Money Timeline on DRO Grant?

[63Charlie]

I received a grant on 4/5/19 of one of my appeals awarding an increase to 100%.

Anyone have feed back on the time line it took back for the money to be direct deposited  after the DRO grant?

[broncovet]

Congratulations!  As always, we dont know when VA will do something.  I dont even always know when/if I will complete stuff I need to do!!!  Let alone guess at VA.   

However, since this is a DRO decision (we dont know which regional office), then your "money is on the way"...as they say.  If its an ebenefits "guess", well that is not so good.  

I suggest you get a hobby.  One "fun" thing you can do while waiting is make a chart of what you will do with the money.  Go drive cars you are interested in, for example, if you think you want to get a car with your money.  Im not saying you should do that, but you can do fun stuff like that!    You dont have to tell them EVERYTHING..such as you have to wait for the deposit.  

Some people actually get the money BEFORE the VA letter.   I expect it wont be long..a few days or weeks.  Hopefully, some doc did not do stuff like say you are incompetent to manage finances, because that is going to hold everything up big time.  

[ShrekTheTank]

So I can give one piece of advice that worked for me after waiting for almost a year to get my grant applied.  I contacted all of my congressmen/women and one of them was who finally got the regional office to move.  It took about 40 days, but an aid got in-touch with regional and my grant was applied.  

The website states 1-2 months, but we all know that is not real.  This might be something to try.  Also Bronco is right find something to burn your time as you wait.  I do Bonsai.

[Buck52]

I would say it  depends on the size of the retro.

My DRO Grant was sought  on appeal, took reto about a week  but the retro was not that much  around 10k....> my retro beat the BBE

We were still eating Bologna Sandwiches before we knew the reto arrived.

but this was back in 2002

Edited April 17, 2019 by Buck52

[63Charlie]

The back pay amount owed is approximately $50,000.

I'm not adjudicated incompetent

The DRO decision was from Muscogee, but my home VARO is St. Petersburg.

 

Edited April 17, 2019 by 63Charlie

[broncovet]

Most of the complaints are with the VARO implementation of a bva decision.  That is not what your''s is, according to your post.  Yours is a DRO decision (which is a VARO decision).  

The good part is you dont have to wait for the RO to implement the (BVA decision) with a new decision.  That has already been done with the DRO, which "skipped" the BVA decision.  

If you dispute the effective date, you can appeal a DRO decision to the BVA.  

[broncovet]

Of course, this is a good time to study up on 100 percent p and t benefits.  There are many you may/may not know of.  A few examples:

1.  State benefits.   This sometimes saves you on property taxes, license plates, hunting licenses, etc., and depends on your state.  In my state, Disabled Vets get "one" free license plate that lasts for life.  (If you change cars, you have to tell them, but my plate is "non expiring".)  

2.  When I got awarded 100 percent, I went to my VA, (means testing office), and they took a copy of the decision letter, and went through and refunded all the copays I had paid.  (I didnt have the money for even copays on my drugs, so naturally, VA "took" that money out of my IRS tax refunds).  After a couple months I got another check for refund of the copays of around 1200 dollars, going back several years.  

3.  Commissary priveledges.

4.  Space A travel, previously limited to retirees, now open to disabled vets.  

5.  Champva and DEA (ch. 35) for dependents.  

6.  Increased comp for dependents.  

7.  Many places offer discounts to retiree's/ disabled Vets.  Lowe's offers 10 percent discount on everything for disabled/retiree's/active duty, for example.  So do many resteraunts, but you have to ask them.  I probably save several thousand per year, by asking for my military discounts on almost everything.  Sometimes, when I ask for a military discount and they say no, I tell them I am sad they did not honor troops with a discount, and to tell their boss they should start.  

8 There are other benefits also.  I have an "MWR" card, so I get access to the same stuff on post that active duty Vets get.  They have all kinds of stuff.  Gyms to workout in.  Woodworking shops to use their tools.  Auto shop to work on your car.  All kinds of stuff.  I wish I could do more of that stuff, like I did when I was young.  I think there is even a travel office on post, where you can do stuff like buy DisneyWorld tickets for your grandkids at a discounted price.  

 9.  If you buy a home and finance it with VA, the "funding fee" is waived.  A funding fee can be 2000-10000 dollars, or more, depending upon how expensive your house is.  

   If you print out your letters on ebenefits, you can submit them and ask these places for this stuff that interests you.  It saves me about 900 per year on property taxes, but I think places like Texas, disabled Vets pay "0" property taxes.  My state pays the First 50,000 dollars (taxable value) of your property taxes.  

   

 

 

Edited April 17, 2019 by broncovet