I'm sorry that this has been such a negative experience for you. But I know that part of it is about seeing how long you will stick to it. It sucks, but that seems to be the way that bureaucracy works. I was fortunate to get mine on the first try. But I did work with a legal aid type organization. They took 20% of my first payment, but from what I have seen, and my questions to lawyer friends, that is pretty much the going rate. They also had a policy of not requiring payment at all if they did not get the positive result. I hope that you have the strength that you need to get through this. You are the one who knows what you need, so stick with it.