westcoastlv

@J - I don't think its in reconsideration. We re-filed the claim after the initial rating and the VA is treating it like a new claim. Increase already granted, but they are stating that the TDIU is new (but it's been filed twice already). This is just sickening. And I know this is not the worst case of injustice, there are some many Veteran's out there waiting even longer! I am just aghast at how this system works.

The VA must be effin kidding me. The original claim was filed in 2010 - 1 year later the VA awarded my husband a total of 60%. Then I filed a Request for Reconsideration in 8/11 (which they considered a claim for increase) and the VA granted an increase to 80%in May 2012, with the TDIU (which was originally filed in 8/10 and again in 8/11) was deferred. So, as of yesterday, E-benefits had the estimated claim completion date of anywhere between 1/27/13 to 5/20/13. Then I check today and this bullshit says the 'new' estimated completion date is 4/15/2014 to 11/4/2014. So, the TDIU deferred has already been 2 years, now they're telling me they need another year????? This can't be real. So, some incompetent VA reviewer can look at a fully developed claim, with employer statements and all, and estimate that they will need yet another year to read this over. A year. And it states they need new information from 2 employers, one of which is out of business and has been since 2008, and they other that my husband hasn't been at since 2005 (of which he received many reprimands for his conduct - SC is for PTSD). And the request was made today, and is due on 4/10/13, in 15-days. They can sit on their asses for months/years, but expect a turnaround of information in 15-days about a person that these employers haven't heard of in years. Does the mail even work that fast?? So what, are they hoping that they won't get a response and use that as a reason to delay this claim even further. Tomorrow I am going to type out a pretty irate letter telling them that the one company is out of business and who knows about the other. That company has been bought and sold so many times they may not even have any records on my husband. And I'm gonna use their new feature to upload this letter. Doesn't due process apply at all to the VA. I have submitted multiple letters from a VA Psychologist (PhD) that states he is unemployable, and that the previous ratings were too low. A letter from his last employer that stated that they had to let him go because of his volatile and unpredictable behavior, and a letter from a VA Nurse Practicioner that stated he was unemployable. But, I'm sure a NON-Medically trained VA reviewer knows more that these profession people. This is all a bunch of bull and I am totally outdone by the lax attitude this country take toward Veterans.

My husband's claim, which is at 80%, also shows P&T yes.

Well, my ebennies horror story is this: Claim submitted 8/2011 and increase granted 5/2012, with TDIU deferred. All docs requested have been received by VA and noted on ebennies. On 9/23/12 when the big 'upgrade' happened, the claim went to Prep for Notification. 4-weeks later it was still at Prep for Notification. I finally called 800# to be told that the Prep for Notification was in reference to the increase back in May. Then, on 11/5 looking at ebennies, the claim has gone back to Review of Evidence (noting Claim RESTART date, wtf). Concurrently, I received an IRIS message stating that the TDIU deferment is now back to Review of Evidence, there doesn't appear to be anything outstanding, they will notify me if they need anything, and it is estimated that my RO takes about 11-months on a claim, depending on blah, blah, blah. So, here is what I have extrapolated from this whole deal, 5/2012 they granted an increase and decided to defer TDIU. For 6-months now, the TDIU has just been sitting in some rat hole with absolutely no attention, not even a 'we are working on your claim sorry for the delay' letter. Now that I've made an IRIS inquiry, this claim has gone back to the bottom of the pile, however, they've acknowledged that they don't need any further information, (they have all they need to make a decision) but that particular process can now take ANOTHER 11 months (estimated of course), for review only. The VA sucks, not just for my veteran, but for every veteran that volunteers to risk (some lost) their life for this great country of ours.

My husband's claim has been in Prep for Notification since the Ebennies update on 9/23. I spoke with Peggy shortly thereafter and was told the claim was still in the development phase. At that point, I was really confused. I called back yesterday to get an update and was told something different. Appartently, the Prep for Notification info is related to the Increase that was granted back in May, it does not pertain to the deferred issue. So, following that logic, Ebennies is correct in that the notication letter for the increase was sent, therefore being in the Prep for Notification stage. Also following this logic, I can gather absolutely NO information about the deferred issue. So, no news is no news. Calling Peggy is a waste of time, over an hour on hold just for them to recite from a script and get you off the phone in under 2 minutes. This update seems to be no good for those of us with deferred issues :(

Spoke to 800-Peggy and she told me that E-Peggy is WRONG in reporting Prep for Notification, the claim is still in Review of Evidence. It's now been a year and 2 months. Or at least 130-days the TDIU has been deferred. I asked for a E-Peggy technical support number and they gave me the customer service number, and of course, all they could tell me was that they reported on E-bennies what was reported to them. In summary, she told me nothing. I did get a call the other day from some firm claiming that they were doing a survey on 800-Peggy and wanted me to rate my experience with customer service. The caller didn't know what he was in for because I took that opportunity to complain about 800-Peggy to the point where the guy was apologetic. This whole claim process makes me so angry. They (whoever is running this show) should be ashamed at they way they conduct business. I guess they feel because their only customers are veterans that they can operated with impunity. For SHAME VA, for shame!!!

