I am thoroughly disgusted. Having a lot of claims to process is no excuse for not helping a veteran whose original claim was "screwed up" by a Veterans Service Officer.
A Chapter 31 representative, submitted a TDIU claim for me on or about the summer of 2013. Around May of this year, I reopened, myself, a claim for an increase in another benefit, separate from my TDIU. To my surprise, two weeks later, I received a call for a Comp and Penn appointment. I was told that since I already had a "100%" claim in the system, that my appointment would be for both. When I went to the appointment, the doctor only checked me for my newest filing, that is, the one for an increase. When I asked him if he knew anything about my TDIU, he had no idea what I was talking about. So I called the 800 number and a representative informed me that the VA had my claim filed as a TTD, instead of a TDIU. I explained that I had not put in for a TTD, but a TDIU. Within the same week I received a letter from the VA, directing me to send in proof that I had been hospitalized, in order for the TTD to be approved.
I got in touch with the VFW and explained that somehow my TDIU had turned into a TTD. After some research, the State Service Officer (SSO) declared that someone had "screwed up", but assured me that the claim would be corrected. We kept in touch for about two weeks. He then called me and advised that I needed to fill out a new application for TDIU and fax it to him. Trusting him, I did that and waited once again. I heard nothing. I finally took a trip to the Regional Office and found out he was on vacation, but his representative assured me that some "big meeting" had taken place in which my case was one of the several urgent cases that had been discussed as the handling of such had been deemed unacceptable. She said that the SSO was trying to fight for my back pay. I then explained to her that back pay was nice, but I needed to be able to eat, pay my bills and live, right now. She then said that she would make my case a hardship. I went home feeling relieved.
About a week later, I received a decision from the VA not on my TDIU, but on the TTD and such was denied. The letter stated that I had not sent proof that I was hospitalized.
I made phone call after phone call to the VFW trying to find out why it wasn't fixed. No one returned my calls.
To be on the safe side, I just filed a whole new claim for TDIU, myself, electronically, so this time I, myself, could keep track of it.
As a last resort, I went to my Congressman and explained what had happened. Although I explained that I was 70% for Major Depressive Disorder, and that the extreme stress of the situation was aggravating this disability, she responded that as the "screw up" was not the VA's fault, the only option she had was to "beg" the VA to expedite the new claim I had just filed. She explained that the VA would not want to hear anything about anyone "screwing up" my original claim and as far as they were concerned, it was over and done with and I just had to wait on the new one.
A month went by and as of last week, the Congressman's office informed me that they had heard back from the VA on the inquiry they had submitted. The VA's answer was that as my new claim was already a FDC, it was already in an expedited process and as such, it wasn't getting anymore expedited than that. I had been very patient and understanding up until that point, but I guess I had reached my boiling point. Trying not to get too upset, I pointed out again that I suffer from Major Depressive Disorder and not being to able to eat, do anything thing or even pay my bills or provide for my kids was taking its toll on me. I told her that I really needed some resolution. She responded very plainly, pretty much, "I've done all that I can. What else do you want me to do?"
I finally cracked. Feeling hopeless, I logged onto the veteran's suicide chat. The person I was chatting with was responding as if she had an SOP in front of her and had a phony, predesignated answer, for everything I was telling her. She then asked if I wanted someone to call me, to which I responded would be a waste of time, as whoever I spoke to wouldn't be able to help with the claim, which was the trigger of the suicidal episode. She urged me to speak to the person she had on standby, but said "No promises"... The guy called me but gave me a very cold "suck it up and drive on" speech. He didn't refer me to anybody. He didn't even take down my information to make sure he could keep track of my welfare.
Today, my new file on Ebenefits is still in the "Under Review" status. It hasn't budged from there for two months.
I had read several postings online of other veterans complaining of horror stories concerning their claims, but had felt fortunate that I had none to tell. Of course that has changed.
There is no excuse for putting the VA's workload before a veteran in a crisis, nor should I , or anyone else, have to "beg", for the benefits we deserve for serving our country. It is only by the grace of God that I am here to share this with you all.
From the VA's handling of claims to its handling of veterans in dire need, even in my case, which could have meant life or death, it really is a disgrace.
Question
Jonah1
I am thoroughly disgusted. Having a lot of claims to process is no excuse for not helping a veteran whose original claim was "screwed up" by a Veterans Service Officer.
A Chapter 31 representative, submitted a TDIU claim for me on or about the summer of 2013. Around May of this year, I reopened, myself, a claim for an increase in another benefit, separate from my TDIU. To my surprise, two weeks later, I received a call for a Comp and Penn appointment. I was told that since I already had a "100%" claim in the system, that my appointment would be for both. When I went to the appointment, the doctor only checked me for my newest filing, that is, the one for an increase. When I asked him if he knew anything about my TDIU, he had no idea what I was talking about. So I called the 800 number and a representative informed me that the VA had my claim filed as a TTD, instead of a TDIU. I explained that I had not put in for a TTD, but a TDIU. Within the same week I received a letter from the VA, directing me to send in proof that I had been hospitalized, in order for the TTD to be approved.
