For the past year, I’ve tried several times to get Direct Deposit of my Social Security Disability check set up.
If one goes to the Social Security website, one finds that you first have to get a PIN before you can do anything that "complex".
Requesting
a PIN requires that you wait up to 10 days for one to be mailed to you.
After that, you have 15 days in which to log on to the site to
activate it. If you don’t do so within 15 days, the PIN is invalidated.
I tried this route 3 times and I could never manage to get it done on time, meaning I had to start over.
I finally gave up on it for awhile.
Then I saw on my bank’s web site that
they could do it for you. However, they required a particular number
off of your paper check (from Social Security) in order to do so. It
was unclear as to what number they wanted, so I went into the bank one
day to ask. The line was huge and I got tired of waiting so I left.
I again gave up on the process.
A
few months later I decided to try again. I went into the bank and
fortunately there was no line. The person spoke with had no idea what
I was talking about and just gave me the phone number for Social
Security (she didn’t say who’s phone number it was, I assumed it was
some department at the bank).
When I figured out who it was,
I just hung up. It was pretty obvious when they started asking for my
bank routing number that it wasn’t the bank I was speaking with (it was
all automated, btw).
So a month later, I notice an ad (on the back of the envelope that my check comes in) for GoDirect.org. GoDirect.org is a site run by the U.S. Government. Their sole purpose is to make it easy for one to sign up for Direct Deposit of any regular payment from the U.S. Government.
So,
I gave it a shot. They asked for my name, address, Social Security
number, whom I was getting payments from and in what amount (in order
to identify me), bank name, routing number and account number.
It was as simple as that. No PINs, no waiting. Badda Bing! Badda Boom.
A
week later I get a postcard from GoDirect.org stating they had
forwarded my information to the appropriate department and I’d be
hearing from them within a few weeks.
A few days go I got a letter from Social Security stating my direct deposit would begin in March.
Finally!
So
I have to ask, why did I have to go through a "Government Back Door" to
get this done so easily? Why did adding an extra layer of bureaucracy
actually make the process easier? Does that make any sense at all?
On
an ironic note, it’s now been a week since I was due to receive my
paper check and it’s not arrived yet. One of the things they naturally
tout about direct deposit is that you won’t have to worry about lost
checks……
