Social Security started withdrawing Medicare Part B premium but it's still coming out of my bank account - double charged!

This is so helpful to hear from someone who actually went through the exact same thing! I'm definitely going to try the Claimyr service - seems like multiple people here have had success with it. I'll make sure to have all my documentation ready when I call. It's reassuring to know you got refunded for both months, even though it took 3 weeks. Did you have to follow up multiple times during those 3 weeks, or did they handle it once you got the initial case opened?

@Reginald Blackwell I actually went to my local SSA office in person for a similar Medicare issue a few months ago and had mixed results. The good news is that once I got to speak with someone, they were able to pull up all my records and see the problem immediately - no need to explain everything over a crackling phone line. The representative was also able to submit the refund request right there and give me a printed confirmation with a case number. The downside was the wait time - I arrived when they opened at 9 AM and still waited about 2.5 hours to be seen. But honestly, that was still better than the multiple failed phone attempts I d'made where I kept getting disconnected after waiting even longer. If you do decide to go in person, I d'recommend calling ahead to confirm they can handle Medicare premium issues at that location some (smaller offices have limited services and) bring every document you can think of - Social Security card, Medicare card, bank statements showing both charges, and even a printout of your first SS payment stub if you have access to it online. The combination approach might work well too - use Claimyr to get through to SSA by phone for the initial report, then follow up in person if needed. Good luck getting this sorted out!

@Jenna Sloan You re'absolutely right about how backwards this system is! It s'wild that in 2025 we still have these coordination failures between government agencies. I m'actually a newcomer here but have been reading through this thread because my neighbor is going through something similar. What really gets me is that this seems to happen to almost everyone making this transition, yet there s'no proactive communication from SSA warning people to watch for double charges. You d'think they d'at least send a letter explaining what to expect during the changeover period. The fact that multiple people here have mentioned using a third-party service like Claimyr just to reach their own government agency speaks volumes about how broken the system is. It shouldn t'take a paid service to get through to SSA for something this routine! @Carmella Fromis I m really'hoping your situation gets resolved smoothly. This thread has been like a masterclass in navigating SSA bureaucracy - thank you to everyone who shared their experiences and specific tips. It s exactly'the kind of real-world knowledge that makes these communities so valuable.

@Javier Torres This is such valuable advice, thank you! I m'in a similar situation - just started getting Social Security this month and noticed the same double billing issue. It s'so frustrating that this seems to be a routine problem that affects almost everyone making this transition. I really appreciate you sharing the specific phrase to use when calling Medicare ("Part B premium transition duplicate payment -") that sounds much more professional than just saying you "guys charged me twice! I" m'definitely going to try the Claimyr service too since multiple people here have had success with it. The timeline you mentioned 2-3 (weeks is) actually better than I was expecting based on some other government experiences I ve'had. And getting that SSA publication number from @AaliyahAli to reference is brilliant - shows you ve'done your homework and understand their own procedures. One question: when you called your Medicare Administrative Contractor, did they handle it differently than SSA, or was it pretty much the same process? I m'trying to figure out which call to prioritize first since I only have so much patience for government phone trees in one day! Thanks again for sharing your experience - it really helps to hear from someone who successfully navigated this exact situation.

@Peyton Clarke Great question! When I called my Medicare Administrative Contractor, the process was actually quite different from the SSA call. The Medicare contractor was much easier to reach only (about 15 minutes on hold and) they were able to see the duplicate payment immediately in their system. They explained that they handle the billing side while SSA handles the deduction side, so both agencies need to update their records. The Medicare contractor was able to process my refund request much faster - I got confirmation within a few days that they were reversing the bank account charge. The SSA side took longer because they had to coordinate the system changeover to ensure future premiums would only be deducted from my Social Security payments. I d'actually recommend calling your Medicare contractor first since they re'easier to reach and can get the refund process started right away. Then tackle the SSA call to make sure the transition is properly documented in their system. Having the Medicare contractor s'case number when you call SSA also seemed to help - they could reference it to see what had already been done on the Medicare side. Hope that helps with your planning! The whole thing is definitely a hassle, but at least it s'a well-documented problem with a clear solution path.

@Peyton Clarke Great question about prioritizing the calls! From my experience, I d'recommend calling SSA first since they re'the ones who initiated the deduction from your Social Security payment. They can see both sides of the transaction and usually have more authority to process refunds quickly. The Medicare Administrative Contractor call was actually much shorter and easier - they mainly just needed to confirm that the payment method change was processed correctly on their end. Their hold times were also way better about (15 minutes vs. potentially hours with SSA .)My strategy was: SSA call in the morning using Claimyr to avoid the hold time, then the Medicare contractor call in the afternoon once I had the SSA case number. Having that SSA reference number made the Medicare conversation much smoother since I could say SSA "case #XYZ123 shows the payment method transition, can you confirm this is updated in your system too? One" more tip - if you re'using Claimyr for the SSA call, set it up first thing in the morning like (8 AM since) that s'when they seem to have the shortest wait times. The service will text you updates on your queue position, which is honestly amazing compared to sitting there listening to hold music for hours! You ve'got this - just remember to stay patient and document everything. The bureaucracy is frustrating but the issue is definitely solvable!

