Verbal approval cost me 3 weeks of back pay, get everything in writing

Last February I called the SSA office in Modesto to ask about my date of onset for a back injury claim. The rep on the phone told me my claim was approved and back pay would start from October, so I relaxed and stopped checking the portal. Three weeks later I got a letter saying the onset date was moved to December because I never submitted a signed statement backing up the original date. I called my rep and they said there was no record of the phone conversation, which felt like getting punched in the gut. I had to file a reconsideration and wait another 10 weeks before they fixed it, and I almost missed the deadline to appeal. Now I send every single thing through the online portal or certified mail, and I keep a folder with timestamps and confirmation numbers. Has anyone else gotten burned by a phone rep's verbal promise that basically vanished into thin air?

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sandralee1mo ago

Ugh, that is brutal. My buddy Dan had the same thing happen with unemployment a few years ago, got a verbal yes from some rep and then the system showed his claim was denied because he missed a fax. He spent like a month calling back and forth, and nobody could find that first call anywhere. Now he literally screenshots his phone call log with the date and time, just in case, but even that feels flimsy.