GN 02406.002:
The Robinson/Reyf Class Action Suit
Effective Dates: 03/18/2004 - Present- Effective Dates: 07/09/2018 - Present
TN 14 (04-00)- TN 51 (07-18)
GN 02406.002 Nonreceipt Processing and the Robinson/Reyf Class Action Suit- GN 02406.002 The Robinson/Reyf Class Action Suit
A. BACKGROUND- A. Reason for the class action suit
In January 1997, co-defendants SSA and the Department of the Treasury (DT) entered into a Settlement Agreement with the plaintiffs on a class action suit filed in the State of New York. The plaintiffs filed suit to challenge the procedures and practices used by SSA and DT to process reports and replace title II and title XVI checks for which nonreceipt allegations were filed. As a result, SSA and DT made specific changes in the nonreceipt procedures and practices which are highlighted below.- In January 1997, co-defendants SSA and the Department of the Treasury (Treasury) entered into a Settlement Agreement with the plaintiffs in a class action suit filed in the State of New York. The plaintiffs filed suit to challenge the procedures and practices used by SSA and Treasury to process reports of nonreceipt and replace Title II and Title XVI checks because of the filed allegations.
Prior to November 1997, SSA applied these basic principles to nonreceipt processing:* Report of a missing check for a current month recurring payment.- B. Resulting policy changes from Robinson-Reyf case
This was handled differently from one reported for a prior month and was replaced immediately if, during the previous 24 months, there was no double check negotiation (DCN) on the claimant's record.* If a DCN existed:- The Robinson-Reyf settlement agreement resulted in significant changes in SSA's operating procedures. SSA and Treasury made specific changes to the nonreceipt procedures. For purposes of a nonreceipt allegation or policy on check replacement, there is no longer a distinction between current month checks and prior month checks, or for recurring and nonrecurring payments. SSA must instruct Treasury to issue checks immediately to replace missing payments except when SSA makes a decision to obtain the status of the original check before issuance of the replacement payment. Because of the Robinson-Reyf litigation, effective November 1997 SSA and Treasury agreed to the following:
If SSA records reflected a DCN, SSA requested that DT determine the status of the original check before issuing a replacement check.* If nonreceipt was reported for a recurring payment issued for a previous month (late nonreceipt report):- C. Immediate replacement process
Status of the check was always determined before a replacement check was issued.* Nonreceipt for other than a recurring payment (e.g., prior month accrual (PMA), underpayment, daily payment, or one-time payment (OTP) check):- We must direct Treasury, by transmitting an A-stop (in mass loss situations) or a B-stop (for nonreceipt of a missing recurring check), to issue a courtesy disbursement check prior to investigating the status of the missing check if a nonreceipt report is made timely (i.e., within 12 months from the issue date of the check).
DT determined the status of the check and issued the agency a cancellation credit (i.e., unavailable check cancellation [UCC] credit if the payment was outstanding, i.e., returned/not cashed).- D. Double check negotiation (DCN) bar removal
In any cases where status was required first and it indicated the original check was cashed, a forgery determination and receipt of credit for the original check was needed before a replacement check could be issued. Effective 3/98, with passage of the Check Forgery Insurance Fund (CFIF), payment was made from the fund immediately upon determination of forgery.* EFT Claims- We removed the DCN bar so that any allegation of nonreceipt that is transmitted as a B-stop generates an immediate replacement in the form of a courtesy disbursement check for the missing check, regardless of prior double check negotiations.
A nonreceipt input was transmitted to DT which resulted in a trace being forwarded to the affected beneficiary's financial institution. This put the financial institution on notice concerning the complaint of a missing payment. If the problem was not resolved, a follow-up nonreceipt input was transmitted to DT. DT controlled the case for a response from the financial institution. It was assumed that the problem would be resolved between the beneficiary and the bank with no further assistance from SSA.- There are two situations described in section I below where SSA may choose to have Treasury determine the status of the original check before issuing a replacement or settlement check (i.e., C-stop).
