My experience with DEF was great! I had used Morgan and Morgan for my first filing, and their staff would be in the office, but have their rude, mainly Spanish speaking assistant screen the calls and not relay messages and even lie to me on the phone. Even with multiple medical conditions, I was denied. After some research, I found that Morgan and Morgan didn't even file a few things on time and one time, not at all.
After watching Bay News 9 and seeing DEF advertised everyday, I decided to dismiss Morgan and Morgan and give DEF a try. WOW! What a difference, it was like night and day! I called with a few questions and the next thing I knew I had an appointment in Spring Hill with Mel.
Mel took about two hours to fill out and submit ALL of my SSA paperwork online and via mail for me. Mel answered all of my questions, gave me some great advice, told me what to expect, and the timelines I should expect things to happen. Mel even found a few things that Morgan and Morgan missed and tried to salvage what he could with my previous case.
Every time I called the office I either got an immediate answer or was called back the same day, or sometimes within 24 hours, as promised by Mel. I found that if I had questions it was faster to e-mail Mel because of his busy workload, and he replied within minutes, or the next day if it was late in the day. AS PROMISED! Sometimes I would get a call from Dee or April the same day, and they would explain things I received in the mail from SSA or answer any questions I had. I forget the younger woman whom sits at the window when you arrive, but she was always pleasant, smiling, and was attentive to my case and was fast at making copies, updating my file, and making sure all of my questions and concerns were addressed.
I finally started receiving favorable decision letters from SSA in the mail, and I had a lot of questions once again. I e-mailed Mel, and talked to Dee and April on the phone and they explained everything to me and were very pleasant and helpful. My overall experience with DEF is what expected from Morgan and Morgan since they are a law firm and DEF is not, but DEF is whom worked for me and made my experience a lot less stressful and positive. Mel explained up front that they are not lawyers, but advocates whom know the systems and have many people on staff whom have been disability judges and in this field for decades. Mel mentioned that there would be a small fee for any copies made or if they had to request medical records as that was a cost for them.
The previous person whom posted didn't seem to have a lot of specifics about their issues with DEF. I found that listening and asking questions up front will help solve that problem with anything down the road. Taking notes, reading the file folder they give you, and the information about what they are and how they operate seems to be something this person skipped.
THANK YOU DEF!!!! read more
