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IS THE VA FAKING DATES ON INCOME VERIFICATION LETTERS

TO UNEMPLOYABLE VETS? -- Veterans' Advocate Jim Strickland

looks at the possibilities: VA ploy? Honest mistake?

Conspiracy? Or, just the usual sloppy work?

Veterans' Advocate Jim Strickland provides regular columns for VA Watchdog dot Org.

If you would like to contact Jim about his columns, you can email him here...

The archive of Jim's articles is here...

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by Jim Strickland

NOTE:  Letters in my mailbag are reprinted just as they come to me. Spelling and grammar are left as is and only small corrections are made to improve readability, ensure anonymity or delete expletives that may offend some readers. This is not legal advice. You should always seek the advice of an attorney who is qualified in Veterans' law before you make any decisions about your own benefits.

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Jim;

In regards to your last message on the part of other Vets receiving letters and forms with the dates wrong makes me NOT feel like the lone stranger. I wish I had more information on what the VA is REQUIRED to do when sending out letters and forms. Seems to me that they should send things certified mail, but that does not happen. I just wonder what requirements they are suppose to follow? I did contact the VA Regional Office here in Tennessee and the person in the benefits said that he would put the message in my file that the form was not the correct date.

About two years ago the VA sent an income verification form to have filled out, they had the GULL to put a P/0 box for a return address, well I thought of it and I looked up the street address and sent one certified mail to the street address and also sent one to the P/0 box , I made sure I covered the situation fully. You seem to be a very busy person so I will not take up your whole day on my stuff, thanks for being so helpful, I have done a lot in the workings to get my claim going, but as times passes my mind does get a little foggy.

Jim;

Last night and today I have been busy getting a certified letter ready to send to the DARN VA as they sent me a letter/form 1-4140 which is the Employment Questionnaire, the problem with the form is that they put the WRONG date mailed on the form. I called the VA Regional Office yesterday and told them what was going on and they said that they would note it in my
file, but I really don't trust the VA at all so I am sending them the filled out form back today and sending it Certified receipt mail. The date that put on the form is over the 60 days allowed already so that can be a problem and yet I hope they take care of it right away and there is no problem with it as I did notify them right away and I am also sending a copy of everything to my Service Officer who is right down the hall from the Regional Office in Nashville TN.

Jim;

First I want to say thank you for what you do. Second I want to point out that on your "VA News Flash" for 12-18-2007 ( http://www.vawatchdog.org/07/nf07/nfDEC07/nf121807-3.htm ) there is someone with the same exact experience I am having. From the same office (Winston Salem, NC) to the same city (Fayetteville, NC). My VA Form 21-4140 has the "date mailed" box entered as August 1, 2008 and I just received the letter on October 10, 2008. I like the previous person find it hard to believe that the letter took 71 day's to arrive at my address approximately 115 miles away. Maybe the gentleman was correct and there is a conspiracy. Maybe you are correct and it is just "more sloppy work by untrained, unskilled and unsupervised VBA employees". Or maybe it was just an honest mistake which I want to believe. Either way I am going to hand deliver this form with my questions/complaint to the Winston Salem VARO and would like to know what person (job title) I should speak to to clear this up right away. I am under enough stress as it is without having to worry about paying my bills or being back in the mental ward because of undue stress from this exact type of situation. I have left my home less than ten times over the past 5 years but I feel compelled to go personally to clear this up as I am very upset about it.

Jim;

Concerning the yearly 21-4140: I heeded my computer's advice and sent that form in during the first week of September as required. Today, October 10, I received from the VA a 21-4140 for my completion with a date mailed of August 1, 2008. No postmark on the envelope. Since I have all the receipts from the Certified Mail copy sent over a month ago do I safely ignore this one? Kept everything in my files, even the credit card receipt from the transaction at the PO, the PS Forms 3800 and 3811, the printout from the USPS web site showing exact time of delivery, and a copy of the 21-4140 as filled out and signed. Sorry to take up your time with this minor matter but they did put a scare in me last February. This might be an issue of wider interest if this is to be an ongoing VA ploy or error."

Jim;

I received a letter today (10/10/08) with no post mark date from the VA. Inside was VA form 21-4140 asking if I were employed in the past year. The form stated that my benefits could be reduced if the form were not returned within 60 days. It was noted as mailed on August 1, 2008. This would mean that the 60 days have expired already. I don't know what they are up to but I am going into the regional office to find out. Also, I will make a notation on the form as to when it was received and have them stamp and copy it.

Reply;

Those veterans who receive the 100% Individual Unemployability (IU) benefit are required to complete an employment questionnaire each year. In your computerized record at the VARO is a 'future calendar' that should alert Veterans Service Representatives to ensure that you are sent the VA Form 21-4140 in a timely manner. This should occur at about the anniversary date of your award. You are required to complete the form as long as you hold the IU benefit or until you reach age 70.

This requirement has been on-again, off-again over the years. Not so long ago one of the temporary employees who have the brief task of pretending to manage the Department of Veterans Affairs decided that mailing that form wasn't worth the effort or expense and told the VBA to forget about it. Soon enough, another temp was appointed as Secretary and he decided that since all the really big problems at the VBA were fixed, he would tackle some of the other important issues and he put out the instructions to begin the 4140 requirement once again.

If you have Social Security Disability Insurance, you've been determined by the SSA to be unemployable for life. They don't require a yearly form and seem to do fine without it. They tell you that if you accept employment you must notify them and when you notify them, they'll work with you to determine what can be done to help you stay employed.

Across the hall over at the VA offices, they aren't as trusting of veterans. As you well know, your VA brands you as a thief who can't be trusted under any circumstance. From the moment you apply for a benefit you're guilty of trying to take their money from their wallets and they do everything in their power to ensure that you won't see any benefits.

