What Phase Is A Soc Written Up

[mountain tyme]

Question:

I decided to call the VA today to see what the status of claim/appeal was at...thinking they would tell me the same thing...no decision has been made.

Well today I was taken off guard...I was told by the VA rep. (800 #) that my SO rep. should be calling on my behalf since the Mo. Commission of Veterans has my Power of Attny. this was the first time I was ever told this...that they are the one's who should be doing the leg work...and getting back to me. I told them that the Mo. Comm. of Vet. office that I go to that there is no Service Officer...that they are waiting on a replacement...so she went ahead and told me that the Statement of Case has been done and is at the Review Officer and that a decision will be made and that I will be contacted by mail of the decision. I never even received any letters asking for further information...after my c/p in oct. 05 but I have still been going to my weekly therapy appointments...o well...life in the fast lane.

I told the lady what about the Personal hearing that I requested...she told me again that I needed to contact my SO...

My question is if there is already of SOC done...does that mean I have been denied? I read somewhere that a Statement of Case normally means denial...I don't know what to think...

My husband thinks that maybe they are going to approve it that is why a personal hearing was not schedualed because there would be no need if it was approved...

confused in Mo. any thoughts or experiance on this...

that You in advance

MT

[sixthscents]

My expeience has been that the people at the 1-800 number are slightly above the moronic level. I THINK they can probably tie their shoes, but I'm not certain. You can A: Go to the local VARO office where your claim is being handled, or B: wait. Not good answers, but there you have it. And sometimes the claims get farmed out to other VARO's so you may not even be able to do that... sorry but its just another way of keeping us confused as far as I can see.

As far as the SO rep... bull. They are paid. They do a job. If they are volunteers maybe I could see it, but the fact is that if you get paid to do a job, you do that job to the best of your ability. However, again they are only good for filing a basic claim at BEST - again only my experience but there you go. I use my state people from time to time to check on the status of a claim. They can sometimes get a more correct answer of what is going on, but that depends on wether they know how to actually use the computer gathering dust on their desk. I have been blessed with a couple of people Ruby, and Don at my local state VA rep office that actually can. Yet, I still wouldn't trust them with my claim.

So its a waiting game. Just try and be patient and plan your next move if in fact you are denied. I know the stress is horrid, but it can take anywhere from 12-24 months to even get a rating - denied or not. The VA is experiencing a large influx of claims and to my knowlege they haven't brought many new people on board. I'd say this is actually intentional. The longer a claim takes, the more chances that a Vet will either die, or give up. The VA plays the odds, but in a sense, they have made the rules and stacked the deck, so they win. Even if your case wins, there are literally thousands left scattered by the wind of bureaucracy. For example, if the VA was Vegas, house odds would be something like 500% compared to 2-3%. And Vegas makes million on that little edge.

Is this all Gloom and Doom? Yes. Sorry, but until the system is demolished, rebuilt upon compassionate and common sense lines, it is what it is. Thats not to minimize your claim. Again, if you can afford the time, I'd go to the horses mouth and see what the heck is going on, but for many that simply is not an option. I filed for the adaptive vehicle grant and they ran me in circles, yes they had it and it was being processed, no they never received one, yes, but it had been sent here or there, etc etc etc... finally I drove, with a filled out form to the Nashville office. They pulled my file and guess what was rubber banded to the very top? Yep, the original request. I left with it approved that day. However, dont confuse yor state rep with your local VARO - VA regional office. Its the one in a federal building with nobody in the waiting room normally. It's where you 1-800 number calls get routed normally - unless they have farmed those out too, and the only way to find that out is to call the 1-800 number... go figure.

[Vike17]

Mountain,

From your last post, it sounds as though your claim is pretty solid. When you said that the 1-800 jockey told you a SOC had been produced, that sounded a bit out of the ordinary to me, but wasn't sure because you said claim/appeal. Now things are a little bit clearer. A SOC is only prodeced in the appeals stages of a claim when a claim is further denied.

Apparently your claim is still in the initial stages, meaning there hasn't been a first decision made as of yet. If you have just completed a C&P exam in September, it shouldn't be too long before you receive a decision. Just hang tight.

As I said before, the 1-800 wasn't designed to be a tracking system for veteran's claims. It's initial function is to give general benefits information to callers, such as basic eligibility requirements, send forms out to peolple ect... The best way to get accurate inforamtion on one's claims is to make an inquiry via the IRIS website. The personnel that answer the IRIS inquiries are actually VSR's (Veteran Service Representatives). The 1-800 jockies have limited training in claims proceedures and so forth and aren't up to speed as a VSR is. I even think the 1-800 jockies don't even exceed the pay grade of GS 3-4.

