ODSP - the Mistakes are Endless
It is for this reason that I have decided to write this Blog.
It will not only show proof that ODSP can retroactively pay you back for income lost due to their mistakes, but it will also show you how many times they will make mistakes using a complicated process that, at times will cause them to make further mistakes. We are hurt by these problems, so I ask all those reading this Blog, to contact your MPP to express your dismay. If you have to ask questions, please write them in the comment section because I will always answer them to further clarify the situation before you write.
To illustrate the extent of the program, I will share scanned images and typed notes of a 4 month nightmarish situation I had to go through several years ago, all because I was honest enough to report income earned and was paid to me with a money order. I could have conceivably buried that money order and not declared the income, but because I was honest and the ODSP office made a mistake in posting it in their computer, I went through months of extra, and completely avoidable, stress.
To start with, I'll share the image of the first income claim; the money order (hint - click on image to see a bigger view):
A short while after reporting these earnings, I received this - a cheque for $27.62 with a note at the bottom says they still owe me $296.01 in arrears. There was a second cheque sent at this time as well, but it was only for $7.10.
Both of these cheques were written in error so I took them back to ODSP and gave it back to them. They didn't want to take the cheques back because they weren't so convinced they were wrong. I knew otherwise, so I slid them under the glass and left.
The next thing I knew, I received a letter from ODSP that said:
This letter is about the overpayment that you had with the Ontario Disability Support Program (ODSP).I couldn't believe it. I didn't pay them back anything. I just gave them back the money that they sent me in error, and I just happened to be honest enough to do it.
As of May 17, 2007 you have paid ODSP all the money that you owed. Your overpayment balance is now zero. Thank you.
I was determined to retain some dignity and respect through all this so, in response to this letter, I wrote them the following letter. I was still too naive to realize that these nasty letters were par for the course from ODSP.
Dear Val [last name removed] (Regional Director at the time),
I just want to point out that I'm quite upset about how this is worded. The overpayment being referred to here is not an overpayment. It is a mistake.
This makes it look like I was the one in the wrong (by perhaps not providing correct documentation or whatever).
In future, it would be helpful to receive a letter thanking me for pointing out a mistake and being honest.
FYI, the mistakes that followed this were even worse. I was given too much money, etc. The cheques were returned [by me] and it will be looked after.
If you have questions, please feel free to call. (and I signed my name)
Awhile later I got a reply, in the form of a phone message on my answering machine. To save it, I typed it out word-for-word. Here is what it said:
Yes Louise, it's Sherry [last name removed] from the Ontario Disability Support Program. I have the letter that you sent awhile back regarding the overpayment collection and your notes about how you did not like the wording of the letter.
Unfortunately we don't word the letters in the local office. They come automatically from the computer in Toronto.
We have many times voiced concerns to Toronto about what the letters are saying and they are in the midst of changing some of them.
I just wanted to say, you know, I apologize if it upset you but unfortunately if we do something here in the office that accidentally sets up an overpayment we can't get rid of the letters or suppress the letters if you knew it was a mistake and we never set you up with an overpayment; that it was simply that we were covering an overpayment that was a mistake... ah, as I say, we have dealt with this before with Toronto, we are proceeding to point it out to them, but unfortunately it was not done at this office and we don't have any way of changing these letters ourselves.
But I do thank you for bringing it to our attention. Thank you. Bye bye.
What do you do? It looks like they use the blame game and, we the disabled, were being firmly trapped in the middle of far too much bureaucracy.
When I gave them back the cheques they then proceeded to try to correct their error. In so doing, they made even more mistakes. They ended up taking away too much money and, for the next 4 months, I had to do without it while they tried to figure it out.
Meanwhile, with each correction that they made in Kingston, the computer in Toronto was churning out even more letters and they were leaving me more confused than ever.
For example, one day in June, June 6, 2007 to be exact, I opened my mailbox and discovered I had received 3 letters in 3 separate envelopes from ODSP. They were all dated for the same day; May 25, 2007, and they all said something different. By the time I was finished reading them, I had no idea if I was up money, down money, or if I had finally broken even with them.
The only way I could find out, was to take the letters up to the ODSP office, pay for 2 more bus fares to get there, and ask them the question in person. It turned out there were still more corrections to make.
Several months later, after I forced them through 3 full income reviews of about 1 1/2 hours in duration each, we solved it. In the last income review I was literally having them look for numbers in their computer, and then I was doing all the mathematical calcuations by hand.
Thankfully the problem was finally solved, but at what cost? The workers at ODSP all got paid to make the corrections. However I, the recipient who can't work enough to be off ODSP because of the extent of my disability, had to go hungry while they figured it out.
I have shared this story mainly to show there are two sides to every story. I am forever dealing with these mistakes so, if you were to ask me about why evidence of fraud has been found, I would venture to say there could well be a good explanation if they looked into how careful the ODSP office was handling our claims.
I have tried to get the local office investigated so these mistakes can be corrected once and for all, but I have found out that this cannot be done.
Please feel free to ask questions for clarification if necessary, and then I urge you, please contact your MPP to express your dismay at the huge amount of waste that comes out of these mistakes.
It is my hope that inspections to enforce the Customer Service law under the AODA will hopefully fix this problem as well.
Please read my other Blogs:
Transit: http://wheelchairdemon-transit.blogspot.com/
Health: http://wheelchairdemon-health.blogspot.com/
0 Response to "ODSP - the Mistakes are Endless"
Post a Comment