vern2

My claim was paper at 1st, then got really sick with heart problems and housebound/bedridden for 2 months, could not drive, but could use my pc. Scanned lot of supporting data and decided to upload in ebennies, but noticed that never got credit as status to VA requests for info did not show a response, so started sending cert letters, but no response. My claim is FUBAR, because of this fact. Will prevail once RO has all the facts. Been down this path B4.

No, I have used eBennies, strange that letters they send to me have po 7000. Will check tomorrow, I have the stamped receipt, plus what I got from USPS web site.

Called USPS again, they insisted that the mail was delivered to ST. PETE VARO., however the USPS web site is where I saw the Newnan Georgia address. I will go to local po tomorrow and get this resolved.

The po box 7000 is what is listed on all return mail I get from St. Pete RO. Remember getting po box 1437 one time. So where should I be sending my correspondence?

I just found out that 2 of last three certified letters I sent to VA were forwarded to Newnan, Georgia, 30263. Called USPS and got Peggy2, who stated that it was delivered to VA in Haines City florida 33844. I had sent to zip 33744 at the po 7000 address. What does all this mean? Has my claim been farmed out to VA in Newnan, Ga.? never did get the green card back either!!

Well I filed my FOIA, heard nothing. So after 49 days sent cert letter to OGC quoting the law. Got file in less than 2 weeks, not sure if OGC helped, but ithis is another tool to use.

Several things to do or know b4 the exam 1. Download and fill out the DBQ for what you are claiming, ex; HTN, heart disease, ED. 2. See if can check out the doctors qualifications, is he/she board certified? 3. Hint: if not a specialist in what you are claiming, say heart disease, then you have grounds for a n appeal. Send the VARO a certified letter immediately after the exam stating that you did not receive a thorough and contemporanous exam since the exam was not conducted by a specialist in your condition. 4. Important thing to ask the examing doctor! Did you read/review my c-file before my appointment? if the answer is no, or something like I have it but not reviewed it yet, then have still more grounds to claim flawed exam. Again, send that certified letter to VARO, stating that the examiner was not aware of your case history prior to the exam. You have grounds to appeal the denial of any benefit. The claim will have to be remanded back if gets to VBA or CVACS. 5. It is the law that the above action must happen b4 the exam. EXCELLENT GROUNDS FOR AN APPEAL IF THE C&P EXAM IS UNFAVORABLE. I sent my letter and put the VA on notice. This was Oct 2013, and they ignored my letter, as usual. I will win on appeal. Doctor did not conduct a thorough and contemporanous exam! in my case, asked the doctor and he waived his hand a a stack of paperwork to indicate he had my claim, but he had never read or reviewed it!

I noticed in reviewing my letter of denial that it appeared that the VA was top sheeting my claim, just making a decision on one piece of evidence or ignoring evidence. I am assuming this is a common practice in order to make production and get those bonuses. I just spent last week literally going over my claim word for word. The VA made decision without reviewing or ignoring the evidence. I re-submitted my NOD with 26 page letter and more evidence. Am I wasting my time? Or should I just hire an attorney? Have a strong case with expected back pay of at least 60-70k. I am meticulous and have reams of evidence. The problem is that I feel the VA is top sheeting my claim. I do have a lot of evidence for many contentions.

Hey 63S, I just like the eagles butt, which is symbolic, as you stated, the nation (VA) turning its back on you. I always read your post. I was a 16F long time ago, M42 Duster.

Kate, the eBenefts web site or part of it is down again for "maintenance". This seems to happen a lot on weekends, especially when we need to use it! I logged on early this am, and saw 2 messages about site going down.

true, because I had N& ME for the DRO review. I would never file a NOD unless I noticed that VA had either overlooked evidence that already in c-file, OR I had supporting evidence not a matter of record. READ YOUR DENIAL NARRATIVE, ESPECIALLY THE LIST OF EVIDENCE THAT VA USED IN MAKING THEIR DECISION! Sometimes we have to play catch-up, due to what is stated in denial letter.

Glad to hear this! You are now one of the 15% who have been successful with your claim. Just curious, how long did your process take? Enjoy life, take a vacation!

Yes, a DRO review may negate the next step, which would be BVA appeal, if you are successful withe the DRO process, if not then can still do the BVA appeal.

I have used NOD several times, never used the form 9, just a simple letter stating that you disagree and list each contention that was denied and that you disagree with, do not have to go into detail at this time. The important thing is to send letter certified mail, return receipt requested. Make sure and put the certified mail number at top of your letter. You may never hear from VA at first, I would suggest wait 30 days and then send email via eBenefits IRIS system, as this goes to your RO. Then you may hear that it has been assigned to DRO. In my NOD letters, I specifically asked for DRO de novo review, but some vets prefer to skip this and go straight to BVA. It is a long process, either way. THE IMPORTANT THING IS THE ONE YEAR TIME LIMIT FROM THE DATE ON THE DENIAL LETTER, NOT THE DATE YOU RECEIVE IT. GET YOUR NOD IN BEFORE THIS ONE YEAR IS UP!!

