I Tried To Reschedule My C&p- I Need Help And Advice, Please!

[Akaymik]

Hi,

I've been waiting about two years for my C&P exams. I just recently got them, which is excellent. I was told of only two appointments via a phone call, with 2 weeks notice. Ebenefits shows that I have actually 6 appointments.

Anyway....I tried to reschedule my appointment for April 22nd (so my appt hasn't happened yet). The guy at the C&P office told me he couldn't find a slot, I was then told that they would have to send a request to the RO and they would reschedule this appointment. I figured this wasn't a big deal, as this guy was not helpful and quite rude. He didn't bother to tell me that my claim could be denied. I had no idea either until searching this forum.

Ebenefits still shows my appointments on the 22nd, however it says "canceled by patient". I have out of town plans for a wedding that day, but I will go to these appointments if it means my claim will be denied. My question is this...is there any way to get that appointment back? Does it still exist and is it still reserved for me? Can they still call it "failure to report" if I show up on April 22nd for my two appointments? Any advice is greatly appreciated!

Thanks,

Amanda

[garlicBreath]

I missed my very first appointment and they killed my claim. I didn't even know I had an appointment as I was basically transient at the time.

[brokensoldier244th]

If someone is a no-show it could, but if you are on top of it, you can get them rescheduled, or have your own doctor do the exam to VA standards by using the same DBQ form. You can download them and print them off.

[NavyWife]

"My question is this...is there any way to get that appointment back?

Does it still exist and is it still reserved for me?"

If you asked the C&P scheduling office to cancel the appointment and it shows in ebenefits as "cancelled", then you no longer have the appointment.

I recommend you call the C&P scheduling office back and ask if they can give you that appointment back. Unless you are the bride at the wedding, I wouldn't miss a C&P exam that took 2 years to get. :)

[71M10]

I would not verbally cancel any C&P appointment. I would do it in writting, Certified US mail, Return receipt requested.

That said, what annoys the daylights out of me is I generally receive a letter in advance from the RO telling me the C&P department will call me to schedule an appointment. However, I am never called, they just schedule it. I know they never tried to call me because I have not received messages or unaccounted for hang ups. You would think that sooner or later all the BLATANT lies that the VA foolishly puts in writting would come back to haunt them, but they don't. Yet still the organization as a whole gets the benefit of the doctrine of "administrative regularity" (essentially that if they say it happened or if the procedure indicates it should have happened it did).

[brokensoldier244th]

What number are they calling? I have 2 phones, and the VA scheduling system is automated-at least here. When I get a call from it, it leaves a message at both numbers.

[john999]

The VA should send you a letter with the date and time for a C&P exam. This calling on the phone three days before an exam is probably not legal. What if you are on vacation? You miss the exam? When I contact my VARO I use certified mail. The contact us by a phone call or regular mail and if the call or mail does not arrive your claim gets denied. There is such a double standard of us and the VA. If VA says they sent you a letter then the get benefit of any doubt. If you send them evidence and they lose it then you must prove you sent it. We are shit on the VA's shoe.

I remember about 2 years ago the VA sent my opiate medications to the wrong address. They swore that I, in person, came into the pharmacy and put in a change of address. I asked them to produce the document I filled out to change my address. They could not, of course, but I was responsible for getting my drugs 10 days late after I went to the VA and it straight. It was all on me and nobody at the VA got in trouble for sending narcotics to the wrong address and losing them. I am the one they wanted to kick out of the opiate program. The VA is a semi-criminal organization.

John