Q: I have tried to get into my S.S. account, I have been to the office a lot. They send me home with a temp password, don't

A: When you talk to people at SSA, you will find they have a wide variety of knowledge and motivation to help citizens. Don't let one person there make you think they can't help you. Some just answer the phone and have no answers. Others seem to be on a mission to helping as many people as they can.

Keep trying to call in and visit. If they give you a password in person, try to use it on a phone or other device connected to the internet right there while they are watching. This may help them identify the problem.

If you call in, try hard to do so at less busy times of the day. Opening times, meal times, and near closing are always the busiest times of day. If you do call at a good time, wait on hold until they answer. I have spent many hours on hold, though I don't recall ever waiting a full hour straight.

SSA is extremely difficult to work with and sometimes feels like they don't care and won't help you. If you have no progress within a week or two, you can sometimes get progress with the help of your state congressman or senator. They have the ability to poke at the organization from the inside and sometimes get results the average citizen cannot.

A: The information you provide to set up your My Social Security account must be the same as the information on your credit report because Social Security uses a "identity services provider" to verify identity by comparing your information against their records. You may want to get a free credit report and make sure that the information on it is correct and matches what you have been trying to use for your My Social Security account.

Another alternative is to sign in to your My Social Security account with "ID.me" ID.me is a single sign-on provider for online identity proofing and authentication.

You will get an activation code on your phone that you input to finish setting up the account.

Keep trying to get access through Social Security. If they continue to be unhelpful, contact your local congressman to help you with your issues with Social Security.

A: They most likely gave you the national Social Security phone number which is 1-800-772-1213 and unfortunately, the national hotline has extremely long hold times. I would recommend calling your local SSA office instead and see if someone there may be able to help you out. You can find your local office phone number by putting in your zip code here https://secure.ssa.gov/ICON/main.jsp.