Open To All Advice

[usafhvac]

Hello all I have had a very difficult time as many of you have had with my claim...I filed back in May of this year and I have taken all of my c and p exams, all of which I hvae copies and we're favorable. Per an email I received from the VA, they haven't received my exams yet.I called 1800 to see if could fax them in to only be told I shouldn't have a copy of them yet.My exams were done Aug 19/20 2014. I contacted my congressmans office and they were told that the exam had been received and reviewed.I got an email from VA today stating that my claim is under review pending review of exams. I know my claim hasn't been in long but it has been 4 months since my C and P, did I waste time with my representative, are there any other options available to get an answe?? I know typical answer is wait.I just lost as to should I upload my copy of exam

Sorry for the typos

[lotzaspotz]

If it had not been for Congressman John Fleming, M.D. from northwest Louisiana pressing the BVA Director for a response, we would have never found out that our RO had mistakenly advised the Board that my veteran husband withdrew his appeal when he did not. We had made many, many attempts via certified mail to the RO and the BVA, as well as IRIS, to find out the status of the appeal, only to be told that it was progressing and we would receive an answer when the process was completed. We received canned responses without anyone with a pulse actually checking. We were essentially waiting for a decision that was NEVER going to happen. He helped us when no one else would.

[Prospector]

You make a good point about your "discover" issue regarding withdrawal of claims or appeals. I went through a similar issue with the VA in March 2014. I had two separate appeals for different conditions, filed at different times. Mine had been shown in ebenefits as Appeal Pending for several months. I called the BVA to check the status and was told one of my appeals shows withdrawn & the other was still with the RO.I explained I had withdrawn nothing. I was advised to contact my RO. Upon further examination of that appeal, it showed I had 2 different BVA dispatches sent to me. One in October 2013 and another in February 2014. I had received neither. I called my VSR and asked since you have been my rep for 7yrs, did you receive either of these BVA dispatches? He confirmed they had not. I explained the situation to him and in April he sent the VARO notice of the occurrence. In August 2014 my appeal showed up again as pending but a new date of August 2014.

After seeing your post, I cannot help but wonder is this a new tactic by VARO's to show they are clearing some of the backlog? By whatever means you found this withdrawal notice of your claim, all I can say is Good Job.

[lotzaspotz]

Veterans must be vigilant about keeping track of their claims and appeals status. Don't depend on a VSO to do it for you. This is no different than the need to review monthly financial information from banks and brokerage firms to make sure there are no false transactions taking place. I believe this kind of thing is a clerical screwup, not intentional, but still the fault of assembly line inattentiveness caused by a lack of training, interest or compassion for disabled veterans. The VA's unwillingness to entertain the notion that it may have made a mistake and should check it's own work is what angered me. That and blowing all those canned responses up my skirt. That was an intentional choice borne out of arrogance, so these are two separate issues. If I caused this much damage as an HR Rep to one of my employees due to this kind of sloppiness and unwillingness to admit blame, I'd be disciplined because legally wronged employees get attorneys and sue as the next step.

The proper and legally recognized procedure for withdrawing a claim is stated in Title 38 › Chapter I › Part 20 › Subpart C › Section 20.204, Rule 204. Withdrawal of Appeal. Be familiar with it in case something like this happens to you.