VSO states they work for the VA not for ME

[GeekySquid]

So, as some know I have been having a little war with the VA and my VSO, the American Legion, about getting my DBQ's.

So today I went to the VSO's office in the VARO building during their "walk in" hours since I could not get them to give me an appointment.

On the door was as sign saying the office was closed for the week for training and left the 800 number for Washington DC office.

I knock on the door anyway. Two ladies answer.

Tell them what I want and that I need them to do it today.

They invite me into the office.

I hand them a typed sheet with the Dates and Dr's of my C&P's and a list of documents for each one that I need.

The first lady says she doesn't know why I am there. The second lady says she will help me. The first lady says show me how we do this.

Okay

I tell them again what I want and the 2nd lady says why do you want to file a NOD, I tell her. She says you don't need these files to file an appeal.......The VA already has them. I tell her I need to know exactly what the DBQ says and what the letters to and from VA says. I also need the code sheets as they existed at each point for each approved and denied C&P.

She tells me no i don't and if I insist on filing a NOD I should just file an HLR.. I told her no, that would not work for this and the HLR results are not typically veteran friendly.

She then spends 20 minutes more telling me that I need to listen to her because veterans don't know what they want and don't know anything about the VA and how to win their claim.

She then says "We work for the VA not for you, and the VA knows what it is doing".

this of course makes me mad and I say to her " I am asking you to get me these files. nothing more. I have heard your opinion and all you need to do is get me copies of these files." She then starts in again trying to convince me not to file.

I get more insistent and tell her that i heard her but I expect her to do exactly as I requested, nothing more.

She then says "Well you don't need those files so let me file the NOD" I tell her NO. Resoundingly empathically NO>

She then tells me I know how to file a NOD. She then remembers I am filing a CUE and says "you shouldn't file a CUE because you will never win and then the VA will be mad at you"......

Just f'ing wow.

Then I tell her once again to do what I asked her to do and to stop trying to dissuade me from what I want. I tell her she is wasting her time and mine and that all I want is her to get those documents.

She then yells to the other woman to get "Bill".  Man comes in and says "those are VA files you don't get to have them".

I tell him he is wrong and ask who he is. He refuses to answer. I look at woman 2 and say Please tell me your full name so I have a record. She wants to know why. I tell her point blank, that the next time I speak to AL in DC I am going to reference her and what she has said and not done. I then look at "Bill" and ask his name. He tells me 'you don't need to know that". I tell him I do because saying "Bill from AL means nothing to anyone". He snaps back 'I don't work for AL I work for VFW".

I ask him why he is sticking his nose into an AL situation? He gets mad and leaves.

She writes down her name, at least I think it is her name, date and time .

Then says all she is going to do is fill out a FOIA.  At this point I decide to let her do that and get a copy to submit with my complaint to the AL.

 She then asks me what I want. Types that I want my C-file and the files on the attached sheet, prints it, shoves it at me and says to Sign it. I tell her no it is not accurate and ask for a pen and write explicitly what  I want.

She literally tries to argue with me.

I tell her to stop arguing and write the FOIA the way I tell her.

She writes it wrong in her own phrasing and i made her redo it.

Then I made her add Time is of the essence on the form.

When she handed it to me. I initialed before and after the typing and drew a line threw the blank space.

She gasped and asked why I did that. I said "its blank space and anyone could add words to that blank space. She then started to say, and got half way through saying

'I needed to put more stuff...." and then shut up as she realized she was admitting to falsifying a FOIA over my signature.

 

I am not sure which is worse, having the people with my POA try and screw me over or having the VA which is supposed to be on my side try and Screw me over.

 

[Buck52]

I fell off a deuce and a half front bumper  and most of us in transportation knows how high those bumpers are .

I got my foot tangle on one of the unloading hooks and hit the ground on both knees  I never went to sick call for it so no records

  my knees were bruised up pretty bad and I got some pain med's from the medic  but it was never recorded  so its just my word for it.

...I tried to get it service connected because of the arthritis in them today...well with out the proper medical records  its all most impossible to get S.C.  there were no one around when I fell off the truck (so no buddy letters) I just got myself up and hobble off to my hooch , took some Ibprophen  and just went on suck up the pain.

I ask my  VAMC  PCP if that may have caused my arthritis in my knees  she said yes  but always denied for it..so I gave up trying to get that S.C.

I think they call it D.J.D. Arthritics in my knees  and they give me pain med's for it and injections.

I think the Gulf War Veterans are very lucky ,  back in Vietnam when we got hurt most of us just sucked it up and went on  never thinking about what the future holds for us after military  I never thought about service connection claims back then...today the veterans are ask about any medical condition that they may have or if they ever injured them self while in the military...sure we went through the check-out process when we ETS but its completely different now days.

[63Charlie]

On 8/8/2019 at 5:29 PM, GeekySquid said:

 

 

I am not sure which is worse, having the people with my POA try and screw me over or having the VA which is supposed to be on my side try and Screw me over.

Beware of the frenemies. They'll get you every time.

 

Edited September 5, 2019 by 63Charlie

[vetquest]

I am with you @Buck52, my discharge physical took all of five minutes to claim me as fully healthy so I could be discharged as medically unfit for further service.

[paulstrgn]

2 minutes ago, vetquest said:

my discharge physical took all of five minutes to claim me as fully healthy

Mine was just as quick, they really did not do anything. I was having high blood pressure readings but they never did any checks to see if I had high blood pressure and it was a real a pain to get it SC. 

[GBArmy]

Buck said  back in Vietnam when we got hurt most of us just sucked it up and went on  never thinking about what the future holds for us after military  I never thought about service connection claims back then...

If you got yourself hurt you didn't even think about "service-connection" Never even heard about it. In fact, I got out in May, '72 and you didn't walk away from the VA, you ran away. The VA hospital;  heard plenty of stories where that was where they sent you to die. And disability benefits, never heard about them either. The VA has come a long way since we were in; unfortunately, it still has a long way still to go.

[retiredat44]

*I wanted to stay in, but got sick from chemicals and was transferred to a job without chemicals, and was happy, then they pulled me from that job, made me work with different chemicals got sick al over again,, by that time I had 5 years invested, but no job to stay in for, every time I tried to pick a job on some list at the personal office they would give me an excuse why I couldn't have that job. I had no clue about benefits when I left. All I knew is I had to go back to school , I got several degrees but I ended up too sick and lost everything. First time around I had already been going to another hospital very sick. I went to the VA and applied for benefits, and I got some others denied. I did not understand the whole process of the claims and why I was denied, and how to get more evidence. But the doctors were confused and worthless they told me there was nothing wrong and sent me to head doctors, that whole time I was suffering from pancreatic disease and they wasted 20 at least 10 years telling me it was in my head, buy then it was too late. The disease had dome too much damage. I feel like they pissed away al the years telling me it was in my head.

Edited September 5, 2019 by retiredat44