godelocs Posted September 18, 2015 Share Posted September 18, 2015 First I would like to thank you all for all the input you have given during my time on hadit. You have been my go to whenever I've had questions on claims that I work on. I can always get answers fast because you know that time is very important. That being said, I have completed a claim for a veteran who had absolutely no military service medical records. I did his claim based on the rule of the VA giving the veteran the benefit of the doubt because they could not find his service medical records. I typed up the veteran's statement to support his claim, a statement from his wife, sent in pertinent medical records to support the claim, and waited. The veteran received a letter from VA stating that more evidence was needed in order to make a decision. I responded back with the fact that all medical records necessary to support his claim had all been sent in with the original claim. I asked VA to refer to the records which had been sent and if more evidence was needed to please schedule C&P exams for the veteran and move forward with his claim.The claim was submitted as a FDC and was received by VA the end of March 2015. E-Benefits has shown that the decision has been made and a rating of 90% has been given. The veteran received a lot of low ball ratings but they did total 90%. Not mad about that. We are now waiting on the Statement of the Claim to come in. At that time I will review it to see where the ratings could have been different. The downside to this is that the veteran had received a lump sum when he separated from the service and that has to be paid back. VA will keep all the money until the total is paid in full. The veteran and his wife are already living pay check to paycheck so this was a huge blow. I have explained to them that the mere fact of being service related and at 90% at that is a huge victory. There are many benefits that come with that alone.Does anyone know of any programs out there to assist a veteran who has a hardship to assist with paying that debt? I know it's a long shot but I am trying to make sure I check out all sources available.Again, thank you all so much for all you do to help our veterans. Vync and flores97 2 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Notorious Kelly Posted September 18, 2015 Share Posted September 18, 2015 Congrats and good on ya for helping a vet! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Content Curator/HadIt.com Elder Vync Posted September 18, 2015 Content Curator/HadIt.com Elder Share Posted September 18, 2015 Awesome! "If it's stupid but works, then it isn't stupid."- From Murphy's Laws of Combat Disclaimer: I am not a legal expert, so use at own risk and/or consult a qualified professional representative. Please refer to existing VA laws, regulations, and policies for the most up to date information. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
HadIt.com Elder Chuck75 Posted September 18, 2015 HadIt.com Elder Share Posted September 18, 2015 First I would like to thank you all for all the input you have given during my time on hadit. You have been my go to whenever I've had questions on claims that I work on. I can always get answers fast because you know that time is very important. That being said, I have completed a claim for a veteran who had absolutely no military service medical records. I did his claim based on the rule of the VA giving the veteran the benefit of the doubt because they could not find his service medical records. I typed up the veteran's statement to support his claim, a statement from his wife, sent in pertinent medical records to support the claim, and waited. The veteran received a letter from VA stating that more evidence was needed in order to make a decision. I responded back with the fact that all medical records necessary to support his claim had all been sent in with the original claim. I asked VA to refer to the records which had been sent and if more evidence was needed to please schedule C&P exams for the veteran and move forward with his claim.The claim was submitted as a FDC and was received by VA the end of March 2015. E-Benefits has shown that the decision has been made and a rating of 90% has been given. The veteran received a lot of low ball ratings but they did total 90%. Not mad about that. We are now waiting on the Statement of the Claim to come in. At that time I will review it to see where the ratings could have been different. The downside to this is that the veteran had received a lump sum when he separated from the service and that has to be paid back. VA will keep all the money until the total is paid in full. The veteran and his wife are already living pay check to paycheck so this was a huge blow. I have explained to them that the mere fact of being service related and at 90% at that is a huge victory. There are many benefits that come with that alone.Does anyone know of any programs out there to assist a veteran who has a hardship to assist with paying that debt? I know it's a long shot but I am trying to make sure I check out all sources available.Again, thank you all so much for all you do to help our veterans.It's usually possible to request a waiver. How this is done, the details, and the likely hood of it being granted is something I "No Nothing" about. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
FormerMember Posted September 18, 2015 Share Posted September 18, 2015 If VA had made an overpayment, a waiver would be for consideration-especially if the Vet had come to depend on a 90% compensation check. Here, the DoD is involved and the disbursement wasn't in VA's purview. All they can do is to collect it and return it to DoD. That's a standard practice. VA's propensity to lowball is the obvious direction of attack. Peruse the VASRD closely and determine from any C&Ps if the ratings % was at the low end. Remember, to qualify for a higher rating, the BOTdoubt accrues to the Vet. He doesn't have to suffer each and every ailment associated with the disease/injury to qualify for a higher percentage-just most of them. Andyman73 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Moderator broncovet Posted September 18, 2015 Moderator Share Posted September 18, 2015 (edited) The VA's debt management center website is here:http://www.va.gov/debtman/Yes, you can apply for a waiver of that debt. Debt waivers pretty much consist of 2 parts:1. You need to supply them with income, net worth debts, etc., so you can explain how having to repay the debt would be a hardship, as this is somewhat, at least, "needs" related. 2. Give your explanation of why you dont think you owe the applicable debt. I personally got a debt waived by doing as I advised. I think you could explain how its not your fault that it took VA x number of years to process your claim and that you had to live someway. Dont neglect the debt, it will be assumed valid in your absence of any sort of debt waiver or, generally a lack of communication on your part. There is a specific timeframe for you to seek a debt waiver, and after that time, the debt is presumed valid. Edited September 18, 2015 by broncovet Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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