Iris To Finance

[free_spirit_etc]

I previously submitted a claim to be allowed to keep my husband's month of death payment. Upon receipt of my husband's C-file, I found that a transmittal form was sent to Finance Operations on 6-28-2007 that states "Surviving Spouse entitled to one time payment of amt of comp or pen received by veteran at time of death. Remove overpayment (08E Transaction) if payment is not returned. 38 CFR 3.20©"

However, these funds were reclaimed from my checking account in August 2007.As these funds were taken out of my bank account 2 months after the overpayment transaction was supposed to be removed, what is the procedure for being repaid the funds that were taken from my account in error? Thank you,XXX

Mrs. xxxx:

I will forward your inquiry on for processing.

Sincerely,

Matthew xxx

Thank you very much Matthew! I appreciate your promptness and thank you for helping the vets and us widows! If I get to the Pearly Gates before you do - I'll put in a good word for you! :)xxxx

Ms. xxx:I am happy to be of service! You will receive a response in them mail to your inquiry.(PS - I hope you don't have to visit those gates for a very long time!):)Matthew xxx

[Josephine]

Free,

It was disgraceful the VA did this to you!

I would like to smack them for you.

I appreciate Matthew stepping in to help you.

How is your husbands claim coming?

I know you stay so busy helping others like myself.

What would I do without Free and the Box.

Actually when I started thinking outside of it, things seem to fall

into place.

I should post that I received my retro.

I will do this right now.

Thanks so much, My " Dear Friend".

Always,

Betty

[Berta]

Gee -I thought they paid you that by now!

I got an Iris response in less then one hour this AM-

from the VSM herself.

Sometimes it takes them days to respond- at least my claims are still with the DRO and not in the PAP stack yet (Paper air plane stack)

and although I signed POA form for an attorney some time ago-on my CUE claims-with the DRO - nothing appears changed on my POA.

I am glad I checked.I have not heard from this attorney -no call back and no email replies-

from our first conversation and her receipt of my POA fee agreement.

It is good news in a way because I dont want them to copy the medical records yet for her-----

too many other things are in the wind regarding my situation-

I dont know why an attorney would even need Rods SSA and VA med recs for my CUE claims.

[free_spirit_etc]

I really need to start pulling things together for my VA claim. I have only worked on it here and there. But I have been trying to get a copy of the C-file for a year and just got it last week.

My one-year deadline for submitting evidence and having my claim readjudicated ends June 7 - a year since getting my notice of what they need.

I can have everything else pulled together EXCEPT the IMO. I asked for an extension of time on the deadline. I mean c'mon - it takes them a year to send me the C-file - and then I am supposed to pull it all together in two weeks.

I guess I could have gotten an IMO without it. BUT I also don't want to spend that much money on an IMO only to have them discredit it because the doctor didn't have access to the C-file (that THEY didn't send).

As the basis of my husband's claim is post-service diagnosis of cancer - and as lung cancer is pretty much asymptomatic until late stages (and the fact that my husband had NO symptoms when it was detected - unless you count fatigue) the SMR's aren't that relevant. But still - the VA wants the IMO to say they LOOKED at the SMR's.

I asked for an extension of time - and kept getting answers to everything BUT that - so I kept asking until I finally got a response acknowledging that I had asked for it. However, the response said they sent it on to someone who will check the regulations and see if I can get an extension.

I probably won't hear from them until AFTER the deadline.

So I guess I will send everything in - once again ask for an extension on the IMO with my submission - IRIS them 20 more times - send in the IMO when I get it - ask that my claim be readjudicated when I send it - IRIS them some more.

Heck! The two most important papers I needed were:

1. His discharge physical.

2. The latest VA Medical Opinion that was used to deny my claim.

His discharge physical has mysteriously disappeared from his file.

The copy of the VA Medical Opinon has NO date and NO signature - but DOES say OVER at the bottom - BUT they did NOT send me the second page.

It is merely a hand written note on a "Report of Contact" form. VERY unprofessional.

It just says that he was out of the one year presumptive period when the cancer was diagnosed - and that the symptoms in the SMRS were from viral infections and not related to the cancer.

No sh**&*&

We already KNEW that.

The doctor did NOT address whether it was more likely than not that his cancer started in service - which has been the BASIS of his claim from the BEGINNING.

But they dance all around the issue - because they know they can't actually say it is more likley than not that it started AFTER service.

Actually, the VA didn't even ask him to address that. The VA only asked him to review the inservice symptoms to see if they were related to cancer.

You can tell how well they read all the medical documents that show that cancer is most likely asymptomatic until late stages, and his medical notes indicating HE was asymptomatic all along.

Heck! If the very nature of the disease is that it HAS NO symptoms - then what are they playing around with the symptom game for?

It runs contrary to the KNOWN NATURE of the disease.

To require someone to have symptoms for a disease that is asymptomatic - to prove they had it - runs contrary to medically established standards.

But I am not going to question their medical opinion as "invalid." Becaushe their opinion doesn't actually HURT my claim - at least at the BVA level.

If they take their opinion that my husband had no symptoms in service OVER my IMO's opinion that his cancer STARTED in service - THEN I will address it in a NOD.

And I think the claim should fly at the BVA - unless they remand it.

The question is - when did it start. The BVA has awarded lots of cancer claims on the theory that slow growing cancer didn't pop up over night - the rate my husband's cancer would have had to have grown to have reached the size it did in the short time before it was diagnosed post service is outside the realm of medical probability - and the VA - with all their dancing - have never bothered to get an opinion that REFUTES what my IMO will say.

