Asked VA for status of my CUE claim and learned something interesting

[Vync]

Hello everyone,
I sent my CUE packet to the VA last month via certified mail and it was delivered on 9/23. Two days ago, I checked the VA web site to see if it was in the system yet. It wasn't. I called 1-800 and they showed it had been received, but not started. They sent an IRIS request to get a status and said I should hear back within five business days. Well, I just got a call from a very friendly lady at my VARO. She said it has now been placed into the system and I can see it on the web site. I should get the proverbial "we received your claim" form letter in a few days.

The interesting part is she said that my claim can be processed by any VARO. Apparently, they now all work from a central queue. This makes sense with everything being digital and they can balance the load across all VAROs. i'm not 100% certain that this is the case, but it does sound promising.

She also said the VA officially has 125 days to complete supplemental or HLR claims, but the estimate could be lower or higher depending on the circumstances of each claim. She unofficially recommended I check online every couple of weeks, but I planned on doing that anyway.

[GBArmy]

Vync  It is interesting; I think we have known for a couple of months that their official or unofficial target for turn-a-round was 125 days, but that any RO can work either type is new to me at least. I wonder if there is some kind of I.D. or marker that will allow folks to determine which RO location did what function on the claim. Or, does one location have  to do the whole job once they pick it up. I was under the assumption that one location could do some, like review and require an additional C&P and then put it back in the pool. The another location could pick it up and evaluate after the exam was completed. And another could do the money EED, etc.

[Vync]

@GBArmy I asked the lady about that. She said they can see where it is internally, but it is not exposed publicly on the VA web sites. Once I see the status change on ebenefits, I'll be calling to ask if they are able to tell me which VARO is working it.

Hard to say if they will work on each claim in a granular manner. I have a feeling that is probably not the case. It would not make much sense to have one VARO request an exam and then another process the results. I guess anything can happen if a staffing issue arises, such as the employee retires, goes on leave, etc...

Fortunately for me, the CUE does not require an additional C&P or EED modification. It's a plain case of the VA simply failing to apply the regulations in effect at the time which caused an incorrect lower rating % to be awarded. If corrected, my combined rating % will go above 40% from 1995 to 2008. Should be interesting to see what happens.

 

[GBArmy]

Well, we are pulling for you man. Could be a nice check too, but then, you'll probably have to appeal that as well. I'm sure you are planning on keeping us informed of progress. 

[seminoles]

22 hours ago, Vync said:

Hello everyone,
I sent my CUE packet to the VA last month via certified mail and it was delivered on 9/23. Two days ago, I checked the VA web site to see if it was in the system yet. It wasn't. I called 1-800 and they showed it had been received, but not started. They sent an IRIS request to get a status and said I should hear back within five business days. Well, I just got a call from a very friendly lady at my VARO. She said it has now been placed into the system and I can see it on the web site. I should get the proverbial "we received your claim" form letter in a few days.

The interesting part is she said that my claim can be processed by any VARO. Apparently, they now all work from a central queue. This makes sense with everything being digital and they can balance the load across all VAROs. i'm not 100% certain that this is the case, but it does sound promising.

She also said the VA officially has 125 days to complete supplemental or HLR claims, but the estimate could be lower or higher depending on the circumstances of each claim. She unofficially recommended I check online every couple of weeks, but I planned on doing that anyway.

This is great news, I need to file 2 separate CUEs and they both would result in a nice chunk of change, it would be nice if they were handled by a different VARO honestly    I hope yours goes well!!

[Vync]

Checked the status of my CUE via ebenefits and was impressed that the estimated completion date changed from March 2020 to just a couple of weeks from now.