I got in touch with the VFW and explained that somehow my TDIU had turned into a TTD. After some research, the State Service Officer (SSO) declared that someone had "screwed up", but assured me that the claim would be corrected. We kept in touch for about two weeks. He then called me and advised that I needed to fill out a new application for TDIU and fax it to him. Trusting him, I did that and waited once again. I heard nothing. I finally took a trip to the Regional Office and found out he was on vacation, but his representative assured me that some "big meeting" had taken place in which my case was one of the several urgent cases that had been discussed as the handling of such had been deemed unacceptable. She said that the SSO was trying to fight for my back pay. I then explained to her that back pay was nice, but I needed to be able to eat, pay my bills and live, right now. She then said that she would make my case a hardship. I went home feeling relieved.
About a week later, I received a decision from the VA not on my TDIU, but on the TTD and such was denied. The letter stated that I had not sent proof that I was hospitalized.
I made phone call after phone call to the VFW trying to find out why it wasn't fixed. No one returned my calls.
To be on the safe side, I just filed a whole new claim for TDIU, myself, electronically, so this time I, myself, could keep track of it.
As a last resort, I went to my Congressman and explained what had happened. Although I explained that I was 70% for Major Depressive Disorder, and that the extreme stress of the situation was aggravating this disability, she responded that as the "screw up" was not the VA's fault, the only option she had was to "beg" the VA to expedite the new claim I had just filed. She explained that the VA would not want to hear anything about anyone "screwing up" my original claim and as far as they were concerned, it was over and done with and I just had to wait on the new one.
A month went by and as of last week, the Congressman's office informed me that they had heard back from the VA on the inquiry they had submitted. The VA's answer was that as my new claim was already a FDC, it was already in an expedited process and as such, it wasn't getting anymore expedited than that. I had been very patient and understanding up until that point, but I guess I had reached my boiling point. Trying not to get too upset, I pointed out again that I suffer from Major Depressive Disorder and not being to able to eat, do anything thing or even pay my bills or provide for my kids was taking its toll on me. I told her that I really needed some resolution. She responded very plainly, pretty much, "I've done all that I can. What else do you want me to do?"
I finally cracked. Feeling hopeless, I logged onto the veteran's suicide chat. The person I was chatting with was responding as if she had an SOP in front of her and had a phony, predesignated answer, for everything I was telling her. She then asked if I wanted someone to call me, to which I responded would be a waste of time, as whoever I spoke to wouldn't be able to help with the claim, which was the trigger of the suicidal episode. She urged me to speak to the person she had on standby, but said "No promises"... The guy called me but gave me a very cold "suck it up and drive on" speech. He didn't refer me to anybody. He didn't even take down my information to make sure he could keep track of my welfare.
Today, my new file on Ebenefits is still in the "Under Review" status. It hasn't budged from there for two months.
I had read several postings online of other veterans complaining of horror stories concerning their claims, but had felt fortunate that I had none to tell. Of course that has changed.
There is no excuse for putting the VA's workload before a veteran in a crisis, nor should I , or anyone else, have to "beg", for the benefits we deserve for serving our country. It is only by the grace of God that I am here to share this with you all.
From the VA's handling of claims to its handling of veterans in dire need, even in my case, which could have meant life or death, it really is a disgrace.
Link to comment
Share on other sites
Top Posters For This Question
5
3
2
2
Popular Days
Oct 22
6
Nov 18
4
Oct 23
3
Oct 24
1
Top Posters For This Question
Jonah1 5 posts
NavyWife 3 posts
Berta 2 posts
jbasser 2 posts
Popular Days
Oct 22 2014
6 posts
Nov 18 2014
4 posts
Oct 23 2014
3 posts
Oct 24 2014
1 post
Popular Posts
NavyWife
Yes, I agree wholeheartedly you should email Robert McDonald. He's the only one that can help expedite your claim. In the subject line of the email, you may want to say, SI caused by VA
Jonah1
Thank you NavyWife and Berta. An update on my situation. I emailed Robert McDonald and received an immediate response the same day. He indeed, cares about veterans.
Jonah1
Thanks to Secretary Bob McDonald, this issue is fully resolved. Thank you Mr. Secretary!
14 answers to this question
Recommended Posts
Create an account or sign in to comment
You need to be a member in order to leave a comment
Create an account
Sign up for a new account in our community. It's easy!
Register a new accountSign in
Already have an account? Sign in here.
Sign In Now