If they screw it up and by some sort of mistake they do award you a benefit, they then make every effort to take it back. Unlike the Social Security folks, the VBA uses frequent reexaminations by their contract/employee physicians to show how much you've improved. (Of course this is a completely fair and impartial system and the fact that QTC is owned, operated by or consulted to by a handful for current and former DVA Secretaries shouldn't trouble you.)

The system works well for QTC in particular. Every veteran gets a QTC exam no matter how much medical evidence is already in the record. Then there are frequent reexams ordered to look for 'improvement'. Veterans then appeal and soon enough, another QTC - C & P exam is scheduled.

More and more physicians who can't find work in a state prison system due to their lack of credentials are employed by QTC to keep up with the demand. The owners and investors at QTC watch the business grow each year. Everyone wins!

The only loser is the veteran at the bottom of that food chain.

Another of the ploys used to take away your benefits is the "timely" response you must make when VA demands something from you. This works well for them and results in thousands of veterans losing benefits at least temporarily each year.

There is only one reason for the VA Form 21-4140. There is no evidence that it prevents veterans from perpetrating fraud by working and keeping their IU benefit. The IU veteran, like the SSDI recipient, knows that he or she shouldn't be capable of "substantial gainful employment". The individual who will perpetrate such fraud won't be stopped because they have to complete that form. They'll just lie on the form and mail it in. To believe that a veteran who has criminal activity on the mind will stop and reconsider what they intend to do is absurd. If you believe that, you believe that posting a warning at the door of Jiffy Marts will stop armed robberies.

The VBA has one purpose in mailing that form. It's designed to trip you up and bring you into a trap where your benefit can be permanently lowered.

When you receive the forms from the VA you have 30 to 60 days from the date of the form to return it. Your letter will tell you what you must do. If you don't return it, signed and completed, within the deadline VA begins immediate action. It's interesting to note how quickly and efficiently VBA can react when it's time to prosecute you for missing a deadline. It's apparent that the goal of swift action and reduction of a benefit is right up at the top of the list.

Of course, this wouldn't be a big issue if the 21-4140 was mailed on the date it was printed. The veteran would have it later in the week, complete it in the next day or two and then hoof it over to a post office to return it via certified mail, return receipt requested. Not a big deal, right?

The 3 veterans in those 3 emails above are all at different regions. Their messages came to me within 36 hours of each other. This is one of the most frequent messages that I receive. The email almost always tells me that they received the letter weeks after it was dated or they didn't receive it at all. The first indication that some veterans have that there's a problem is when they get the letter that tells them of a "proposal to reduce the IU benefit" because the veteran didn't timely return that 4140.

That's the point when a lot of vets panic. They call the VA's toll free number. (Don't EVER do that.) The person on the phone tells them, "Don't worry, be happy" or "Oh My God, why didn't you return the form?" or "I've noted it in your records so it shouldn't be a problem" or any other answer they can spew into your ear that will get you off the phone in less than 3 minutes. Whatever answer you get at the toll free number will be wrong. Forget that there is a toll free number. If you're tempted to use it, tear out your telephones and throw them away. Trust me on this one.

Or...the veteran rushes to their computer and sends an email via the IRIS system. If you don't know what IRIS is, great. I'm not telling you. You're better off that way.

Once VBA has caught you in this trap, the instructions on how to respond are included in the proposal letter you'll get. Once again, you'll have deadlines to meet. You have to follow those instructions precisely and with a little time spent worrying and jumping through some hoops, you'll probably be OK.

Is this "an ongoing VA ploy"? Could it be an "honest mistake"? Maybe it's just "more sloppy work by untrained, unskilled and unsupervised VBA employees"?

Could it be that "there is a conspiracy"?

I've defended the VBA in the past. Well, I've defended them by writing these things off to being just "more sloppy work", if you'd call that defending them. But I haven't allowed any evil conspiracy or closed door meetings to be seriously considered.

I'd still like to believe that there isn't a conspiracy. I can't accept the "honest mistake" option. That dog just won't hunt. To contemplate some designed ploy or conspiracy for the leaders of the DVA strikes fear in my heart. Can it be true that senior staff of the second largest government entity that reports to the POTUS is actually plotting to cheat veterans who have honorably served?

If that's true, I'm at a loss to think of what I should do. That would mean that the CIA did train Oswald, there are alien's remains tucked away in Roswell and HIV is a government project gone wrong.

I don't want to think that. Not yet. Not without proof positive. I'll stick with my own personal theory that the work done by the VBA is sloppy beyond comprehension. They seem almost proud of the amount of pure crap they can shovel out and get away with. And it's getting worse, not better. Those oversight agencies (GAO, IG) say that in every report they've produced that I can find.

The oversight agencies make stern recommendations, the VA argues why they can't do that, the error rate continues to rise, delays get worse, we find ourselves appealing every decision and the beat goes on. I've not found a single report that lauds the VBA for any significant improvement whatever. The best they can do are phrases like, "The VBA has made some efforts to improve towards the targets set 3 years ago and although they have improved processing time by 2 days, they are still short of the goal by 157 days." That isn't an improvement, that's a downhill slide any way it's looked at.

The bottom line is simple. Protect yourself. If you're IU, download the form at or about your anniversary and send it in. Don't wait for your RO to mail it to you. Cover your butt...use certified mail and keep copies of everything.

You're on your own when dealing with the VBA.

If you believe that they're spending any time "to care for him who shall have borne the battle and for his widow and his orphan", call me. I've got a nice bridge in Alaska I'd like to sell you.

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Founder and Editor
VA Watchdog dot Org

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