Veterans With Dependants Are Getting Shafted When They Reive Th Eir Awards

[jbasser]

After many many years of monitoring this site and having my own claim approved, It a appears the VA is playing a game of lets hide the dependent pay.

The proof is in the pudding.

A Veteran fills out a 21 -526 for his initial claim to be submitted. On that form is the dependent and bank account questions. The names and proof is already submitted to the VA.

When the claim is awarded, the VA often says we are paying you as a single veteran with no dependants. Then we have to jump through hoops with more paperwork to submit causing months in delays.

This practice is bullshit.

It is about time someone got it straightened out.

Basser

[Philip Rogers]

John - think of how much they save. The whole system needs revamping but we'll never see it in our lifespan. jmo

pr

[brokensoldier244th]

Not really. With the length in time that claims seem to take, all sorts of dependent changes could take place between the time you submit and the time the claim is granted. Would you rather get the money now, and then have them recoup, or wait a little and get what is actually entitled?

Edited December 23, 2011 by brokensoldier244th

[Berta]

I agree that, during the long claims process, dependency status could change considerably.

I also agree that many vets are getting shafted probably under the Nehmer AO awards regarding dependency issues.

Some of those awards have been staggering sums and the veteran or widow could easily assume the retro is correct because the amount is so large.

When VA did an audit of my DIC some years ago that the Regional Counsel ordered, they had my dependency correct up to the point my daughter graduated and joined the Military.That is it seemed correct.

The very next entry on the audit for the next year of DIC seemed correct too.

Until I started to do the math myself.Long story, they had paid me 28 thousand due to the RC audit ( a prior VA error) but owed me 11 thousand more- because

when they figured out the change in dependency for my daughter-somehow they forgot to pay me for an entire subsequent year of DIC.

We have to keep an eye on this stuff. I wrote to VA and sent them my calculations based on the historic rate charts at VA main site.It only took VA a few weeks to correct the additional error and send the money.

[john999]

Errors are almost always on behalf of the VA and benefit the VA's bottom line. They are not random errors.

[brokensoldier244th]

the VA could care less about the amounts due-they don't write the checks, so they have no vested interest in shorting veterans for things. The adversarial "VA is out to Get Me ™ " meme is kind of tired. For every few hundred or thousand vets that don't have a satisfactory resolution, hundreds of thousands more have been adjudicated just fine. I don't disagree that there are problem areas, but adopting the stance of 'woe is me' like the VA is camped on your lawn waiting to get you is just emotional baggage.

CAS

Errors are almost always on behalf of the VA and benefit the VA's bottom line. They are not random errors.

Edited December 23, 2011 by brokensoldier244th

[tanker2]

i would not dispute the fact that time means nothing to the VA. but on the other hand they will pay you all the way back too.