KLTV 7 News Tyler, Longview, Jacksonville |Missing Social Security checks

Missing Social Security checks

By Layron Livingston - email

Posted by Ellen Krafve - email

East Texans are wondering were their Social Security checks have gone.

"If the third falls on a Saturday or Sunday, I've always got my check on Friday," said Nathan McCarty from Chandler.

McCarty went to the Social Security Administration in hopes of finding some answers.

"When your rent's late, they add a 25 dollar late charge. If your light bill's late, they add a late charge," said McCarty. "When you're on fixed income, like, it's me and my daughters and my two grand-daughters, and we depend on that check."

Nathan wasn't the only one. Hundreds of East Texans in Athens, Henderson, Jacksonville, Longview, Palestine, Tyler and several other cities are still waiting on their paper Social Security checks.

"When a Social Security check goes out, the Treasury Department prints the check, puts it in the mail stream and the post office delivers it," explained Bob Kennedy who is the Assistant District Manager of the Tyler Social Security Administration Office.

Kennedy says the checks were due last Friday. He says after three days, the checks are considered missing. He says he does not know where they are.

"The actual payment is between the treasury department and the post office," said Kennedy.

We went there next.

No one was available to go on camera, but a spokesperson with the U.S. Postal Service says the problem seems to be isolated to Dallas area, North and North East Texas. He didn't tell us what happened, but the mail processing plants in Tyler, and in DFW are being searched. No checks have been found at this time.

"Paper checks are by their very nature, subject to this very thing, and if we can direct deposit money into a bank account, it's a 100 percent secure, and we're advising everyone that we can do that for them, said Kennedy. 

That's advice Nathan says he'll soon take advantage of.

The Social Security Administration office tells us they can issue checks, in person. Those emergency checks are only issued to people in dire situations, and the original checks will have to be returned once they eventually make it in the mail.