Problem Solver Gets More Results! Potemkin Lives!

From television station WSPA in Spartanburg, SC:

When you wait years for the government to approve your disability insurance request there’s no doubt you need that money. One woman who called us said the Social Security Administration took months to send her more than $50,000 in back pay. Our Dianne Derby got the money for her in no time. It’s a 7 On Your Side Problem Solver. ...

She was approved for disability insurance earlier this year but can’t get the Social Security Administration to send her the more than $50,000 in back pay they granted. It’s money she needs after dipping into her retirement for 3 years while waiting for a final answer from the SSA.

“I called and they kept saying ‘Oh it just takes a while’,“ said Ogburn.

Our calls to SSA’s regional headquarters in Atlanta brought forth an apology to Ogburn from spokesperson Patti Patterson and an admission they should have moved faster. “We do try to pay people as quickly and timely as possible,“ said Patterson. “Unfortunately, on some occasions things don’t get processed as quickly as they should. This is an example of that.“

Within days Ms. Ogburn was more than $50,000 richer.

I think I will describe this sort of thing as a "Potemkin", in honor of Grigori Potemkin, a minister to Catherine the Great of Russia. Potemkin allegedly had hollow facades of buildings constructed along the route that the Empress was taking in a newly conquered area of the Crimea to impress her with the value of area.