The Oct 1 check is for September. If they haven't issued your retro check yet, ebennies would show the former amount. I wouldn't worry about it. My husband had is regular monthly amount direct deposited, and 4 days later his retro check came, which included the adjustment.

@Cavtrooper: The claim was filed 08/2011 and increase granted in May. The claim remained in Gathering of Evidence for the TDIU Deferral since May. On Friday it was still in Gathering, and then Prep for Notification on Sunday

Exact same thing happened to me. The claim shows Prep for Notification, however Epeggy says Development Stage. Who's right?

The claim date is 8/19/11, the estimated comletion date is past due (the message says sorry it's past due, they are working on it), its in Prep for Notification and then it says Status has changed, evidence requeste is past due, new evidence received, decision notification sent, development letter sent. Seems like this claim has been extremely busy since Saturday. Everytime they do some 'upgrade' seems like it just gets effed up.

Well after being awarded an increase for PTSD in May, the TDIU was deferred. Now, many months later, and after checking Ebenefits yesterday only to be told that 'no information can be found on you claim', I checked it again just now. The claim has gone from Gathering of Evidence to Preparation for Notification. Of course, don't know if that's good or bad because Ebenefits is revealing nothing. The Benefits Explorer still shows the same, as well as the Benefit Letter. So, I guess we'll just have to wait until the claim shows closed. Last time this happened, we got a letter form the VSO telling us of the increase well before it showed up on Ebenefits. Don't know how long Prep for Notification takes, but will keep watching and praying my vet gets his well deserved 100% whether by award or granted TDIU. Now the anxiety begins because a decision has been made, we just don't know what it is. :)

Completion date changed again!! Earliest completion date: was 08/01/12, then changed to 08/15/12, now changed again to 09/01/12 (they changed it today). And the latest completion date: was 10/19/13, then changed to 3/29/13, now changed to 04/23/12. This isn't even to scale, they add 16 days to the earliest, and 25 days to the latest. Why change it at all, to make me feel better? And doesn't it seem ignorant to change the 'target' date to a date that has already passed? If UPS or FedEx told customers that their packages would be delivery between September and April, or the cable company told customers that their new service would be installed anywhere from 8am on Monday in September to 5pm on Friday in December, or if Delta sold tickets to passengers and then announced on the plane that they hope to leave sometime this month.....they would all be out of business. As consumers we have the power to not use businesses that have poor customer service, however as veterans, we have NO power at all. Maybe the VA employees, or their management should be told that they would receive their paychecks at some later date that may or may not happen. Because Veterans are at their mercy, and there is no other agency to take your business to, you get the short end of a very sharp stick. Thanks Government!!!

Looked at ebennies this afternoon and this whole section has disappeared from th claim. Pretty mysterious

Yes, I noticed this too. In the new 'What did we not receive' section it now shows 'request for increase medical evidence' was requested 11/10/11 and was not received so therefore closed on 2/2/12. That's interesting because the actual evidence that was requested on 11/10/11 shows in the 'what we have received' line item....'send any treatment records blah, blah' is showing as having been received on 01/10/12. I know for a fact that there has never been anything requested of my husband that was not sent in. The VA will never make me the fallguy for not having information. So, I felt compelled to call Peggy and get to the bottom of this (on hold for 1.5hrs). The low-tech phone answerer only read to me what was on his script. When I challenged him on why this line shows that I was negligent in sending information he had no answer and just stated that the VA didn't show needed any additional info from me. When trying to apply logic to this statement, the requested increase docs that they never received resulted in an increase in May. Peggyboy had no answer for that either, just more script. I wonder to the Peggypeople feel as if they've done a great job for veterans at the end of each day. Do they stand at the timeclock thinking about how many veterans they've helped today and that they've earned each dollar of pay today? If the answer is yes, that's pretty scary because they are delusional.

Iraq, The initial rating was 60, then increased to 80. And we wait the good wait.

