Claim Is Done?

[COOL BREEZE]

The strangest thing happened today. I get a call from the 800# which my wife answered and said I need to call them. So I called and the rep said that phoenix called me however they didn't leave a message in the system what they were calling about.. She thought it was about an IRIS submitted the other day. Now we all know that doesn't happen for at least a week to a month.

1 hour later another call from the 800# and the rep said I got some good news for you. Your claim has been completed. I said -great, outstanding. He said some claims have been approved, others denied. However he can't open it up right now as it hasn't been scanned into the system. Also said the new site is a pilot, not sure if they are going to keep it.

So, according to this, e-benifits is totally worthless. Now I am in limbo with a possible heart attack wondering what the hell is going on.

Pehaps the cardio was approved as it was the cue from the VA which was raise my claim from 50-60, or 70%.

Why call if you can't give me the whole story. And the system letter generator is broken, it won't show none of this.

Also, I just received an old iris message from October the 4th in my e-mail today which states-

Dear Mr.

This is in response to your recent inquiry to the Department of Veterans Affairs (VA) dated October 4, 2011.

We apologize for the delay in responding to your inquiry. We are currently experiencing a large volume of inquiries and are working as quickly as possible to respond to each in a timely manner.

Our system indicates that you may print a Veterans percentage letter on eBenefits. We apologize if there was an error when attempting to print this type of letter. If you have problems with eBenefits in the future, please contact our customer service line at 1-800-983-0937. Hours of operation: Monday-Friday, 8am to 8pm EST.

Thank you for contacting us. If you have questions or need additional help with the information in our reply, please respond to this message or see our other contact information below.

Great-where is this new letter % letter at as My new glasses certainly can't find it?

2 hours later the same VSO called back from Phoenix. He says they are now attempting to call the Veterans when there claim is approved. They are just waiting to sign off on my claim. I did get him to say they approved my cardio claim from 30-60 %. He said I will be pleasantly happy with my claim even if only a few claims are approved. If that is so, I would go from 50% to 70$ with retro from the date he gave me from Jan 2010. Now I will just wait for the authorization.

Another VSO will check to see that that are no errors, then approve it.

Edited October 20, 2011 by COOL BREEZE

[COOL BREEZE]

Update-My claim is now in between decision and final stage. Wonder how they made a decision and its not in either category. Perhaps there is a table between the 2 sections where they throw your file until it goes to another stage. If I don't get a letter in two weeks they will file an IRIS as it shouldn't take this long once a decision as been made,

Is a 2nd signature required on all claims? Once someone makes a decision, why isn't 1 signature good enough. When I sign something, its a done deal.

And yes-its up to you to keep up on your claim. By not doing so, it lets the VA know you don't care how long it takes, or if they misplaced, or didn't approve the claim at the stage for the average. Each stage has average time to complete. By the time it gets to notification its very short.

[COOL BREEZE]

This is an update and also to inform members what can and will happen once your claim hits notification stage. There has been lots of members upset about the time it takes in the decision stage. Well, I want to let every know it is the same process once it hits notification. I just receive an IRIS response-they are very quick to respond now-

Mr. Cool Breeze, we thank you for your service to our country.

We received your reopened claim on October 8, 2010, for bilateral tinnitus, bilateral foot condition, bilateral hearing loss, and heart condition. Your claim is in its final stages. A decision was made on October 20, 2011. We will process this decision in our system, review it for accuracy, and notify you by U.S. mail.

The length of time it takes to complete the Notification Phase depends on several factors, such as the type of claim filed, the number of disabilities you claimed, and VA’s pending workload. A claim may take longer in this phase based on the specifics of your claim.

Your continued patience is appreciated.

Thank you for contacting us. If you have questions or need additional help with the information in our reply, please respond to this message or see our other contact information below.

Sincerely yours,

Donovan W. Thompson

National IRIS Response Center Manager

tlj

How to Contact VA:

On line:

www.va.gov

www.ebenefits.va.gov

By phone:

(800) 827-1000

(800) 829-4833 (TDD hearing impaired)

By fax:

(602) 627-3035

By letter:

U.S. Department of Veterans Affairs

Phoenix VA Regional Office

3333 N. Central Ave.

Phoenix, AZ 85012

[Colt]

Wow, CB, still waiting huh?

[71M10]

The notification that bumped me to 80% from 50% took 94 days in Notification. Depending on the size of the retro, some claims take two signatures and some claims I understand are (randomly) pulled out for quality review (approvals, I dont believe they check denials for accuracy).

CB its getting close, try to relax and breath a bit. Actually a decision in a year isn't bad (but the fact we think that is good shows how screwed up the system is).

Best regards,