Breaking Through the Bureaucracy

He got a letter from the U.S. government telling him they were garnishing his Social Security and pension — but they wouldn’t tell him how much or how long it would go on, so he turned to Help Me Howard with Patrick Fraser.

It’s a word so far in the future most people don’t even talk about it, but the Horwitzes are living it.

Leonard Horwitz: “You don’t want to retire from something. You want to retire to something.”

Horwitz’s spouse: “Oh, it’s amazing. I recommend it.”

They stay busy — walking, swimming, and sharpening their minds.

Horwitz’s spouse: “We love doing the crossword puzzles, especially the Sunday paper.”

Leonard Horwitz: “These are like words with dashes in them.”

Then Leonard got hit with a real-life puzzle.

Leonard Horwitz: “I figured it was a scam.”

It was a letter from the Treasury Department that they were garnishing his pension and Social Security for not repaying a government loan.

Leonard Horwitz: “‘You have the Payment Protection Plan loan from the Small Business Association, and you never paid it back.’ I said, ‘I never took the loan out.’”

The small business loan was taken out during COVID by people claiming to be with Leonard’s medical practice. But he closed that office — back in 2007.

Leonard Horwitz: “I called the Small Business Association. They say, ‘Well, you need to call the Treasury.’ They give me a number, I call them, and they say, ‘Well, no, we’re not the ones.’”

The government started taking Leonard’s retirement.

Leonard Horwitz: “So you take out 15%. It’s a noticeable chunk.”

Leonard then tried to find out how much they planned to take and for how long.

Leonard Horwitz: “They wouldn’t tell me how much the loan was. They wouldn’t tell me the bank that did it. It wasn’t my business.”

Finally, Leonard convinced the Treasury Department that he was the victim of a crime. They stopped garnishing his retirement … but a new problem.

Leonard Horwitz: “I still want my money back. It’s my money.”

He was told the SBA would return his $1,150 in 60 days. They didn’t, and his battle with the bureaucracy went on.

Leonard Horwitz: “And get bounced around from one place to another that, even if people who are on the other end of the phone want to be helpful, they don’t know how to be helpful.”

Well, Howard, I assume Leonard is entitled to his money, but how do you get it back from the enormous government bureaucracy?

Howard Finkelstein: “Since the government took his money by mistake, they have to return it, but to get them to listen to you can be enormously difficult. My suggestion: contact your congressperson, because they can get the Feds to respond.”