Attorney Fees After BVA Grant: Calculating Past-Due Correctly?

[acesup]

Back on August 7 of last year, the BVA granted me TDIU and SMC (s) back to 2009.  So, last week on the 13th, (9 months and 6 days after that BVA Decision) I received a dozen deposits into my bank accounts, 9+ years of retro.

Now, it was my understanding that Attorney Fees of 20% would be owed up to the date of the BVA grant, which would be August 7, and that all money after that date was entirely mine.

However, the VA also withheld 20% from those last 9 months.  That means the attorney will get an extra $3,600+ from me because it took over 9 months for the RO to implement my new rating.  Is this a mistake?

Here's what the M21 says, which seems to me that nothing should be withheld after August 1:  

c.  The Period to Use for Calculating Past- Due Benefits

Past-due benefits are calculated 

from the effective date of the award
to the date of the decision awarding benefits,
not the date of the notification letter
not the last day of the month in which the decision awarding benefits was made. See VAOPGCPREC 18-95 and 38 CFR 14.636(h)(3) regarding definition of past due benefits  

Am I misunderstanding this?  If there is an error, do I just call Peggy, or contact Office of General Counsel who is technically holding the money now?

FWIW, I already felt the Attorney Fee is excessive (I may not gain anything doing this, but I have my reasons for protesting it), and was preparing to ask the OGC to review it for reasonableness. 

Edited May 18, 2019 by acesup
typo

[vetquest]

2 hours ago, acesup said:

In all fairness, since I did win, I expect they will say that no matter how I feel about the attorney, the bottom line is that I won.  I'm not going to get too bent out of shape about it.  All along, I did figure on the attorney getting 20%, and I knew it would be a lot of cash.

That is the best attitude to have.  My attorney received ten years equivalent when he only represented me for five years.  It is hard to see that much money go away but focus on what you gained.  Without an attorney I might have gotten nothing.

[acesup]

Thanks for the replies!

After fighting the VA for so long, I'm just tired of fighting.  It's funny how the mind can sometimes settle things by nothing more than the passage of time. 

With that said, I think I'm just going to not send the draft letters I wrote complaining about this.  I knew what I was signing when I inked that Fee Agreement, and there is nothing for me to be unhappy about. 

I think I'm learning how to relax, and I like it.

 

[broncovet]

The results (whether the attorney won or not) is far more important than how nice the attorney was to you.  

I would rather have a gruff, mean attorney win me benefits, than a super nice one who calls and encourages me 3 times per week, but loses my case anyday.  

Its been my experience that attorney's dont call us often enough to "research EVERY theory of entitlment I propose".  

And, frankly, I dont care.  I really dont need my attorney to be a psychiatrist or friend.  I need him/her to focus on winning.  

If the attorney presented each and every arguement to VA exactly like I proposed, then I could have done it myself.  Instead, he discards some of my ideas, and spins others into winners, and creates his own ideas that I never thought of to win.