Flat Mail Notification Not Acceptable

[deltaj]

If you have copies of your C file you should read Joel Trammell v. Jesse Brown, No. 93-77 http://tinyurl.com/2elnlah at the website of the U.S. Court of Appeal for Veterans Claims http://www.uscourts.cavc.gov/. I recommend reading this case because nationwide BVA was employing a practice of sending copies of BVA decisions to each V.A. Regional Office rather than mailing them individually to each veteran's representative. The thing I liked the most about this decision is that it explains clearly how this veteran's decision was marked to show that notification was sent via flat mail. Once a veteran understands how V.A. secretly marks decisions to show use of flat mail, a veteran has some hope of getting V.A. to admit that a decision isn't final. My husband's file has a VARO letter dated 1967 with a notation cc: CDVA. No address is shown below that CDVA notation. I'm wondering whether this notation means that VARO sent the notification to California Department of Veterans Affairs via flat mail rather than via USPS mail. Could someone shed some light on this practice of flat mail and whether V.A. ever used it for mailing notifications to a veteran's representative before a veteran appealed the decision? Also I need some insight from other veterans who have decisions from the 1967 era as to whether their decisions contained the address of the veteran's representative belong the name of the veteran's represetative in the carbon copy notation on each notification letter.

Edited June 27, 2010 by Tbird
Added link to Joel Trammell v. Jesse Brown, No. 93-774

[Berta]

Delta- I have not heard of a vet or widow getting a BVA decision that went to anyone first but them (or maybe at the same time to their POA)

Maybe I don't understand the point here.

I have always received stuff from the BVA or the VARO in regular first class postage, never certified.

During the summer about 3 years ago prior to my AO claim going to the BVA I received two envelopes from the BVA with my husband's name on them which was alarming to me because he was dead.I was the claimant.

I opened them- one was an award to a vet and one was a denial.

Luckily they both had POAs and I called their POA offices.(Both were Buffalo VARO cases and I deal with this same VARO too.

The AL on one decision was shocked that they got an award for this vet and I sent them the BVA decision.

I forget who the other vet org was but I emailed them that their claimant had been denied by the BVA and I offered some suggestions as to further appeal.

They gave me their address for that decision.

I felt bad that I had opened and read these decisions- but then again I didnt know who these vets were and neither did the 2 vet orgs as there was no personal info except the veterans C file number in them.

The BVA had no idea why I got them either.

When the BVA sent me an award letter last year (I had recently submitted rebuttal to the recent C & P results directly to the BVA and awaited my 4th IMO from a Texas Cardio doc )

I wondered whose decision I got this time and was totally unprepared to get the award letter.

My first thought was So SOON? it had only been in the system for 7 years!

I still wonder if the 2 decisions I got in error actually made their way to the right claimant.

Then again the VARO as well would have had to prepare an award in one case and a SOC in the other case (if the VAROs got the BVA decisions too) ???

The BVA- just to add-

after VARO Buffalo for a 6 year period refused to acknowledge or read any of my medical evidence- I rebutted and also sent it all again to the BVA as soon as they got my case on the docket.

Having been a proven victim of shreddergate and/or MF gate (MF Mysterious force who removed my most important stuff from my c file-on numerous proven occasions-verified per 3 VA doctors themselves)

I took no chances and made sure that the BVA had everything.

It was time consuming and costly to send almost all of it again via priority mail with tracking slips to the BVA but I am glad I did.

There was no doubt in my mind that the C file at the VARO was already reduced in size since opening this claim in 2003 when it should have been much bigger.

[SLEDGE]

What's flat mail?

Is that different from the Post Office?

sledge

[vaf]

What's flat mail?

Is that different from the Post Office?

sledge

On the postage meter at my office, "flat rate" means first class mail for an envelope that is oversized. I mail a lot of 9" x 12" catalog envelopes and larger where I work, so I have to use "flat rate," but it's still first-class mail. It's not to be confused with certified mail.