Just Jenney

After all these long posts of mine here, I forgot to mention one thing that I did yesterday...

Before sending in my appeal to Susan via email, I had to convert everything I had into PDF format and save it all together in one PDF document. It wasn't until AFTER I talked to Susan that I discovered that I had inadvertently left out Dr K's explanatory statement, probably the most important medical document in the entire appeal. But upon discovering this document's omission, I also realized that this was an opportunity for me to get something in writing in my file about what Susan told me on the phone, since I knew that SHE wouldn't do it (and she didn't). So here's what I did:

First, at the end of our phone call on Wednesday, I got so angry and upset that I slammed the phone down. I didn't exactly hang up on her, but it was rude all the same. Later on, I called her voicemail and left a message where I left a brief apology and explained that her denial reason (and said what it was) made me so upset that I just had to get off the phone.

Now I was able to use reference to that message as the introduction of my email with the missing document attachment. In doing so, I again was able to mention -- in writing -- Susan's "you're too well-prepared to be disabled" BS denial reason. Then, before emailing it, I included the email letter as the second page of the PDF attachment. I put all the insurance group numbers, my name, etc., in the header, so it looked like an official part of the appeal.

But most importantly, I know for a fact Susan forwarded the PDF attachment via email to Maria the same day she received it, because Maria told me she has it -- Susan is in Tampa, FL and Maria is in Hartford, CT. That means, in all likelihood, Susan sent the entire PDF file, not just the statement. Furthermore, I placed "Page 1 of 2" (statement) and "Page 2 of 2" (letter) in the document's footer. That means when Maria looks at the statement she will know that there is a second page which followed, and will ask for it if it's "missing".

In a way I hope that happens, if only so it shows how Susan does not do her job properly.

~ Jenney

snowbunny

See! Now you're acting like a proper mental health patient should.

Just Jenney

I'm trying my best to get it in writing; read my above post to see what I've done so far. I'm probably going to send a signed affidavit stating what Susan told me on the phone and submitting that to the company. I'm also seriously considering sending this same signed affidavit to the CEO. (The company is actually changing CEOs next month, I learned, but the new one is currently the company president, so still a bigwig.)

I think your suggestion to contact the state as well as some sort of mental health advocacy group is good, too. Maybe even the BBB. I'm just so pissed off right now, because it's so obvious that Susan is not using her own company's correct criteria to make her decision.

As a side note... I came across a consumer complaints website and read an post from Feb 2002 that had a lot of similarities to my case: 1) The woman work(ed) for the same credit card company I do (she mentioned our employer by name); 2) Like me, this woman was also being treated for a psychological disorder; 3) Both of us are dealing/dealt with the same disability company; 4) Both our case handlers are named "Susan B" and are located in Tampa, FL; and 5) Both of us had a tremendous time dealing with Susan B because she is so unhelpful. I can almost guarantee that this is the same case handler, and she's still at it four years later.

~ Jenney

fatbrit

Be interesting to see if you can contact the woman who posted on the board. Or even ask if there are others who might like to contact you. Could be a class action suit looming...

Sometimes a few good people in the right place at the right time can right a wrong and make the world a better place. Looks like you might be in that position. Plan carefully and wisely...and good luck!

Partystar

Interesting you should say that. It's hard to say this without giving too much away. A few years ago, I sought the help of a shrink to help me with a problem that I was having. I was sexually assaulted by a guy, I did not report him because I managed to get away from him & just plain felt like an idiot for trusting someone I shouldn't have.

After that, I was very scared of him as he seemed to have turned into a complete psycho. Every time he would see me he'd laugh like a sicko at me, he would turn up at places where he shouldn't be, almost like he was following me, then watch me from the other side of the room (he was usually on his own), because of this, I decided to report him.

Hubby (at the time he was just my boyfriend) would have decked him, but couldn't as he was in the military. Reporting him did nothing, he increased his taunting & mind games, it was horrible. So I decided to go to a shrink to see if he could help. I was put on all sorts of anti-depressants, Zoloft & a few others which names escape me right now, all they did was make me feel like I was walking around in someone else's body & that I wasn't really there, kinda like being in a coma.

While I was talking through my problems with him, I happened to mention that I was called & threatened by a high ranking official, I carried on talking, but stopped when I saw the look on my shrinks face. He said 'Just a minute, back it up, what are you saying?'. I told him what had happened & he said that a few other woman had said the same thing to him after they'd been assaulted.

Within a couple of days, I was interviewed by an even higher ranking person than anyone on our entire base with regards to what happened. Not long after that, a person way above the one that had threatened me 'PCS'd early' to the Pentagon. Last I heard he was opening doors for people.

Just Jenney

See, I was wondering about that, but I really don't know where I would start.

Both of my doctors have said repeatedly that they've EACH had dozens of patients who've come to them for stress/anxiety stemming from working at my company. And since we all have the same employer, we all have the same health/disability provider.

However, I don't know who those patients are and really would have no way of finding out due to privacy laws. And because of that, I wouldn't have any way of knowing if there are any other employees of my company who have been denied disability payments by the disability company, and/or if their claims were also denied for unjustified reasons.

Short of hiring an attorney who does class-action lawsuits, I really don't know what my options would be. And I can't afford an attorney. I guess I could post requests online for people to contact me, but I don't want to open MYSELF up to being sued for some reason, know what I mean? That's why I'm not mentioning them by name, nor my employer.

Anyone have any ideas?

