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Is The Dav There To Help Veterans Or The Va?


masters101

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I used the DAV before for VA claims assistance and I maintain a Life Membership in a local chapter. The Service Officers for the DAV had/have an ego beyond reproach. For some unjustified reason they believe "they" provide the best claim service and advice. Well, they do not. Oh yes, they do maintain some type of "you scratch my back/I'll scratch yours relationship" with the VARO's. The DAV has been beneficial in assisting with passing needed legislation. However, the claims service they provide---needs revamped and distanced from the VARO. As I have said before: it is the individual doing good work......the organization means little. *I have increased my s/c percentage every time by NOT listening to recommendations given to me by the DAV and AMVETS. Their answer was always: "be satisfied with what you were awarded and go home".

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  • HadIt.com Elder
I used the DAV before for VA claims assistance and I maintain a Life Membership in a local chapter. The Service Officers for the DAV had/have an ego beyond reproach. For some unjustified reason they believe "they" provide the best claim service and advice. Well, they do not. Oh yes, they do maintain some type of "you scratch my back/I'll scratch yours relationship" with the VARO's. The DAV has been beneficial in assisting with passing needed legislation. However, the claims service they provide---needs revamped and distanced from the VARO. As I have said before: it is the individual doing good work......the organization means little. *I have increased my s/c percentage every time by NOT listening to recommendations given to me by the DAV and AMVETS. Their answer was always: "be satisfied with what you were awarded and go home".

Once I paid my money I could not get a call back, however I did get someone in DC to look at my last SSOC. They were really shocked at how poorly written the SSOC was and reffered me to an Law Firm under EAJA so maybe it was $250.00 well spent.......maybe.

Mike

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Maybe the DAV does some good at the national level, but as far as representation on the local level I find them piss poor. I would like to know what the national officer's expense accounts look like? I bet they have some swell parties. They have been great boot lickers traditionally making VA big shots "Disabled Vet of the Year" on a regular basis. Considering we have not had a increase in the basic level of VA compensation in 50 years except for COLA's they have failed us miserably. In 1971 I got $28 dollars a month for a 10% disability. Now it is 40 years later and the rate for 10% is about $150 bucks. All that is due to the COLA and would not pay my electric bill for one month. A vet with a 70% rating is $1200 some odd dollars. That is a joke. We all know a vet with a 70% rating is probably unemployable. What has the DAV to say about this and how loud have they said it? When I got 70% the VA told me not to appeal for IU. I was already on SSD.

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I think they are about the same DAV, AL it really doesn't matter. Some don't know enough, some don't care, some are good but extremely rare and if their office is adjacent, upstairs or just in the same building as the Veteran Affairs Office, and then there are problems. They have coffee, smoke breaks, breakfast, lunch and so on with VA employees and confusion sets in. They don't want to stop doing these things with their VA friends and they screw the veterans or allow VA friends to screw the veterans. So the bottom line is to keep close contact with VA and your claims.

I maybe wrong or off, so just ignore me.

JMO

Edited by pacmanx1
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http://www.bva.va.gov/docs/Chairmans_Annua...s/BVA2009AR.pdf

On page 14 of Chairman Terry's Annual BVA report-you can find the main vet orgs as to how they stack up on awards and remands.

MOPH has a higher rate of allowed claims (awarded) than DAV and the AL-traditionally the top ones- but MOPH also has a smaller amount of claims.

DAV is in my opinion- a wonderful organization and I donate to them faithfully.

Their legislative Service division (the NSOs) is another matter-

for every good NSO they have they might have more than one who doesn't have a clue.

All of the vet orgs are plagued by this problem.The good reps and SOs are overwhelmed and the lousy ones probably simply just need much better training.It takes years to learn all the nuances of VA case law.And the regs change too.

Also it would be great if vet reps and SOs in the main vet orgs could focus on their specific areas of expertise- then these types of claims could be handled solely by them.

Having been a VA claimant for over a decade myself-as widow of a veteran-I learned long ago that the best vet rep I would ever get-is me.

I knew my claims in and out and I knew what evidence I had to obtain.

The DAV even tried to discourage my husband in his lifetime ,as well as me,after he died on the 2 claims he had pending at death.

They both succeeded with no thanks to the DAV rep I had.

However the fact remains that DAV has consistently had a high success rate for claims at the BVA. It all depends on the individual NSO you get.(and having the evidence you need)

Awards,however, are won with medical evidence.

If that is lacking ( or the evidence of an inservice nexus is lacking )then even the best reps and lawyers around cannot help the claim succeed.

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