B. POLICY RESULTING FROM ROBINSON-REYF CASE- E. Obtaining status of the original check
The Robinson settlement agreement results in significant changes in SSA's operating procedures. For purposes of a nonreceipt allegation or policy on check replacement, there is no longer a distinction between current month checks and prior month checks, or for recurring and nonrecurring payments. Checks to replace missing payments are issued immediately except when SSA makes a decision to delay the payment to obtain status of the original check before replacement. As a result of the Robinson-Reyf litigation, effective November 1997 SSA and DT agreed to the following:- When a B-stop is input, Treasury investigates the status of the original check after the issuance of the courtesy disbursement check. If the claimant cashes the original check and the courtesy disbursement check, SSA treats this as an overpayment and starts recovery action per GN 02210.000. The overpayment is subject to the SSA appeals process. For additional information about appeals under Robinson-Reyf see GN 02406.310.
1. Immediate Replacement- F. Payment of Automated One Time Payments (AOTPs) for Title XVI
SSA will direct DT, by transmitting an A-stop (in mass loss situations) or a B-stop for a missing recurring check, to issue a courtesy disbursement check prior to investigating the status of the missing check if a nonreceipt report is made timely (i.e, within 12 months from the issue date of the check).- According to the immediate payment Robinson/Reyf policy, the nonreceipt process used for nonrecurring checks is no different from the process used in missing recurring checks. Therefore, when a nonreceipt is reported for a nonrecurring Title XVI check (type 2, 4 and 9), an AOTP is issued for the full amount of the missing check, in conjunction with the input of an A-Stop, which reports the status of the missing check, see GN 02406.205 and GN 02406.207.
2. DCN Bar- G. Overpayment appeals process
SSA removed the DCN bar so that any allegation of nonreceipt that is transmitted as a B-stop will generate an immediate replacement in the form of a courtesy disbursement check for the missing check, regardless of prior double check negotiations. There are, however, two situations described in item 7 below where SSA may choose to have DT determine the status of the original check before issuing a replacement.- The settlement agreement instituted an additional step in the appeals process. If the individual protests the overpayment and alleges the signature is not theirs on one of the checks within 30 days of the overpayment letter, SSA will stop recovery efforts until Treasury has provided a forgery determination
3. Status of the Original Check- The individual has 30 additional days to return the completed claim form to SSA or the overpayment recovery will resume, see GN 02406.310.
DT will investigate the status of the original check after the courtesy disbursement check is issued. If the original has been cashed as well as the courtesy disbursement, SSA will treat this as an overpayment and will start recovery action (GN 02210.000 ff.) which will be subject to the SSA appeals process. See GN 02406.310 for additional information about appeals under Robinson.- SSA sends the completed claim form to Treasury who will investigate the claim and issue a forgery determination.
4. Payment of AOTPs for title XVI- If the individual disagrees with Treasury's determination, he or she may file an appeal with Treasury, see GN 02406.310F.3.
To meet the new “immediate payment” Robinson/Reyf policy, nonreceipt of nonrecurring checks could not be treated differently from missing recurring checks. Therefore, when nonreceipt is reported for a nonrecurring title XVI check (type 2, 4 and 9), an AOTP is issued for the full amount of the missing check, in conjunction with the input of an A-Stop which will report the status of the missing check (GN 02406.205 and GN 02406.207).- If there is no appeal of Treasury’s forgery determination within 60 days, SSA will resume collection efforts.
5. Appeals Process- If there is an appeal, SSA will not resume collection efforts until Treasury renders the second appeal determination.
An additional step in the appeals process is instituted by the Settlement. If the individual protests the overpayment and alleges forgery of one of the checks within 30 days of the overpayment letter, recovery efforts will be stopped until DT has rendered a forgery determination. The individual then has 30 additional days to return the forgery claim form to SSA or overpayment recovery is resumed (see GN 02406.310). SSA sends the completed forgery claim form to DT. DT will investigate the claim and issue a forgery determination. If the individual disagrees with DT's forgery determination, he or she may file an appeal with DT (see GN 02406.310E.). SSA will resume collection efforts if no appeal of DT's forgery determination is made within 60 days, or when the second DT appeal determination is rendered upholding a determination of no forgery.- H. Treasury's second consideration of the signature on the check when a timely nonreceipt is filed
6. DT's second consideration of the signature on the check:- When the beneficiary or recipient does not agree with Treasury’s initial decision on the forgery determination, he or she sends the appeal request to Treasury. Upon receipt of the request, the Questioned Document Branch (QDB) has a second analyst review the package for a final determination.
- * If the QDB analyst reverses their decision and provides the response “indications may not have written”, which means the author of the writing samples does not appear to be the author of the endorsement on the questioned check, there is no overpayment. Treasury sends a claims disposition notice to the agency and the technician will update the record accordingly.
