SERVING

Those That

SERVED

5.  Save your correspondence. Development, award and information letters are sent to inform you of your claim and should be kept for future reference. If a problem arises, these letters (chronologically arranged) can help to piece together what happened with your claim.

  

VA letters are very informative and written in easy-to-understand language. Many veterans, however, only pay attention to the first page, which usually shows the dollar amount they will receive, and ignore the other pages.

    

For example, a veteran rated 30% or more disabled who later marries and has children is eligible for an additional dependents' allotment.

  

But if he doesn't read his original award letter, he won't know this additional benefit is available.

   

  

  

  

  

  

  

  

  

  

        

6.  Wait a reasonable time.  Find out how long a claim of your type takes and then contact the agency if you haven't heard. If VA sends a claimant a letter and no response is received, the claim is closed. Periodic status checks on your claim can avoid this problem.

     

7.  Pay attention to time limits.  If your VA letter states you have 30 or 60 days to file or respond--believe it! Many claims get denied simply because evidence or information was not received on time. If you wait too long, an entirely new claim may have to be filed.

  

If you are a procrastinator and drop your response in the mailbox on the last day it's due, there could be delays. If that day is a Friday, the mail might just not be picked up until Monday and not actually postmarked until Tuesday. Therefore, you exceeded the time limit. This rule can also be applied in reverse to save you time.

   

A VA letter may be giving you what is known as "due process," which allows you 60 days for a response. You can shorten that by responding as soon as you get the letter. If the information is correct and you agree, write back and tell VA to take immediate action on the claim based on the evidence it has on file.

   

  

  

  

  

  

  

  

      

     

     

8.  Keep notes. Get the name of the person who assisted you or answered a question, the date of contact and the advice given. You may not always be able to deal with the same person each time. But knowing who you dealt with before can sometimes make the job easier for the next employee who tries to help you.

   

This suggestion is especially important in the area of complaints. A valid complaint about "someone" telling you to do something a certain way will carry less weight than if you say, "On October 3, 2019, Mr. Toczek advised me to submit form XYZ to your processing center in Austin, Texas.”

       

This also allows VA supervisors to get back to their employees and refresh them on procedural errors.

Top 10 Ways To Avoid VA Red Tape 

| 1 | 2 | 3 | Next>>