Vike 17

[mountain tyme]

Mountain,

From your last post, it sounds as though your claim is pretty solid. When you said that the 1-800 jockey told you a SOC had been produced, that sounded a bit out of the ordinary to me, but wasn't sure because you said claim/appeal. Now things are a little bit clearer. A SOC is only prodeced in the appeals stages of a claim when a claim is further denied.

Apparently your claim is still in the initial stages, meaning there hasn't been a first decision made as of yet. If you have just completed a C&P exam in September, it shouldn't be too long before you receive a decision. Just hang tight.

As I said before, the 1-800 wasn't designed to be a tracking system for veteran's claims. It's initial function is to give general benefits information to callers, such as basic eligibility requirements, send forms out to peolple ect... The best way to get accurate inforamtion on one's claims is to make an inquiry via the IRIS website. The personnel that answer the IRIS inquiries are actually VSR's (Veteran Service Representatives). The 1-800 jockies have limited training in claims proceedures and so forth and aren't up to speed as a VSR is. I even think the 1-800 jockies don't even exceed the pay grade of GS 3-4.

Vike 17

Vickey17 wrote: "The best way to get accurate inforamtion on one's claims is to make an inquiry via the IRIS website. The personnel that answer the IRIS inquiries are actually VSR's (Veteran Service Representatives). "

now do I access that web site? is it part of the Veteran Administration site?

thank you for all your help

MT

[mountain tyme]

My expeience has been that the people at the 1-800 number are slightly above the moronic level. I THINK they can probably tie their shoes, but I'm not certain. You can A: Go to the local VARO office where your claim is being handled, or B: wait. Not good answers, but there you have it. And sometimes the claims get farmed out to other VARO's so you may not even be able to do that... sorry but its just another way of keeping us confused as far as I can see.

As far as the SO rep... bull. They are paid. They do a job. If they are volunteers maybe I could see it, but the fact is that if you get paid to do a job, you do that job to the best of your ability. However, again they are only good for filing a basic claim at BEST - again only my experience but there you go. I use my state people from time to time to check on the status of a claim. They can sometimes get a more correct answer of what is going on, but that depends on wether they know how to actually use the computer gathering dust on their desk. I have been blessed with a couple of people Ruby, and Don at my local state VA rep office that actually can. Yet, I still wouldn't trust them with my claim.

So its a waiting game. Just try and be patient and plan your next move if in fact you are denied. I know the stress is horrid, but it can take anywhere from 12-24 months to even get a rating - denied or not. The VA is experiencing a large influx of claims and to my knowlege they haven't brought many new people on board. I'd say this is actually intentional. The longer a claim takes, the more chances that a Vet will either die, or give up. The VA plays the odds, but in a sense, they have made the rules and stacked the deck, so they win. Even if your case wins, there are literally thousands left scattered by the wind of bureaucracy. For example, if the VA was Vegas, house odds would be something like 500% compared to 2-3%. And Vegas makes million on that little edge.

Is this all Gloom and Doom? Yes. Sorry, but until the system is demolished, rebuilt upon compassionate and common sense lines, it is what it is. Thats not to minimize your claim. Again, if you can afford the time, I'd go to the horses mouth and see what the heck is going on, but for many that simply is not an option. I filed for the adaptive vehicle grant and they ran me in circles, yes they had it and it was being processed, no they never received one, yes, but it had been sent here or there, etc etc etc... finally I drove, with a filled out form to the Nashville office. They pulled my file and guess what was rubber banded to the very top? Yep, the original request. I left with it approved that day. However, dont confuse yor state rep with your local VARO - VA regional office. Its the one in a federal building with nobody in the waiting room normally. It's where you 1-800 number calls get routed normally - unless they have farmed those out too, and the only way to find that out is to call the 1-800 number... go figure.

Sixsence wrote: I use my state people from time to time to check on the status of a claim.

when you say state people are you refering to State Representives Like senators or congressmen? Our state Sentator has an office in town...

second question... "Even if your case wins, there are literally thousands left scattered by the wind of bureaucracy." Now that statement is a reality...that I need to look into...it will keep my mind busy...I have met quite a few people at the Vet office in town...and I made up calling cards with hadit.com web site and told them to go to this site...it could help them...I never thought about how many vets are out there that are like me and just don't know the ropes yet.....and now when I read post from other members of hadit and read the trials they are going through ...I keep all of them in my prayers...when all else fails there is hope and that is what will over come the Gloom and Doom...after every storm the sun finds a way to peek through and before you know we are embraced in it's warmth...that is the way of life...

I thank you sixsence for the help...I rather have some one be direct and to the point...it saves time...to bad the VA hasn't adopted that approach it would save millions in tax dollars!!!!

MT

[john999]

Just consider that most in Congress have no experience with military service except to avoid it. They see disabled vets as a liability. Don't expect a big change anytime soon. They like to spend money on new weapons systems but not on vets.