Is Rumor True About Appeals ?

[jcolwell]

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

[infantry10]

Yes thats exactly what happened. I had thought of contacting a congressman but I had read that doing so may hurt you instead of help you so I didnt bother with it. I think I will contact him and bring the letter the VA sent me along with all the past due and disconnect bills I have. Lol!! It makes it really tough to juggle bills and provide meals for 3 kids when you lose 2 grand a month your used to relying on. Thanks for the advice I think I may use it.

[john999]

I think vets will still need to know a lot about claims because the lawyers will probably stick to cases with lots of potential retro and to TDIU/100% claims because that is where the money is located. CUE claims for instance have to be recognized by the vet even if you have a lawyer do the fighting for you. You as the vet can get yourself sideways with the VA so that you need a lawyer to get your claim back on track. I read here all the time about vets whose claim has been stalled at BVA or AMC for five years. This is the type of situation where a lawyer is needed or for legal issues with lots of retro in the balance.

[free_spirit_etc]

"Yes thats exactly what happened. I had thought of contacting a congressman but I had read that doing so may hurt you instead of help you so I didnt bother with it."

You need to be clear that you aren't asking for assistance in regard to a decision made on your case. They can't help with that. But you are asking for assistance in getting them to correct THEIR error in a timely way. From what I understand, it is basically they entered the decision wrong because they said they didn't have a paper they did have.

To me, this shouldn't be a wait in the back of the line kind of thing. This should be a "they have known for months that they committed an error and took away benefits that you have already been awarded IN ERROR. They know it was a mistake. They know it was THEIR mistake. You have waited for months for them to fix THEIR mistake.... etc.

It might even be good to write a letter for him to send - again - you write to the Congressman, and they forward the letter you wrote to them. But make sure everything is spelled out and so they can't wiggle out of it.

I played around with them forever on my burial benefits, They lost the claim multiple times. They paid me $300 for my husband's funeral but denied the $300 for his burial because they said there was no evidence I buried him. ??? The last time I submitted evidence AGAIN, I contacted my Congressman. They usually have assistant's that work directly with veteran's. I can't say I cared for the guy very much. (It was the same old stuff that lots of vets and widows go through being treated like THEY must not understand what is going on....) BUT - I wrote to him and spelled out how long it had taken to get that claim resolved (I think it was about five years) and pointed out I wanted their assistance because I didn't want the VA to lose my evidence again, etc. and that claim was granted FAST!!!!

And I had them take money from my bank account -- a long story and a lot of run around -- but I was entitled to the month of death payment - and they recouped the money but didn't send me a check to cover it. When I got the C-file, I found a message that they were supposed to STOP the reclaimation process - because I was entitled to the money.

I played around with the VA forever -- always being assured it was forwarded to whomever was supposed to take care of it.

I finally wrote my Congressman and attached the message from the C-file. I informed the Congressman that I was entitled to the month of death payment, the VA had placed a statement in my file confirming I was entitled to it. The VA reclaimed the money from my bank AFTER they had already determined I was entitled to it. And despite my continuous efforts to be repaid the money the VA took from my bank in error, I was not having any success in getting the issue resolved. Again - they fixed it FAST! I think it only took a week or two to get the check.

So as long as it is something that you can show is an error on the part of the VA, that really shouldn't be any part of the claim process, and you have waited a reasonable time, the Congressional Inquiry can sometimes kick it up to someone who can look at the file, realize it is their error, and FIX it.

Your case shouldn't have to go through the appeal process. They have admitted they had the document you were supposed to send, and it was THEIR error in stopping your payments. Uhm... Fix it!

[free_spirit_etc]

Good post about lawyers John999. I don't think lawyers take all claims -- and most vets don't even want to be in the position where their claims would result in a big retro (unless they can go back on a CUE claim or something). And a lot of times you have to go through a screener who will see if it is a claim the lawyer wants to take. I was not happy when I looked for a lawyer. The screener basically told me that if my husband's disease was not diagnosed in service or he didn't have boots on the ground in Vietnam, I wasn't entitled to benefits. That was wrong in so many ways. For one, it isn't true. Diagnosed in service or boots on the ground makes it MUCH easier -- BUT if my husband's cancer was diagnosed in service or he had boots on the ground in Vietnam, I probably wouldn't even NEED a lawyer. For another thing, I DO have a claim. It is not an easy claim, but it is a "well-grounded" claim. Widows can certainly be told that the lawyer is not interested in their case, but they should NOT be told they do not HAVE a case. It makes me nervous when people talk to you on the phone for a few minutes, obtain a small bit of info about your claim, and immediately tell you that you are not entitled.

Though in service diagnosis and presumptions are wonderful things -- they are not the only way to get SC. I think a lot of lawyers and VSOs stop there - and don't get into the fact that service connection can, should be, and is granted in many other situations.

Edited October 27, 2013 by free_spirit_etc

[free_spirit_etc]

Infantry10 -- I apologize if I have misunderstood your situation. I am going from bits and pieces of things I remember from your posts. But yes -- if they stopped your benefits because THEY failed to enter a document in your record - and have even admitted that is what happened -- I think they just need to fix it. You should not have to wait in line.

A veteran shouldn't have to file appeals and CUES and wait and wait, when the VA already knows they made the mistake.

Edited October 27, 2013 by free_spirit_etc

[infantry10]

You are correct about what happened in my situation. But ill explain it a little.

The first week of Jan. 2012 I found a letter laying on my front porch that was from VA. It said if I didn't have a certain form filled out and turned into VA by Feb 1st I would lose my IU. I called then the next morning (cause it was 8pm when I found it) and was told they'd mail me the form. Long story short, I called lots of times but never received the form so on Jan 22 I had them fax it to me. They gave me a fax number to send it back. I filled it out and faxed it back within 10 mins tops. I called and was told they received my fax and the form showed in the computer so I was in the good. March 1st my check was cut and I was told the computer didnt recognize it and it could take up to 3 months to fix. Im glad you got your husbands burial taken care of. VA should have never made you go through the difficulty of something your husband earned and was owed. Shame on them!!!