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Social Security Checks Missing
By Samantha Epps, Anderson Independent-Mail
August 4, 2004
WILLIAMSTON - About 200 people in Williamston are not alone in wondering why they didn't get their Social Security checks this week - the Social Security Administration and the U.S. Postal Service are wondering the same thing.
The postal service started hearing questions this week when people in the Williamston area didn't get their Social Security checks in the mail. About half of the batch of about 400 checks that should have been mailed from Atlanta never came, said Harry Spratlin, a communications specialist for the greater South Carolina postal district.
Officials once thought the checks might have been in Columbia, since much of the mail for Greenville postal area was rerouted to Columbia during last week's flooding, Mr. Spratlin said. But the checks were not found there or in Atlanta, he said.
"We have gone through all of our channels and checked everywhere that we know to look, and we have not located them," Mr. Spratlin said. "We are now checking with the Social Security Administration."
Calls to the Social Security Administration produced a similar answer.
"All I can say is that we are aware of the situation and we are still working with the postal service to find out where the checks are," said Frank Viera, of the administration's regional public affairs office in Atlanta.
The postal service hopes to locate the checks and send them to Williamston in the next couple of days, eliminating the need to issue new checks, he said.
Mr. Viera said anyone in immediate need of his or her check can call the Social Security Administration; help may be available on a case-by-case basis.
Some checks from the Williamston area misplaced last month were found the same day in Greenville, but that should not cause residents to doubt the postal service's credibility, Mr. Spratlin said.
"We deliver a lot of checks and we are good at it," he said. "We are doing everything we can to see that these folks get their checks as soon as possible."
Check recipients should consider having their money deposited directly into their checking accounts to avoid "delays and situations like this," Mr. Viera said.
Qu Mayfield of Williamston got her money this week because of a prearranged direct deposit, but she said people who get checks in the mail still should get their money on time.
"People who receive Social Security need their money," Ms. Mayfield said. "This shouldn't be happening."
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