I have had satisfactory service from Custom Disabi...

I have had satisfactory service from Custom Disability for overall care. They handle my payments from my long term disability insurance. When the government turned down my first application for disability, the insurance company hired a lawyer to help with the 2nd round. All this time Custom Disability paid me regularly. I became disabled in 2015. My workplace provided long-term disability insurance through EMC National Life Company. EMC has Custom Disability handle their payments to clients. I received payments from ins in 3 months. When the government declared me disabled in 2018, Custom Disability Solutions stopped giving my monthly payments. I knew they expected to receive the overpayment check to cover for past payments that the government was back paying me. I did not know my account would "freeze" and I have no income for 4 months. I would have no income until I received the social security overpayment check from the government, which they know takes 3 months or more. It took 3 months to get my government overpayment check. But they also wanted me to pay out of my pocket a month's pay. The amount makes sense when all is explained, but it was never mentioned beforehand I would receive no money from them when the government wrote to me and them saying they approved my disability. And they wouldn't start up until they got all the money owed to them. It took 4 months before I could pay them the overpayment plus a month's income. I was lucky I had a relative who helped me financially, but I can't imagine what other people do. I verbally and wrote my representative that they need to prepare clients when they don't get money for 3-4 months. I found nothing in all their paperwork that warned people/me of this hardship. They do say you pay back the overpayment so don't expect to keep it. They can offer to hold back money per month, like a savings account. Or tell people you will not be paid for 3 months or more and they should save money that they can live on for 3 months. I live month to month and put money in a Roth IRA. But I admit I don't have an emergency fund to last more than one month of no income. I also found out that legally you are not required to give them the overpayment. But when you sign forms with them, it says you will pay them the overpayment or you will no longer receive benefits from them. I weighed keeping my overpayment & 30 years on just SSA vs. pay it back and have my SSA & ins payments and it was better for me to stay with them.