Yay, They Are Still Alive!

[Colt]

I originally started my claim in August 2010. I know that it can take a while so I was trying to be patient. By Sept 2011 it had been over 8 months since I heard anything from them (not even a letter), so I called the 800 number and put in an inquiry just to make sure I was still there. I hadn't heard anything in a month (even though they said 5 days) and figured they would eventually get to me and I chalked it up to well that's the VA. I received a response today that said:

"Thank you for your inquiry to the Department of Veteran Affairs. The Rating Decision has been completed as of 10/12/2011. A Notification letter will be mailed in the near future to inform you of the rating decision and when to expect your first payment.

The next step after a decision has been made is the Authorization phase. Currently most authorizations are processed within four to six months, but can take longer in complex claims. We apologize for the delay. We can assure you that we are diligently working on your claim and will reply to you in the near future upon completion."

Four to six months? Sheesh. BUT, I'm glad I finally heard something from them! I'm just going to cont. trying to get my records in for the past year, and cont with my appts so that if and when I need to NOD, CUE, etc., I'll have what I need to do that.

[COOL BREEZE]

Thats outstanding! I called for my monthly status today and the rep was shocked mine was still in the rating stage for over 1 year. She stated that they have about half of the agent orange claims finished. Not sure why they are taking so long especially since they are supposed to have been completed.

So they are actually still processing claims. Good. Perhaps 2-3 months for me as yours was filed in August and mine was in October.

Keep your chin up, someday our turn will finally arrive.

[justrluk]

Great to hear! It's always a relief to know you haven't been forgotten. Hope your responses come soon!

[COOL BREEZE]

Oh, another IRIS is in the works. Whatever they may feel to make them feel like they are doing their job. I never ask for an IRIS anymore.

A footnote-I informed the 800# about the missing letter generator for the %-they said they weren't aware its missing.

Claims are just trickling through the system so ever slowly, kind of like a dripping faucet. Water is coming out but not as fast as it should be!

[Colt]

@ Navy -- the guy who looked in the system said there currently is no rating since it needed something else so it never hit that far. My status on ebenefits (although fickle) went to notification last week but of course when I checked today it was back in decision phase. Of course I kind of expected this since my friends source said it went back to the rater. *Sighs*

@ Justrluk -- I know, lol! I feel bad because when it went to notification it almost became an obsession of mine, I couldn't stop thinking about it, it was terrible! I've finally gotten over it and am back on the track of waiting patiently. :)

@ Cool -- really? I'm surprised that they stated they didn't know about the letter generator. Did it seem like they were interested in fixing it? Hmm, I wonder though if they really have any say in the matter either way.

[Berta]

Cool Breeze-I anticipate an influx of Nehmer awards soon.

I also anticipate an influx of errors on those claims.

NVLSP will help with any wrong EEDs.That is all the court order gives them jurisdiction over.

They have already seen multiple errors in te EEDS on Nehmer claims.

The rest of the errors (such as rating percents etc) will be up to vets filing NODs and getting them fixed.

I want to contact NVLSP to see if they support my idea of vets with improper Nehmer ratings to ask the VA to CUE the decision, as well as file the NOD.

I have been so overwhelmed lately I still haven't got that done.

If VA Nehmer calls me as they have called many AO claimants when their award was done, I hope to challenge them by phone if they give me the wrong retro- asking them to CUE themselves and then following that up formally.

Some retros have been so large that it is difficult for vets to know if the award amount is correct.

I had to print off rate charts from the late 1980s and the early 1990s to make sure my retro is correct.

I had to access lots of SMC stuff to make sure the SMC retro will be correct.

I bet many retros are wrong also due to the VA 'forgetting' to add comp for the dependents the vet had during the time frame of the retro.

Edited October 20, 2011 by Berta

[justrluk]

I just hope those claimants have lived to see the results of their sacrifices.