Well, talked to Peggy to get an explanation of what a Prison Match Review was, and I was informed that they had received a Social Security match and had to investigate if the match was valid. (By Social Security I mean SSA, not social security number) Peggy did not inform me of their findings, and although Ebenefits states that a letter has been mailed, Peggy could find no record of it. Either way, my veteran is not incarcerated, nor has he ever been, and the only thing I can rely on is that I have years of records, VA appointments and other proof that my veteran has presented himself IN PERSON to the VA on multiple occassions, leaving no room for incarceration. We will see how this plays out. 2-years in so the light has to be near the end of the tunnel. Thanks for all the comments and helping calm my bad nerves.

Ok, checked ebennies today for husband's status. History: original claim for PTSD, Tinnitus, Hearling Loss, Elbow and TDIU filed 07/2010, decided 08/2011 with 60%. Request for Reconsideration filed 08/2011 and increase granted 05/2012 with TDIU deferred. My Question is: WTF is a Prison Match Review???? This was not listed as on open claim the last time I checked, however, it now lists like a closed claim and states that is was opened on 07/09/12 and closed on 08/16/12. It lists all of the claim documents EXCEPT the TDIU application. Tried to google and only came up with some mumbo-jumbo about SSA and VA Prison Match worksheet. The TDIU has been contemplated for almost a year now, but was deferred on 05/04/12 and Peggy told me the 'development' stage began again on that date. Either way, this stage has almost met its estimated completion date. I am freaking out. My husband is NOT nor has he ever been in prison. Is this some new trick to delay/deny benefits? Has anyone else experienced this and what was the outcome.

Hubby's claim just went from 08/01/2012 to 08/15/2012 as the earliest completion date, and the latest completion dated has now been changed from 10/19/2013 up to 3/29/2013. There doesn't seem to be any rhyme or reason to the 'completion' date. As most of you know, you are never really complete with the VA because they either don't decide your claim properly, cheat you out of retro, won't pay you for dependents, or try to re-examine you to cheat you out of your pay.

I am no expert here, but I would think that if the VA inferred the TDIU, that you definitely need to submit the application for it. My BIG concern here is the earliest effective date. If the VA inferred from the current award claim date (when you opened the claim), then I would like for you to be able to get the 100% retro from the date of the claim, not from the day you signed the TDIU application (like by the end of the week). They may have inferred TDIU, but I don't have any confidence that they will 'infer' paying your more than you ask for. They will use the application signed date and pay you from there. Others will have more info than me, but my husband's claim is similar, and they requested he submit a TDIU application (which had already been submitted). I felt like there were trying to trick him into signing a new app with a much more current date, and then screw him out of 2 years of retro. So, I resubmitted the application with the original date, highlighted the original date a million ways, and sent along a note telling them that the repeated request for the same information was not due process and proof that they had already received it multiple times just to keep the record straight. I think they play these games, claiming to need more (or the same) info, just to shorten your earliest effective date, jmho. Good Luck

Carlie, I personally thank you for taking the high road with this 'etihwr' guy/gal. Many of the posts here have helped me and I find in very inspiring that this site even exists to help veterans at every stage of their claim process. I work very hard for my veteran, to get his claim decided properly and fairly, and I often wonder how many other veterans fall by the wayside because they don't have someone to help. (enter Hadit.com) My veteran is 80%, with a current TDIU claim that has been deferred. 70% of that is from PTSD. He does not work. Is he legally able because he hasn't yet been awarded TDIU? yes. Should he, absolutely not!!! With medicine and his family trying to create a 'stress-free' environment, most days are good days until they are not. You never really know when his internal trigger will be pulled and the day goes awry. In my experience, my PTSD vet is a ticking timebomb that I constantly work to diffuse. Maybe other's have different symptoms, but my vet is anxious, often times angry, sleep deprived and extremely diligent. He could paint houses, he could hand out hot dogs, he could mow lawns, but he shouldn't because of the one event (that no one can predict) that could turn ugly in seconds. And it takes hours, sometimes days for him to recover from such an event. I live with it everyday, but I would never give up on him just because you can't see his wounds. And because I feel that way, and because I take comfort in this site, as I'm sure many others do as well, I take etihwr's attack on anyone here to be reprehensible. Set aside any 'valid' information he/she could have had, the condescending nature in which he/she delivered the message detracted from the validity of the information. I didn't even contemplate if it had any merit. So, as etihwr believes that he/she is helping veterans, he/she might want to consider how to deliver information before the information itself. I discounted anything said after the first hint of arrogance. And jmho, sometimes what we do for a living isn't necessarily what we should be doing (refer to post) Does every bit of information here help me personally? No. But what does help is to know that there are others out there that have compassion for my vet simply because he is a vet, and for no other reason!. For this, I thank you Hadit and Carlie.

