CPP Disability sent me notice on Nov 17th, 2017 that they were beginning an investigation of my entitlement to CPP Disability Payments. With the investigation they suspended my monthly payments. I have been receiving CPP Disability since I was left a paraplegic by poorly performed back surgery on 1998. In 2006, I started a home based web design business. I had my vocational training paid for by the gov’t through my caseworker, my business startup costs paid for by them and my business license paid for by them. They knew about my return to work through this business as my caseworker made reports to CPP Disability on a regular basis. They initially questioned my income for my web design business and improperly used the gross revenue figures in deciding in Sept 2018 that not only was I not entitled to CPP Disability benefits anymore, but they also wanted to clawback all payments I had received since 2012, an amount over $76,000.00.
They claimed I never told them of my return to work. This was lie number 1 as my caseworker had informed them in writing that I was starting a home based business and nothing had changed as I still have that business today.
They also kept using gross revenue figures even after I explained to them and showed them my tax returns which showed my net earnings to be under the threshold in each year of substantially gainful employment.
At no point did the Decision letter question my medical status.
I requested a review. The initial review took 9.5 months. I requested the review on Dec 14, 2018. I received a letter from them on June 10, 2019 that they would conduct a new review. This 2nd review by a new investigator took less than a month as I received Reconsideration Letter dated July 9th, 2019 which veered off on a new course by stating that I was no longer disabled under their guidelines. No mention made of my rebuttals to their erroneous financial review, just focused on my medical condition (which in fact has worsened). In this letter their medical adjudicator made a statement saying that both I and my doctor had informed CPP Disability that I had “significant medical improvement” in my medical condition.
This was also a lie since I have never talked to CPP Disability and neither had my doctor nor had CPP ever requested any medical files from him. They made this up I believe when they realized their financial arguments would not hold up.
At this point I am confused as to what their final allegations are against me. They went from a decision based on income from my business in the Decision letter to a decision based on my medial condition in the Reconsideration letter.
I am now in the process of of filing my appeal to the Social Security Tribunal. What I don’t have available to me is case law dealing with substantially gainful employment. I also would like to know what the substantially gainful employment thresholds were in years 2012 to 2016 if anyone knows this.
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Welcome to the forum.
I sympathize.
Good luck with your appeal.
Maybe he the free consultation:
I think “gainful employment” in 2018 was $15k/year so less for previous years.
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