address on file with SSA and you mySSA online account still works...it just you can't do some things (like updating bank info) like a person who has a mySSA account with US address onfile.

 

 

 

 

[Sheryl]

I see. Not so useful then if can't update bank info!

 

Anyhow you have saved me a wasted trip to SS office this summer. Thanks.

[Sheryl]

Surprisingly it IS possible to open a Medicare online account with a foreign address, I just did it.

Even more surprising they gave an online chat function that actually works and is helpful.

 

I'm in so stunned I have to log off now and lie down from the shock ????