No, the first SSD application was denied. I was waiting for this decision to be rendered before appealing SSD. I have all of the records submitted and the dates submitted. I also have copies of the decision letters that state that the VARO received them, and even listed them on the letters. We can't really travel to the VARO because it is more that 10 hours away, and without being sure that we can actually meet with someone, the risk of driving my husband over the edge is too great. I am going to RE-submit everything, and state in a letter how many times and the dates of the previous submissions. I will also provide more supporting statements from MH doc. My letter will be clear on EED, hinting to the fact that I am prepared for an appeal if necessary. I am to the point now that this seems to merely be game-playing. They have all that they need, yet they need it again. No worries, I am in this for the long haul.

The decision letter came yesterday, PTSD increased, TDIU deferred. Ok, the letter for the TDIU deferment arrived today. 1st, it is the grey bar letter that states at the top IMPORTANT - reply needed Under WHAT DO WE STILL NEED FROM YOU? 1 - complete the 21-8940 Application for Increased Compensation Based on Unemployability..... (submitted twice now, once with original claim, and then again with Reconsideration Request) 2 - send any treatment records related to your claimed conditions.....(previously submitted) 3 - provide dates and places of treatment if received treatement from VA.....(they have all this, even listed it in the evidence from the decision letter 4 - provide your own statement, or statements from others......(they have all this) Under WHAT HAVE WE RECEIVED 1 - your claim for benefits (the PTSD claim, that has already been awarded?) 2 - statement in support of claim (which one, there have been many from veteran, spouse, friends, previous employer) 3 - Treatment records from VAMC (which ones, there have been multiple appointments with mental health) They enclosed another application for IU. So, what I'm thinking is that I resubmit the all of the information previously submitted, noting the date of each previous submission. I want to also include a cover letter stating that not only do they have, and have had, all that is requested, that they appear to be ignoring it by the mere fact that they are requesting it AGAIN. I will go to the information office and get the most recent treatment records from mental health, and also ask the DR. to write an opinion to my husband's unemployability and untrainability. The DR has already written an opinion regarding the same, however, he can update his opinion with a little more history. The letter goes on to state that the VA will provide a medical examination for you, OR GET MEDICAL OPINION. Well, they will certainly have more medical opinions than they can deal with. When previously submitted, I even highlighted the pertinent areas of the medical records, as well as other documents submitted. I also provided a letter that was a road map to all things that referenced unemployable and untrainable, with the documents as follow up. I think this is sorta ridiculous, everything they claim they need is already plainly in the laps. But, I will once again resubmit, letting them know that this is a resubmission, and tell them to proceed on a decision. Any thoughts or advice?

Moved to TDIU topic.

This is the exact quote from ebenefits, "Your attention is needed: You may be entitled to compensation at the 100 percent rate if you are unable to secure and follow a substantially gainful occupation because of your service-connected disabilities. If you believe you qualify, complete, sign, and return the enclosed VA Form 21-8940, Veterans Application for Increased Compensation Based on Unemployability" And the claim has moved back to Gathering of Evidence.

Chuck75, You are so right about the DAV not wanting to mess with the claim. I had already typed up the Request for Reconsideration and took it with us to meet with the DAV. He looked at it (didn't read it) and said that our state doesn't recognize it. And if we filed an appeal it would take years, so he advised us instead to do a request for increase. I didn't want to argue with him, thinking that he does this everyday, but I just didn't agree. He even went so far as to tell me not to send in any paperwork (because I had done so much during the first claim). Even during the walk to the car I felt like he had given us bad advice. I faxed in the Request for Reconsideration as soon as I got to work, I then sent it certified mail. Unfortunately because of the DAV's bad avice, the effective date of the increase is the day that the DAV filed for it, which kinda makes me angry at myself for not disagreeing with him more aggressively. Regardless, the decision letter said, "We have deferred a decision on the following issue because we need additional information or evidence: Individual Unemployability. You will receive a separate letter about our request." So this leaves me with the Ebenefits info only that says if we feel the veteran is unemployable, then complete the application of Individual Unemployablity...blah, blah, blah. I guess we will just have to wait for this 'other' letter to see what's what. The letter also requested another 21-686c for dependents, when they are already paying for dependents and states that we are included on the first page. And they sent an application for Voc Rehab. Interesting.