Need To Talk With Your Service Officer?

[danang_1969]

I have had very limited success in communicating with my SO all throughout my claims. I'm not a female and I don't have pretty legs like Southern Bell so that kind of strategy is out. I have one phone number to his office the drill is always the saem, he is with another veteran, or in a meeting, or in training or is off today. I'm always advised to call back later. Never get my name taken and told I will to ask him to return your call. No personal email address has been ever given to email him and ask him any question I might have.

Go to your Service organizations main website and look for contact us and send them a help request, be very polite and tactful. Tell them you have been attempting to communicate with your claims rep and are not having any success. In the email inform them that you are a member in good standings of the VVA, VFW, DAV, etc, what ever organization you belong to and ask them if they will please help you get in touch with your rep. It worked for me within just a few hours. It is worth a try if you have had or if you ever have a problem getting through to your SO to ask him a question.

[vmo]

I've found that it is not the service officer, not the organization, doesn't matter if they (S.O.) are female/male, shirt & tie, pretty dress, etc. **A good service officer needs training, support from his superiors *and* the "vet", experience helps, and a reasonable case load. Then polish all of this with alot of ethics and hopefully dedication to the cause, helping vet's. Let us not forget the federal agency the service officer deals with has the power to shred claims, lose claims, deny receipt of claims, ignore medical evidence, do prejudicial examinations, rate what they want -not what they see, take the vet's last check off the poor widow/widower, and yada-yada-yada. Sometimes, not always, the more busy the service officer is--it might be because they are pretty darn good. *It many times still boils down to the federal agency the veteran and/or service officer has to deal with, does not do it's job and does not do it efficiently. Are attorneys the answer?? Maybe before you make that decision you should take a look at the long list of suspended attorney's on record with your state Bar association.

[john999]

I say get a lawyer because these guys have a vested interest in your winning a claim because that is how they get paid. If you brought a gun into my VARO they would probably beat you to death after spraying you, and tasering you (Don't Tase me, Bro".

[gdsnide]

I say get a lawyer because these guys have a vested interest in your winning a claim because that is how they get paid. If you brought a gun into my VARO they would probably beat you to death after spraying you, and tasering you (Don't Tase me, Bro".

John, I'm of the same mind set. Lawyers are great. That's the way I got my 100 T&P after I tried for about 8 years.

My Lawyer got it done in less than a year

Some Vets don't want to pay 20% of their Retro pay to a Lawyer

But, what's better?

80% of the retro or nothing

Also, one gets their claim approved & it comes in every month

The VA uses Lawyers so the Vets should also

GARY

[MikeR]

I still have not gotten a call back from the SO. I have big brown eyes. Of course talking nicely to everyone is always a good strategy. It works for me.

[vmo]

Don't get me wrong guy's. I am not against using an attorney or service officer. The trick is finding a "good" one, right? Sometimes I think it would be easier to find the leprechaun sitting on that pot of gold at the end of the rainbow.