~ Jenney

ps. Unfortunately, the woman I mentioned above who posted her complaint online only listed her first name and that she lives in Tampa. There's no email address, and even if there was, this was written in 2002. (I would provide a link but since she mentions the names of both my employer and the disability company, I'd rather not.)

meauxna

J,
google is your friend

Some time ago, I would occasionally google the name of the organization I worked with, to see what our clients were saying. Usually I start with google.com and then click the 'groups' tab to see what is on Usenet as well.
One day, I found a post from a woman who had been terminated, unfairly according to her, from one of the franchise offices. She was looking for other employees or past employees to join her in action against the employer.

I've found all sorts of long lost friends with google. It certainly wouldn't hurt to go looking for friends for your case.

fatbrit

From the site she posted at, if there's no contact facility there, try the site owners ([email protected]; postmaster@; webmaster@).

A good start for a search is www.badbusinessbureau.com -- although if it's a credit card company they're more likely to be from customers than employees. Even so, you'll find employees working out their rants there, too. And the insurance company might well be there.

With Google, try amending sucks sux, etc. to the end of your search string. Here, for example purposes only, is a site for disgruntled Amex employees to vent: http://www.amexsux.com/cgi-bin/yabb/...board=employee

Just Jenney

Thanks for all your help, everyone. You don't know how much your encouragement is helping me deal with all this right now. It has been absolutely invaluable and helps keep me focused on getting this corrected and getting me what I'm due.

I'm going to do something now which I haven't done thus far: Name names.

I have withheld the name of my employer for three years for ethical reasons. I have withheld the name of my disability company to protect myself.

But considering that 1) I'm leaving my job to start a new one in a matter of days (still haven't resigned yet, but it will be effective immediately when I do); 2) I'm not sure exactly WHAT I'm trying to protect myself from by not naming the disability company; and 3) So many people here have offered guidance already, maybe by knowing whose involved some of you might be willing to help me find more info by Googling? (Even if only one of you helps, that would be great!)

So, drum roll....

I work for Capital One, and the disability company is Aetna Life Insurance.

There, I've said it. It's out of the bag, you all know now who I work for. And yes, there are TONS of anti-Capital One sites online, I've been reading them off-and-on for years. (Of course, anyone who has a Capital One card knows they have offices in Richmond, VA, so it really wouldn't take that much effort to figure out who I meant when I said, "I work for a major US credit card company"!)

So... Do with that information what you will. Now that you know, if any of you feel inclined to help me research my options, even if for only a few minutes online, I'd be most appreciative. BUT I'm not expecting anyone to, just to be clear!

~ Jenney

ps. Capital One has quite a reputation among many customers for having really rude, unhelpful phone associates who didn't seem to care about anything except getting the customer off the phone. For the record, I was NOT one of those people, and was always on the verge of being put on probation because of it. (Not because I was nice to the customers, but because I would usually try to go the extra mile to help them out, which made my average calls a lot longer than was desired.)

fatbrit

Interesting start: http://www.ntl-law.com/html/aetnaFAQ2.html

meauxna

www.clarkhoward.com

Consumer advocate, all around decent guy, lots of good ideas on his site.

Just Jenney

Thanks for this link. I'm not so much interested in complaints about Capital One, because they're not the ones who denied my appeal -- Aetna did. I did a quick search but didn't find anything that really popped out.

So instead I posted my own "Rip Off Report" about my current situation. (A lot of it was copied-and-pasted from the OP in this thread, actually.) It hasn't shown up on the site yet but when it does I'll post a link.

I'm also taking your advice, Meauxna, and putting Google to work. I don't use the newsgroups that much but there's got to be one out there that's appropriate for what I'm trying to find.

I'm also a member of Something Awful, which has a bizillion members and is a good place to spread the word about anything and everything. I just have to find the appropriate forum there, too.

So... I'm getting this together. I'm kicking myself now for asking to start my new job on Monday. Of course, that was before all this shit hit the fan. I'd just like to be able to devote as much time to this as possible, and now that it's the weekend I have to wait until Monday to get anything from my doctors, etc. Oh well...

~ Jenney

Just Jenney

Here's my Rip Off Report: http://www.ripoffreport.com/reports/ripoff171708.htm

~ Jenney

fatbrit

The ntl-law link looks more interesting. It was the start of a class action suit for what appears to be a similar grievence against Aetna, though in this case the class was employees of Boeing. Although it failed to attain class status, I would certainly be contacting them for more information. They were, on a quick read, recommending individual action.

As you say, the claim is against Aetna. However, Crap1 is probably the best place to find similarly treated victims of Aetna which would increase the chances of succeeding with you case either through the state insurance commissioner, the state attorney general, or -- for ultimate redress -- finding a lawyer who is interested in pursuing a class action against them.

It would be nice if you could "advertise" around the work campus. Personally, I don't think HR and RM would be amenable -- but then again, if you don't ask, you certainly don't get. Alternatively, there are many ways of getting your former co-workers' attention...

Your badbusinessbureau link looks good. Let's hope it generates a few leads in the upcoming months.

Just Jenney

QUICK UPDATE...

Just thought I'd let everyone know that after refiling my appeal in March, my appeal was APPROVED on April 6!

They didn't approve it for my entire leave of absence, though. It was a "partial approval" to cover Aug 29 (my first day out) through Nov 21. I actually resigned from Capital One on Jan 14, so it was Nov 22-Jan 14 that was NOT approved for. I also think it's not a coincidence that Aug 29-Nov 21 is exactly 3 months, or 2/3 of the time I was out.

Still, some is better than nothing. I have already spoken with Capital One HR and they said the check for my back pay is forthcoming, I should get it very soon. It will be so great to finally get some extra money; too bad it's already earmarked to help pay off debt instead of for something fun or savings.

Ok, I was supposed to leave for work about 2 minutes ago so this will have to do for now.

~ Jenney