Can Someone Decifer This?

[Berta]

I have never used ebenefits before because they were not allowing survivors to use this feature but the VA recently sent me a letter telling me I could enroll so I did.

Easy enough to use but I am not familiar with ebenny 'talk'

They confirm my 2 issues

Then the tabs state:

Someone prepared a decision..forget what they actually said there, then
I quote

"A final award approval is granted upon the review of the recommended decision"

then someone was reviewing the decision for accuracy , on next tab and then it says

the decision is in the mail

It appears to involve both of my pending claims

Then it says:
"All Documents

This table shows the evidence you have submitted.

There will be a delay before documents are shown here. Once your documents are submitted, a claims representative must review them and confirm they contain the requested evidence. Once confirmed, the claims representative will enter an acknowledgement that appropriate documents have been received, and you will see that information in the table below.

All evidence submitted after January 25, 2015 is shown. Evidence submitted prior to that time is shown once it has been reviewed by VA.
Documents Table"

Nothing appeared there.All they needed was my signature on a 5103 letter which USPS confirmed they received on Feb 27th 2015

Does any of this make sense to you ebenefits users?

[carlie]

Yea Berta - it means your still waiting and nothing further is needed from you

at this time : - )

Sure glad you got to join us at e-bennies.

I've been missing you !

[Berta]

Carlie ........I sure have missed you at hadit!!!!!!!I am SO glad you are back!

I liked using ebenefits but many here seem to get conflicting info at ebenefits so I guess best for me to wait for the decision in the mail.

If the mailman can even find my mailbox,It was completely under snow this AM.

[Philip Rogers]

Sorry I couldn't help even tho I'm registered w/ebenefits. I'm a level 7, I can't get access to my claims.

pr

[broncovet]

Berta:

1. Welcome to the notoriously unreliable, out of date, incomplete, and inaccurate "ebenefits". 2. If there are questions about ebenefits, see rule 1.

All this said, but there ARE some things you can rely on with ebenefits:

1. When you really need it, it will likely be down.

2. If its not down, then what portion you need will be "under maintenance".

Kidding aside, you can usually count on the amount VA says it will pay you in ebenefits, under payments. Usually, you can also print "benefit letters", from e benefits which usually work for things like getting a commissary card (MWR), benefits in your state for P and T 100 percent Vets, etc.

However, dont count on either "status of appeals" or "status of claim" as that is likely years out of date. Some RO's are better at updating ebenefits than others.

HINT: Look in "Payments" and you may be able to tell how much of a check (electronic deposit) you will get a couple days or so before its actually deposited.

Also, under "benefit letters", those say if you are 100% P and T, but the "effective date" there will be the effective date of the last payment increase, not your effective date.

[free_spirit_etc]

I am enrolled on ebenefits, but it doesn't tell me much. It is showing a claim opened on 5/31/2007 and close on 3/16/2009. That shows as Administrative Review. And it shows a claim opened on 6/10/2008 and closed on 3/3/2009. Both say decision sent.

It doesn't show anything about the BVA appeal (decision 11/19/2014), and says I have no open claims.

I tried to change my phone number on there. It let me change it, but the change won't stick. I can't access the exact term right now, but there is a notification that once you have updated your contact information, you can't update it online again, and you have to call.

I sent an IRIS and told them I wanted to update my phone number. They replied that I have to call them. I went through several days of getting a message that they were assisting other veterans and couldn't take my call. I finally called and pressed a different button. I got through and they transferred me to DEERs, DEERs changed my phone number, but it only shows the change in the DEERs section; not the VA section of ebenefits. So she transferred me to the Help Desk. The Help Desk transferred me to the National Call Center. The woman there told me I can't change my phone number since I have not been awarded benefits. She said the system can't find me because I haven't received an award. I was actually granted SC for my husband's lung cancer by the BVA on November 19, 2014 for DIC and accrued benefits. But the RO has not followed through yet.

I didn't realize trying to update a phone number would be so complicated.

[Fat]

I don't like you no longer can see previously submitted information.

Luckily, I make sure Peggy verifies every piece of information I send in.

[free_spirit_etc]

I talked to someone from the VA Monday who was able to update my contact number and add my direct deposit information. She told me that RO and BVA information is in different areas, and if you have a BVA decision and go to the RO, they can't see that you have an open claim because it isn't open with them. But it is still odd because ebenefits also has a section for BVA appeals, and mine says that I don't have any records of appeals at the BVA since 2000 (though I had a BVA hearing September 2013 and decision November 2014).

But my compensation section does show an update - Preparation for Notification.