Effective Date Of New Ogc Reg

[Berta]

This regulation that causes all vet orgs to "recertify" their vet reps or NSOs was published on Jan 10,2008.

It is to be effective as a Rule within 90 days of the publication date.

Aptril the 9th, 2008

I have call in for the attorney at OGC DC who wrote this regulation- which I feel will impact on all of us in a favorable way-

I spoke to the attorney about this some time ago- as my former rep. the main one I named in my OGC complaint- has a last name initial and date of birth that complies with the full reg schedule as to how vet reps will be recertified-

and per this new reg-his recertification has to be completed by April 9th.

I posted all the info on this reg at hadit when it appeared in the Fed Register and it is found at the OGC web site at http://www.va.gov/ogc/accreditation.asp

The main condition of this regulation that I complimented the guy who wrote it on- is that this reg puts the Onus onto someone in authority at every vet org who has to declare whether the rep or SO is competent enough to continue to prosecute claims.

This means no collusion can occur at lower levels when- like in my case- reps were covering up for each other as well as the Director of my POA for errors they had made (the former director -that is of NYSDVA)

This reg means that-if a vet has a formal complaint with merit against their POA and if this complaint gets to a high level within the org or is filed also with the OGC in DC-

Someone has the onus on them to state why and how they determined the rep was competent enough to handle VA claims in order to become recertified.

I still maintain that reps should take annuals tests but they dont have to-

yet lawyers have to go through a test format to handle claims before the VA.

This reg is one small step towards having VA oversight over the orgs that rep us-and that makes it a potential very big and important step-

If a vet definitely feels their rep has been deceptive,reckless, or negligent in helping them- and the vet does not complaint over the reps head-

that veteran is causing the same rep to continue to be negligent with other veterans.

The vet I saw negligence in his matter at Watchdog this AM- after reading further has obtained-on Jims advise, a lawyer-

reps can be sued, and more importantly the VA does have in place a regulation that puts a check and balance on lousy reps who give their orgs a bad name- and can hurt a claimant's potential and cause the veteran to lose money

Edited April 2, 2008 by Berta

[Mcafee]

This is my exact issue i was never provided with the appropriate information and the only reason i got it was through FOIA office Meg Peak Wash DC. VARO stated i was not entitled to these documents they are Federally owned.And i do have this letter provided by VARO.It does not matter they broke the rules and have attempted to make it go away and this is why POA was revoked i asked to many questions and wanted documents from POA. If this makes sense to you Pete but Thank you.And Yes they did forge the documents according to legal representation because they VARO and VSO and BVA proceeded and made a decision on a claim without my involvement.

This is my exact issue i was never provided with the appropriate information and the only reason i got it was through FOIA office Meg Peak Wash DC. VARO stated i was not entitled to these documents they are Federally owned.And i do have this letter provided by VARO.It does not matter they broke the rules and have attempted to make it go away and this is why POA was revoked i asked to many questions and wanted documents from POA. If this makes sense to you Pete but Thank you.And Yes they did forge the documents according to legal representation because they VARO and VSO and BVA proceeded and made a decision on a claim without my involvement.