- * If the QDB analyst affirms their original determination and provides the response that indications may have written, which means the author of the writing samples appears to be the author of the endorsement on the questioned check, an overpayment exists. The technician will resume collection efforts to recover the overpayment. The check payee may still request reconsideration, or waiver, or a different rate of recovery from SSA.
If DT reverses itself and determines that a forgery occurred (i.e., the nonreceipt claimant did not endorse the check) then there is no overpayment. If DT affirms their original determination that there was no forgery (and an overpayment exists), the check payee may still request reconsideration, or waiver, or a different rate of recovery.- NOTE: Do not waive DCN overpayments under any circumstances before Treasury makes a forgery determination; the $1,000 tolerance does not apply, see GN 02210.150A.4.k.
Upon completion of DT action on the claim for appeal, SSA will issue a reconsideration decision.- Upon completion of Treasury action on the claim for appeal, SSA will issue a reconsideration decision, see GN 02406.310I.
7. SSA may choose to direct DT to investigate the status of the original check before issuing a replacement check. This option can be exercised in two situations:* If SSA has reason to believe that an individual alleging nonreceipt is misusing SSA's policy of immediate replacement, SSA will request DT to determine status prior to replacing the payment. In order to do this, SSA records must establish that the individual has received a final denial on a forgery claim or has had a DCN which was not appealed (GN 02406.150A.3.) within the last 24 months. If SSA invokes this option, and the original check has not been presented for payment, DT will cancel the original check and issue a replacement check. If the original check has been cashed and the check payee denies cashing it, a forgery investigation must be completed before a settlement check will be paid; or* If an individual is unsure whether a benefit check that was issued in the past was received, SSA will input a C-stop so that DT will determine status of the original check in question before issuing a replacement.- I. SSA may choose to input a C-stop directing Treasury to investigate the status of the original check before issuing a replacement check.
8. Status Requests- There are two instances where SSA requests Treasury to investigate the status of the original check before issuing a replacement or settlement check.
- * The beneficiary or recipient is uncertain if they received the payment
- * SSA reviewed the record and determined that the individual alleging nonreceipt misused SSA's policy of immediate replacement within the last 24 months.
SSA will make every effort to respond quickly to inquiries about the progress of forgery claims investigations. Refer to GN 02406.220 for additional information about this process.- NOTE: For more information on C-stops, see GN 02406.150.
9. EFT claims- If Treasury determines that the original check was not cashed, Treasury will cancel the original check and issue a replacement check.
If payment was sent to the wrong routing number (RTN), SSA will promptly replace the payment via the CPS for title II or by issuing an OTP for title XVI. GN 02406.010 contains instructions for handling of these EFT nonreceipt claims.- If Treasury determines that the original check was cashed, Treasury will send the claims package to the check payee for completion. Treasury will take no further action until the beneficiary or recipient returns the completed package.
If SSA's direct deposit data is correct or if the RTN is correct but the depositor's account number (DAN) is incorrect, the FI will be contacted to determine if the payment can be located. Refer to GN 02406.010 for a description of the “trace” procedure.- When the payee returns the completed package, Treasury completes a forgery determination.
- * If Treasury’s response is “indications may not have written” (i.e., forgery is involved), Treasury sends a CDN to SSA and will issue a settlement check.
- * If Treasury’s response is “indications may have written” (i.e., forgery not involved), Treasury sends a CDN to SSA and will not issue a settlement check.
- For additional C-stop processing instructions, refer to GN 02406.150.
- J. Obtaining status requests
- We will make every effort to respond quickly to inquiries about the progress of a forgery determination. For additional information about this process, refer to GN 02406.220B.
- K. Electronic funds transfer (EFT) and direct deposit nonreceipt claims
- If the wrong routing transit number (RTN) was on the record when SSA released the payment, SSA will promptly replace the payment via the Critical Payment System (CPS) for Title II or by issuing a one-time payment (OTP) for Title XVI. For instructions on handling EFT nonreceipt claims, refer to GN 02406.010.
- If SSA's direct deposit data is correct or if the RTN is correct but the depositor's account number (DAN) is incorrect, Treasury’s TeleTrace unit will contact the financial institution to determine if the payment can be located. For a description of the “TeleTrace” procedure, refer to GN 02406.007.
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