So I would hope the BVA would grant it. But they could also remand it - and ask for a VA or outside opinion on the issue of the start date. I don't look for them to do that though. We have submitted so much treatesy info from extremely reputable sources (National Cancer Institute, Major Universities, etc.) to back our position - that I would hope the BVA would realize that the only way a doctor could refute our position would be to argue a point that is not in line with medically established standards.

But so far - I have been so busy with Social Security - who have been particularly evil - that I haven't had as much time to work on the VA claim as I need.

Free

Free,

It was disgraceful the VA did this to you!

I would like to smack them for you.

I appreciate Matthew stepping in to help you.

How is your husbands claim coming?

I know you stay so busy helping others like myself.

What would I do without Free and the Box.

Actually when I started thinking outside of it, things seem to fall

into place.

I should post that I received my retro.

I will do this right now.

Thanks so much, My " Dear Friend".

Always,

Betty

[free_spirit_etc]

Nope. They haven't paid it. On the phone they told me they could block the reclaimation - then they told me they would take it back and issue me a check.

On the IRIS - they told me their was no evidence I was his widow (which explains why I have sent them multiple copies of the wedding license) - And geez - You would think that if they consider the Death Certificate to be credible evidence that he died - they could also look at the spot that names ME as his widow - and think that it is more likely than not that the person named as the widow on a death certificate stands a good chance of being the widow.

Anyway - then they told me they couldn't stop the process of the money being reclaimed - and made no offer to send me a check.

Oddly enough - after them having a HOLD on the money - where it was still in my account - but I couldn't USE it - for five or six months after my husband's death- I finally IRISed them and aked them to either RELEASE the hold on the money OR take the dang thing! It ticked me off every time I looked at my bank account and saw I had access to $225 LESS than what was IN my account because the VA still had a hold on it.

But they responded they couldn't do anything about it.

It was not until I got the C-file and saw they had actually put in a trasmittal to reverse the overcharge and NOT take it back in June - that I could try to do anything about them taking the money back in August.

I also have an IRIS in asking about my burial expense claim.

That has been all messed up too. I had his father file a claim for Plot allowance and I filed the claim for burial expenses ($300 EACH claim).

He filled out the section labled PLOT ALLOWANCE ONLY - so they even acknowledge on the FORM that someone might claim that separately - which is why I had him fill out a separate claim - as he purchased the plot (he wanted him to be buried in the same cemetary as his mother and brother).

I put on MY claim - under the section that ASKS if there will be any other claims - that HIS FATHER - And named him by name - would be filing a claim for PLOT ALLOWANCE ONLY!

They DENIED his claim - because they said their records show that the funeral expenses were paid by ME.

They sent him a waiver for ME to sign in order for him to be paid. But the waiver was a FULL waiver - meant to be completed by a creditor. It says that NO bills are due and owed and I WAIVE my right to be paid.

I IRISed them - Asked why I have to waive my right to the $300 burial allowance for his father to be paid the $300 plot allowance.

They said we EACH have to sign a waiver for the other one to be paid. But the forms they sent don't give us the option to do anything but waive the right to be paid at all.

The forms also said "I certify that the amounts in section whatever are true." and I was supposed to sign it - but they didn't send a copy of section whatever that I was supposed to be certifying was true.

So I did not sign the waiver - but wrote all over the form that I was waiving the right to be paid PLOT ALLOWANCE - I was asking to be paid BURIAL allowance.

And I sent a letter explaining the situation - and indicating that I could not sign a form certifying things to be true that I didn't know to be true (because they weren't included on the form) and I was NOT a creditor, and was was waiving my right to plot allowance only.

Geez...if it is so hard for them to figure that out - WHY does the FORM itself make it where those two items can be claimed separately by two separate people - even having a space where you LIST the OTHER person who will be claiming the OTHER part.

Anyway - I haven't heard squat since the January 2008 letter telling me they are working on the claim.

In the C-file there is an email where they were LOOKING for the burial claim - asking if anyone had seen it.

Then there is a letter to my father-in-law dated November 2007 - telling him they lost his claim and asking him to re-send it. I need to get ahold of him to see if he did.

I sent an IRIS the other day asking for a update for the status of my burial claim.

Maybe they are holding off until they can scrape $300 together. I don't know.

As far as your POA - doesn't it just tick you off when the people that are supposed to be helping you spend more time getting in the way than they do helping?

I used to have a daily prayer - "God, please protect me from those who are looking out for my best interests."

Those are the people who can really mess you up. Sometimes I find it easier to deal with sworn enemies - At least you know where you stand with them - and they aren't in there messing things up "for your own good."

Free

Gee -I thought they paid you that by now!

I got an Iris response in less then one hour this AM-

from the VSM herself.

Sometimes it takes them days to respond- at least my claims are still with the DRO and not in the PAP stack yet (Paper air plane stack)

and although I signed POA form for an attorney some time ago-on my CUE claims-with the DRO - nothing appears changed on my POA.

I am glad I checked.I have not heard from this attorney -no call back and no email replies-

from our first conversation and her receipt of my POA fee agreement.

It is good news in a way because I dont want them to copy the medical records yet for her-----

too many other things are in the wind regarding my situation-

I dont know why an attorney would even need Rods SSA and VA med recs for my CUE claims.