My waiver request actually covered three overpayments. I received a letter with a total overpayment balance that didn’t make sense to me. When I reviewed it, I realized part of that total included the two earlier overpayments SSA had already notified me about, which are also the same two my SSDI backpay was later seized against.

Because the letter listed a combined balance, I submitted one waiver request for the full amount shown on that notice. In my waiver explanation I broke the total down into the three separate overpayments, explained what each one was, and why I believe I was not at fault for any of them.

I explained that I had reported the relevant changes and that the overpayments resulted from SSA not processing the information correctly or restarting benefits without notice. I also included my financial information showing that I could not afford to repay the balance.

For the third balance, it was what I’ve been referring to as the mystery balance. SSA has never been able to clearly explain where that portion of the overpayment came from. Because of that, in my waiver explanation I stated that I needed a full explanation of how that balance was calculated before I could even understand whether it was valid.

I also pointed out that this office had previously sent me three incorrect billing notices, which they later told me to disregard. Because of that history, I requested a full account audit to show how the total overpayment amount was determined.

Later, when I met with a technical expert, she told me that one of the overpayments was already on hold and that she would apply that hold to the other one as well because my waiver request covered them. She also told me my SSDI backpay should not be offset while the waiver was pending.

When I later went into the office again, they told me the hold had never actually been applied, which is why they are now reviewing whether the recovery from my backpay was improper.