Government officials and the Social Insurance Institution are sounding the alarm as unscrupulous intermediaries charge exorbitant fees to help disabled individuals apply for support benefits that are provided entirely for free.<\/p>\n
Dishonest intermediaries are exploiting people with disabilities by offering “assistance” in obtaining support benefits for astronomical fees. This entire process can be completed at no cost with the direct support of Social Insurance Institution (ZUS) employees. The government and the Office of the Government Plenipotentiary for Disabled People are warning against a growing wave of these abuses.<\/p>\n
To apply for the benefit, an applicant requires a decision from the Provincial Disability Evaluation Board (WZON) confirming a support need level of at least 70 points. Only with this document can one apply to ZUS, yet this is where many are falling victim to predatory practices.<\/p>\n
ZUS recently dealt with a case involving a senior who was persuaded to use the services of a commercial law firm. After signing a contract and issuing power of attorney, the senior’s first benefit payment\u2014totaling nearly 22,000 PLN including back pay\u2014was transferred directly to the firm\u2019s account. The company only changed the account number to the client’s after deducting their “fee” and revoking the power of attorney.<\/p>\n
This is not an isolated incident. Over the past few months, ZUS has documented firms demanding 10,000 PLN or up to six times the monthly benefit amount for their services. These entities often use aggressive and calculated methods to secure these payments.<\/p>\n
It is vital to understand that firms offering paid services have no special authority. They cannot influence the decision of the Provincial Disability Evaluation Board (WZON), guarantee the granting of a benefit, accelerate the processing of a case, or increase the number of points awarded. They simply fill out a form\u2014exactly the same task that a ZUS employee performs for free.<\/p>\n
ZUS maintains that it never sends links for login via SMS, nor does it ask for bank details in text messages. Applicants are urged to verify all information through official channels.<\/p>\n
The Social Insurance Institution provides full support without any charge. Assistance regarding the support allowance can be obtained at any ZUS branch, via their hotline at 22 560 16 00, or through the eZUS portal, where applications can be submitted independently online. Disabled individuals may also authorize a trusted family member or friend to handle the process, and this designated person will receive the same free assistance from ZUS staff.<\/p>\n
If someone offers you or a loved one paid help for the support benefit, do not sign anything immediately. Read every document carefully, consult with family, call ZUS to verify information, and never click on links provided in unsolicited text messages.<\/p>\n
<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"
Government officials and the Social Insurance Institution are sounding the alarm as unscrupulous intermediaries charge exorbitant fees to help disabled individuals apply for support benefits that are provided entirely for free. The Scam Targeting Vulnerable Citizens Dishonest intermediaries are exploiting people with disabilities by offering “assistance” in obtaining support benefits for astronomical fees. This entire […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"wpai_generated_summary":"","footnotes":""},"categories":[44],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-2807","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","hentry","category-culture"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/bizonews.com\/pl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/2807","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/bizonews.com\/pl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/bizonews.com\/pl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/bizonews.com\/pl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/bizonews.com\/pl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=2807"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/bizonews.com\/pl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/2807\/revisions"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/bizonews.com\/pl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=2807"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/bizonews.com\/pl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=2807"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/bizonews.com\/pl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=2807"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}