I'm New And Extremely Frustrated!

[flo]

Well... I have some frustrations that top off at about ready to explode! MST is not a easy thing in any way to live with. I didn't do this to myself! My claim has been sitting in the 'dead pile' for 14 or 15 of the 18 months it has been at the R/O. Frustrated.. you betcha! Each time I call that useless 1-800-827-1000 number I get the same retard answer... it's still just sitting there. Well now it's still just sitting there on somebody's desk. That sounds strangely familiar doesn't it?! Now.. lately since I have been calling once or twice a week, they have come up with a new discovery. A mandate of some sort has come down from the .. as they say "higher up if you know what I mean" that they Must complete all 2010, 2011 cases soon. I've heard soon before too and also "I don't know when they will get to your claim" most often. So, then they say as if it is REAL important information and I should be relieved especially since I have a claim that is taken 2x's the time it's supposed to in Houston... they say that the raters have to stop working on all 2012 and 2013 claims until ALL of the 2010 and 2011 claims are absolutely completed. Oh and get this, they have a task force now and they have status checkers which I just found out a month ago that they even have. I'd been calling regularly for my status and no one had ever even told me.

I changed my Power of Attorney to Veterans Service Reps because they are supposed to be really good in getting your claims rated in a proper time frame. They don't know crap either. The status checkers tell me more information than they do and their both looking at the same information!

I don't trust the VA anymore! Not in this department. I've been treated quite decently elsewhere but this... NO! In Houston at first they were saying it would take 12-14 months. I kept calling anyway and they kept telling me that it's sitting on someone desk. I filed in Dec. 2011... it is now May 2013. Now when I call.. they tell me, Oh claims in Houston are only taking 1 year to complete.. and I see that you are WELL over that. It looks like they have all the evidence they need, it's just waiting for review... aka sitting on someone's desk - still! ebenefits still says Gathering Evidence. According to the Veterans Service Rep., ebenefits sucks too! So how much faith does that give you in the so-called VA claim filing system?

Did I mention that I have done my comp & penn which took only a few weeks for them to receive. That was a long long time ago.

Did I fail to mention that the VA kept sending me a form asking me to further explain in detail what happened to me in MST. I was and still am a complete basket case, I'm on medication... I know I have been spiraling all day but it feels good to let off some steam and not have to be civil for things that are not civil to me! What does that do to a person when you ask them to go into detail about the same horrible thing 4 or 5 times! I had to go up there and practically cause a scene to get the guy to understand! I told him to Not send me anymore of them damn forms, I have no more information for them and I keep telling them that! I ended up sick, and in a really really bad way mentally because of the insensitivity of the raters toward my claim.

Now they are telling me they should be done with my claim by June 18. She promised me that my file is on someone's desk (I think I told y'all that already) and so that must mean someone is working on it though she can't see who it is. Then she tells me to not call back until 1 July, if it still is not completed then I can speak to a supervisor! I have not heard of anyone speaking to a raters supervisor on any VA claims forum that I've visited so I am sure these people are blowing smoke at me again!

I given up any trust I have had in the VA's ability to do their part in taking care of a soldier when they come home. Medical is fine for me, thank God but claims.... I hope that they will one day need to know some sort of information as we do and end up having to deal with someone like themselves. That would make this just about 'square'.

Oh yeah, my friend got his SSI & Social Security almost 5x's faster than it's taken me to even get to the point I'm at now with my claim. The Federal Gov't is taking care of it's citizens but not its soldiers!

Oh, and the R/O put down all the stuff I'm claiming on one claim. DO Not do this if you can help it. Let them work each claim individually because then you have a little bit better chance of getting one of them to at least be seen by someone. When I first saw the Veterans Service Rep she asked me if I am getting compensated for anything, I told her no and she seemed shocked. I don't know, maybe I'm about the only one who had a moron fill out the claim form. She started to do it separately and then changed her mind and did it all on one claim. If I knew then what I know now...

[Slowlane]

Social Security is handling claims very much faster than VA!

Hell everybody is doing everything faster than VA.

Veterans should get together and protest this stupidity.

[john999]

My SSD clailm was done and approved in three months. I have been working on my VA claim on and off for 40 years.

John

[mrs rockman (widow of vet)]

Social Security is handling claims very much faster than VA!

Hell everybody is doing everything faster than VA.

Veterans should get together and protest this stupidity.

Hey, even turtles are much faster than the VA is....this is not acceptable, but this is the "system" as broken down as it is!!!

My SSD clailm was done and approved in three months. I have been working on my VA claim on and off for 40 years.

John

David's SSD claim was approved in 33 days!! We used his VA records and also his private sector records, so approval can be done in a timely fashion...if they want...and we all know the answer to this!! Timely fashion is not in VA's vocabulary...it is in their own sweet time and not to the benefit of the Veteran!! VA's Moto is to wait wait wait..then wait some more and hopefully the veteran will die off and no family member will pursue the claims. Now, the VA has more money for bonuses and more!! So much needs to be done with this!

[tanker2]

Flo I hear you..we hear you....keep this in mind as i have "by perserverance the snail reached the arc"...my initial claim started in 1972 back in the cattle days.

these past 10 years much progress has been made but still you must have patience. take lots of deep breaths keep your head clear and never give up!

good luck and thank you for your service to our country.

[#1Cavtrooper]

Flo, first off check your PM. I agree with John999's post from yesterday. My claim took 15 1/2 months but was a hardship claim and was expedited. I had DAV as POA but did most of the work myself because if I had listened to them 1/2 of my contentions would not have been filed to include PTSD which account for (70%) the bulk of my claim. I ended up with 100% TDIU plus another 60%. I am pleased with the 100% P/T w/ SMC-S Housebound. Btw, my claim is also out of Houston. My SSD took only 4 months. I can relate to what your going through ... People here at Hadit are here for you ... a shoulder to lean on ... and most of all really good advice on your claim. I attend a women's Ptsd/MST support group at my local VA outpatient clinic that has helped me with my anxiety and provides some commadrie. We are here for you at Hadit. Also, Welcome to Hadit!

Edited May 26, 2013 by #1Cavtrooper

[Pete53]

First of all welcome to Hadit. Although all of us have good reason not to trust the VA I think you are close to an answer. If it is on someones desk at least its not sitting in a file cabinet or on top of one. I think you will get your answer soon but I would never ever believe someone who says June 18th.

It took me 4 months to get SS for same issue as VA and 5 and 1/2 years to get 100% with Waco TX VARO.

Hang in there and good luck.

PS Have you applied for Social Security? If not do so right away