Should I re-send my FOIA for the missing VBMS files that were not in the copy of the c-file sent to me?

Oh crap, my claim has been at DRO stage since Oct 13. Get back on hamster wheel!

I had success with the DRO , I thought, back in 2007, but have some reservations. I went from denial to 30%, think should have been 60%, more to follow.

I filed my NOD the day I received my denial, Sept 23, 2013. Sent cert mail, RR then three more supplemental letters with N & M evidence, on May 30, 2014, still heard nothing from the black hole that is St Petersberg. Finally did the Peggy thing and was sent email telling me that my denial was going the DRO de novo route, which is what I had requested in September 2013, almost 9 months ago! Still on the HAMSTER WHEEL. Maybe I need to change my handle to HAMSTER 3P0:)

so who the heck is C. Boyd that signs the email?

BTW: My FOIA did not include any of the electronic VBMS data, wonder if I should re-submit the FOIA?

The problem I experienced is that the rating official did not use any of the VBMS data that was available to reach a decision in my claim. Only data that was used was in my initial claim that was sent certified mail in 2012. I noticed this probblem in July 2013, and sent 2 certified letters to VA and still nothing done. The narrative that got with my denial only mentioned the 2012 documentation. What a crock! The bottom line is more delays, which seems to be VA objective.

sorry to hear this, thought I was doing the right thing by using eBenefis to upload my claim documentation. Well at least kept copies of everything I submitted as all of the documents had to be converted to .jpeg and downsized to meet the 5 mg upload limit. May have to just print and mail to RO.

So, it appears that VA has no way to merge my electronic records uploaded via eBenefits with my claim. My claim was denied and narrative that received as part of the denial package does not eve mention the 200+ pages of uploaded documentation. I did save proos, and activity log also shows successful upload, but apparently means nothing to VA, oh well, back to HAMSTER WHEEL!

Does anyone know how this works. Perhaps Veldrina could enlighten me- see my prior posts and IRIS response where they mentioned VBMS. Vern

Response from IRIS to my questions on missing documentation. Note does not mention that claim was denied 9 months ago base on the documentation that was submitted in 2012, nothing about 2013. IRIS RESPONSE: We apologize for the delay in responding to your inquiry. We are currently experiencing a large volume of inquiries and are working as quickly as possible to respond to each in a timely manner. Your electronic document file contains seven single page documents, received May 8, 2013, two single page documents, received July 23, 2013, and one single page document received July 19, 2013. Vern: this is in addition to the 43 submissions that they noted in prior email Vern-This was in response to my query on missing documents on the activity page. I submitted it and prior response listed all documentation except those listed above. Thank you for contacting us. If you have questions or need additional help with the information in our reply, please respond to this message or see our other contact information below. We apologize for the delay in responding to your inquiry. We are currently experiencing a high volume of inquiries, and are working as quickly as possible to respond to each in a timely manner. eBenefits The records indicate we received multiple documents in 2013 to support your claim; we are unable to determine why you could not verify this on eBenefits. To speak with an eBenefits specialist please call1-800-827-1000 FREE (when prompted please press the number 7). Vern: not a true statement, was able to verify that was successfully uploaded, but then VA dropped the ball!! Veterans Benefits Management System Generally, when documents are received they are uploaded into the Veterans Benefits Management System (VBMS). The Veterans Benefits Management System (VBMS) is one of the new tools we are using to help process Veterans claims faster, and more efficiently. VBMS is a web-based, electronic claims processing portal created to give VA the ability to process Veterans claims paper-free. It is helping us move from a paper-based claims process to an electronic claims process. Unfortunately, the contents of this system cannot be monitored by eBenefits. The programmers are aware of the problem. The advantage of the VBMS system is we are able to immediately access information electronically and not wait for the information to be scanned into the system. In some cases scanning information into the system is taking up to 75 days. Unfortunately, at this time there is no means for eBenefits to record which documents were uploaded or display that list. The eBenefits team has plans to enhance the feature to include this capability soon. After you successfully upload files, the eBenefits system displays a message listing each uploaded file with the file name, file type and date uploaded. You should print this message out, if possible, or save the screen image, for your records, because you cannot see this page again once you close it. Claim Status Your claim is currently in the decision phase and is waiting for review by the rating team. If the rating team determines that we have all the required evidence needed, we will prepare a decision on your claim and notify you in writing. If we determine additional information is needed, we will contact you. Vern: WTF! my claim was denitged over 9 months ago, but still at RO, awaiting SOC, etc. (HAMSTER TIME!!) Currently claims at the St. Petersburg Regional Office, are taking about eight months to complete. Please understand that these timeframes are only averages, and that your claim may take longer based on the specifics of your claim and VA's pending workload. Thank you for contacting us. If you have questions or need additional help with the information in our reply, please respond to this message or see our other contact information below. Result: must wait 3 more months, then take appropriate action.