Is Rumor True About Appeals ?

[jcolwell]

Other sites stating all Appeals by DRO and RO will stop on Tuesday ? Rumor or fact ? JC

[free_spirit_etc]

Navy04,

I used to be pretty active on hadit - and then I dropped out for a long time. I tried to give back then. And I try to give back now. But I notice how much has changed since then. Ebenefits, fully developed claims, and all those things are new to me.

But there has also been a shift in the veteran helping veteran part. Veterans still help veterans, but the landscape is changing. Back when I was real active before was the pre-attorney era - and there were lots of vets digging in down to the nitty-gritty working their claims themselves. Now, more vets are using attorneys. And many vets are advising vets to get attorneys. There is still some nitty-gritty working of claims, but not near as much - and not with near the number of people involved in it.

When I was fighting my Social Security claim, I was pretty much on my own. I had difficulty getting an attorney because most attorneys either didn't handle survivor claims, or they said there was nothing they could do that I wasn't already doing. But it was hard because few people work their own Social Security claims anymore - and so there was nowhere to go for advice, support, assistance, etc. when fighting my SSA claim -- like I had grown used to at hadit. It was just me, my computer, and the SSA law and regulations. Maybe that is happenening with veterans' claims too. I don't know.

[Navy04]

Free,

I am with you. I was well knowledgeable about PEBs and MEBs when I was active. Now, that I am retired everything is so new, and scary. I was retired at 30 years of age, and that in itself was a reality check. I have a very supportive wife who takes me to my Dr appts. She was even there when I spent 3 months in a Mental Hospital last year. Everybody has been telling for a year, you are guaranteed a 100%, so many documented medical conditions. Easier said than done, people don't realize how much we have to do, just to get the few bucks that we clearly deserve. I don't leave my house much, but I like to get on here every now and then and help when I can. If I don't know the answer, I either assist, or wish everyone the best. We all have trials and tribulations in life, sometimes I just feel that that Mountain keeps getting bigger.

[free_spirit_etc]

Navy04,

I think as attorneys get more involved vets will know less and less about their claims because the attorneys will handle lots of that stuff. However, VA is very different than SSA - in that SSA only deals with "are you totally disabled?" and VA has layer upon layer of SC issues, secondary issues, presumptions, etc. etc. etc. So vets will still need to know quite a bit just to know if they need an attorney.

I feel bad sometimes here helping people because though I try to help as much as I can, I am certainly not an expert. And I often just try to help until someone comes along who knows more. Sometimes they come along and sometimes they don't. The days of 12 or 15 people all helping build a claim seem to be over. And though lots of people still help -- most have a limited amount of time to dedicate to doing so.

But I think you make an important distinction -- Not so much between those who have already gotten their 100% and those who haven't -- but that some people are really struggling, they are up against the wall, they are seeing life as they knew it slip away, they aren't able to do much about their financial situation BECAUSE of their disabilities from service --- and it is VERY VERY tough.

So there is a difference between someone who is doing okay financially and their veteran benefits will help - but they can wait it out -- and someone who desperate to get the rating they very well deserve to keep them out of the street. And we need to be sensitive to that and help as much as we can - and understand that to those vets being told to just be patient is not well received. It is easier to be patient when you aren't totally dependent on the outcome. But when you, and your family, depend on the outcome for your survival -- you don't want to be patient - you want to do every single thing you can to make it work out. And that is something to be admired.

And waiting it out could be easier IF you could trust the system to be fair. But.....

Edited October 27, 2013 by free_spirit_etc

[infantry10]

Free...I agree with that so much! My family has based our financial situation on the income we've been receiving for the last 6 years so when I lost 2/3 of my pay it has put us in a huge financial mess. I'm being told that all I can do is wait it out. But waiting it out is hard to do when you cant get employment because you're disabled. I do feel lucky that I haven't lost my house and vehicle yet but I'm afraid if things aren't fixed soon I may end up losing the things I do have.

[free_spirit_etc]

Infantry10,

In your case, I was thinking you were told that they said the reason your income was reduced was a "computer error." (i.e. that they had the form but didn't log it in or something.)

I still wonder in that case if you couldn't write a letter to a Congresman and ask for assistance. Make it clear that you are not so much asking him to intervene in a decision made in your claim, but that you have been told the decision was an error on the VA's part because they didn't enter the information correctly - and that you wonder why it is taking them so long to fix their error, as you cannot work and are dependent on that income.

If you write to a Congressman, you are really writing to the VA. When a Congressman "inquires" on your behalf, they generally just forward your letter and ask the VA to address it. A Congressional inquiry might get someone at the VA to take a look at it and just fix it. Otherwise, they will have to write the Congressman back and explain why it is taking them so long to fix their error.

[free_spirit_etc]

I wrote a Congressman twice so far on my claims. Each time the VA responded very quickly and was able to quickly straighten out a mess I had not been able to resolve with them for a couple of years. Once they even admitted they were in error.

Edited October 27, 2013 by free_spirit_etc