New So Or No

[Josh]

If a person does not have an SO that works with them on a claim, is it advisable to chnge SO´s and how would it be done. I called mySO for the first time yesterday and he would not answer specific YES/NO questions regarding the denial.

What to do in a case like this... He was shocked that I even called it seemed. He indicated there were documents used as Evidence by the VA that they could not put their hands on. Things like the last SOC or a 4138 I supposedlly finds saying I would not follow up this claim. I want to say what, who, where, when and why would I do that?

Advise please.

Joseph

Edited February 24, 2006 by Josh

[Guest Berta]

"Another questio, although I have been told my claim was denied, they sent a I-9 only saying send us anything more that you have while at the same time NOT PROVIDING a denial letter nor the SOC for the previous NOD. "

Something seems very wrong there-

You could send a query to them via the VA web site -I agree with Angela-

You could ask them point blank why you received the I-9 yet got no SOC nor any reasons for the denial-

This is very odd- at some point they had to give you Reasons and Basis for the initial denial of your claim-and it seems you had good evidence to prove your point-that their reasons and bases were not proper-

I agree with Angela- the VA web site is a few clicks away and they should be able to give you much more info-

Good for you Angela- they tried to pull that on me too- changing one of my CUEs into a re-opened Claim-

I did not go for that and told them their idea did not make sense.

One thing else about the Query site- you get the VARO's email addy in the reply-

I was able to send both my SO and the VARO a RE: "What the hell is this" direct email response when I got an erroneous DRO review in September because I had their email addy from past querys via the VA web site.I got immediate results-however they still did it wrong-but they are getting closer to doing it right-

I am in a Sec 1151 situation like you are-they often like to play around with 1151 claimants-or at least stave off any decision showing they were at fault medically.

If you have good evidence and especially if you are in a Sec 1151 situation-

you have the right to get from them adequate information-

and they have to address your evidence.

The I-9------there is a 60 day time limit- which includes weekends-

It seems they have prevented you from fulfilling the 60 days if they have not told you there was an actual denial and why-

That form is critical and it calls more attention to your claim-a final chance to formally lay out the argument and state the evidence again that supports the claim-

They must receive it within those 60 days and you can continue to send evidence.

I had an I-9 docketed in 1996 but won the claim in 1997-and withdrew the appeal-

this is what happens in many cases- the I-9 is docketed but the claim still gets resolved at the VARO level.

Good thing- the 2005 BVA Remand rate for all VAROS- mine is 41 %, is published at Knight Ridder.

My VARO's error rate is 16%---per VA stats---

If you consider the VARO error rates and their remands-it sure shows that they are royally screwing up many claims-

As claimants we have to call them on this-make sure they know that we know of the errors they are making---and force them to actual 'work' on our claims.

[Josh]

Thanks for your input all.. We are trending on seemingly uncharted territory.. 1151 claim from a foriegn country.. Angela your suggestion is appreciated ..truely it is...As quoted "Ï went to the https://iris.va.gov web site and clicked on "Ask a question" ... What a concept ... click for solution.. I will be back with more information as it becomes available. Thanks all

Joseph

Ra ra ra. Go team go.. Lean to the left lean to the right. stand up sit down, fight, fight, fight

The attachment that was here had nothing of importance...........

Edited February 26, 2006 by Josh

[Angela]

Berta,

How long ago did you use the VA's Q&A query site? I didn't get a e-mail address for the VARO. They sent an e-mail saying ... click on the link below to find the reply... ... Maybe they decided giving vets actual access to the VARO was forcing the VAROs to actually do their jobs? :))

Josh,

Make sure you print out and keep a copy of their response. It disappears after either 30 or 60 days (can't remember which), and you may need it in the future!

[Guest Berta]

Angela- I just checked a reply I got from them. You are right! I apologise to you and all here----

When they first started this system -=quite some time ago -there were direct email responses from VAROs -I am sure-unless I am mixed up with email from my education contact at the VARO-

But what I did - I used my educational VA email addy-to complain about my SSOC-

they got it anyhow but as you can see they chastised me-this is one of the most recent replies I got from them-Sept-2005-

"Please be advised that due to privacy concerns, we are asking that you direct all of your inquiries to our secure website inquiry system at https://iris.va.gov You will need to set up your own account and password to ask questions and view our replies. Thank you for your cooperation.

-----Original Message-----

From: BSim756679@aol.com [mailto:BSim756679@aol.com]

Sent: Monday, September 19, 2005 6:56 AM

To: BUFFRPO@vba.va.gov

Subject: additional complaint added to VACO Query XC -- --- ---

Re:What the hell is this. I just got an SSOC that is ludicrous from-------

(I deleted all of this-it was scathing!)

Berta M. Simmons"

-----------------------------------------------------------------------------------

Angela - I am sorry- what I did was I used my educational addy for two complaints and it got right to them- same building-and they did respond to the complaints immediately.

However -some (not all) of the VA RO email addys are published here:

http://www.vba.va.gov/ro/ro_inter.htm

I even think they also have put a direct email addy on a letter they sent me recently.

Actually- if the link has an education addy and not a RO addy- you could do what I did and use their education addy-if they have one-

I sure got quick results anyhow-

The query system- I think they log the queries they get as Service Complaints and have to account for them at VBA so that might be better than a direct email anyhow.

[Guest Berta]

Gee- after I replied here, I just went through a search of over 5000 emails I still have and they DID send me their reply from their email addy Angela.

It only says buffalo.query@vba.va.gov but that is their email addy-

didn't you get an addy like that in your reply?

[vaf]

We filed an inquiry via the VA's website, but we received a response from a VARO in another state, that was meant for a different person on a totally different issue. We let them know we received it in error.

Made me wonder if someone else got our response by accident.