Tbh I should have just gone to the doctor instead of paying for that online disability claim service

Ngl I wasted $150 on one of those online disability claim assistance services last month before I actually did my research. They promised they'd help me fill out all the forms right and even review my medical records. Turns out they just used a basic template and charged me for stuff I could have found for free on the SSA website. The worst part is they told me to downplay my symptoms to look more disabled which is totally backwards. I got denied anyway and now I'm out that cash plus I have to start over with a real lawyer. Honestly I should have just asked my doctor's office for help or found a free legal aid clinic in Fresno where I live. Has anyone else gotten tricked by one of those paid services and ended up worse off?

3 comments

3 Comments

mason_jackson11d ago

Man I feel your pain. I once paid $75 for one of those "guaranteed approval" disability kits that promised they had inside secrets and basically just mailed me a fat stack of printouts I could have gotten from the library for free. I felt like a total idiot. The real kicker was they sent me a follow-up email a week later trying to sell me a premium version with "personal coaching" for another $200. Learned my lesson the hard way.

ninab9511d ago

$75 for printouts you could get at the library, that's rough. But the premium upsell is the real insult, like they're rubbing it in. My sister fell for a similar scam with a "medical billing secrets" course that promised to teach you how to make $5k a month from home. She paid $150 for a binder full of outdated Medicare codes and a login to a forum that hadn't been active in two years. The follow-up email trying to sell the premium coaching was the worst part, it felt like they were just seeing how much more they could squeeze out of her before she caught on. These companies bank on people being desperate and ashamed to ask for their money back.

barnes.brian8d ago

And that premium upsell is the real kicker honestly, @mason_jackson that's exactly what happened to me too. I fell for one of those "disability advocate services" and paid them $200 to basically submit a form I could have filled out on my own in 20 minutes. The worst part was when I got denied they tried to sell me their "appeal package" for another $300 like that was supposed to fix everything. It's wild how they pray on people who are already struggling and make them feel like they're the ones who messed up. Makes me sick thinking about how much money people waste on these scams when free help is out there if you just know where to look.