@Peyton Clarke Great question about prioritizing the calls! From my experience, I d'recommend calling SSA first since they re'the ones who initiated the automatic deduction from your Social Security benefits. They need to confirm that the transition was properly processed and that you shouldn t'have been double-charged. The Medicare Administrative Contractor call was actually much quicker and easier - they basically just needed to verify that I had been paying directly before the transition and confirm the dates of my payments. Their part was more about documentation for the refund process. SSA took longer because they had to research the timing of when my benefits started versus when the Medicare deduction was supposed to kick in. They also had to coordinate with the Medicare system to make sure future payments would only come from one source. I d'suggest doing SSA first thing in the morning when you have the most energy for dealing with their phone system, then call Medicare later the same day while everything is fresh in your mind. Having both calls done on the same day seemed to speed up the overall resolution process. One more tip - if you use Claimyr for the SSA call, you can actually set it up the night before so it starts working early in the morning when call volumes might be lower. That s'what I did and got connected within about 30 minutes instead of the usual multi-hour waits. Hope this helps with your strategy!

@Peyton Clarke Great question about prioritizing the calls! From my experience, I d'actually recommend calling SSA first since they re'the ones who started deducting the premium from your Social Security payment. They have more control over stopping future double deductions and can usually process the refund faster. The Medicare Administrative Contractor call was actually much shorter and easier - they basically just needed to confirm that SSA had taken over the premium payments and update their records accordingly. The SSA representative can also coordinate with Medicare during your call in many cases, which saves you from having to explain the whole situation twice. When I called my Medicare contractor after talking to SSA, they already had a note in my file about the transition, so it was just a quick confirmation call. Much less stressful than the initial SSA conversation! One more tip: if you do use Claimyr for the SSA call, they ll'text you when an agent is ready, so you can actually make the Medicare call while you re'waiting. I managed to get both calls done within about an hour total not (counting the hold time that Claimyr handled for me .)Hope this helps with your planning! The whole process is definitely manageable once you know what to expect.

@Peyton Clarke Great question about prioritizing the calls! In my experience, I d'recommend calling SSA first since they re'the ones who initiated the change by starting to deduct from your Social Security benefits. The Medicare Administrative Contractor call was actually much shorter - they mainly just needed to confirm that the payment method change was legitimate and update their records accordingly. The SSA call is where the real work happens - they re'the ones who process the refund and make sure the systems are properly coordinated going forward. The Medicare contractor is more of a secondary step to ensure everything s'clean on their end. One thing I learned: if you use Claimyr for the SSA call and get it resolved quickly, you can often handle the Medicare contractor call the same day while all the details are fresh in your mind. They have much shorter wait times typically. Also, make sure to ask SSA for the exact effective date when your premium deduction method officially changed - you ll'need that information when talking to the Medicare contractor. Having that detail ready made my second call go much smoother. Hope this helps with your planning! The key is just being prepared with all your documentation and those magic phrases that show you understand the system.

@Peyton Clarke Great question about prioritizing the calls! From my experience, I d'recommend calling SSA first since they re'the ones who initiated the deduction from your Social Security benefits. They can usually see the full picture of what happened and start the refund process immediately. The Medicare Administrative Contractor call was actually much shorter and more straightforward. When I explained that SSA had already started deducting my premium but that I d'been double-charged, they were able to quickly verify the payments on their end and confirm that the transition should prevent future direct debits from my account. That call took maybe 15 minutes versus the longer process with SSA. One thing that helped me stay organized: I called SSA in the morning when I had more energy for potentially long hold times, then called the Medicare contractor in the afternoon as a follow-up. Having the SSA case number and confirmation from the first call made the second call much smoother. Also, don t'be discouraged if the first SSA representative seems confused about the issue - not all of them are familiar with these transition problems. If you get someone who doesn t'immediately understand what you re'describing, politely ask to speak with someone who handles Medicare premium billing issues specifically. That saved me from having to explain everything multiple times!

@Peyton Clarke Great question about prioritizing the calls! From my experience, I d'actually recommend calling SSA first since they re'the ones who initiated the change when your benefits started. The Medicare Administrative Contractor call was much shorter and simpler - they basically just confirmed that the payment had been processed from my bank account and noted that SSA should now be handling it going forward. The SSA call was definitely the more complex one where they had to dig into the system coordination issue and process the refund request. Once I had the SSA case number and confirmation that they were handling the refund, the Medicare contractor call was pretty straightforward. Also, if you re'planning to use Claimyr for the SSA call, I d'definitely do that one first since it s'going to be the longer, more frustrating one to get through to. Save your sanity for the Medicare call which should be quicker! One more tip: when you do call SSA, ask them to confirm what date your Medicare premium deduction officially switched over in their system. In my case, there was actually a delay between when my benefits started and when the premium deduction change was fully processed, which explained why the double billing happened. Getting that date helps you track exactly which months you might be owed refunds for. Hope this helps with your strategy! The whole process is annoying but definitely manageable once you get through to the right people.