Author: Bruce Bebow

Bruce Bebowhttp://www.bebow.orgObserver, tech enthusiast, MBA

Chronology of a VA BDD Compensation Claim

Why?

You may be asking why I would write about my Veteran’s Administration (VA) Benefits Delivery at Discharge (BDD) Compensation Claim.  Simple.  Two reasons:

  1. I’m hoping you will find this information beneficial and help you know ‘what the heck is going on’ with your claim.
  2. I hope you share with others, like us, who’ve filed a claim or plan on filing a claim.

Your results may vary (timelines may be longer or shorter), but, again, I think this will benefit folks who requested a BDD claim and possibly folks who are waiting for an answer on non-BDD claims. Copy and past this link if you want to easily share: http://bit.ly/VA-BDD To make it easier to copy it’s not setup as a hyperlink on this page. Besides, it would come straight back to this page if you clicked it!

Background

The Veterans Administration allows active duty personnel to submit a compensation claim (called BDD) prior to separating/retiring from active duty 60-180 days from separation. With help from the Randolph AFB Chapter of the Military Order of the Purple Heart, I started my application process five months before I retired. I submitted the initial BDD application and ALL of my medical records. A month later I received a packet with a bunch of forms to fill out and three separate appointments over the coming months. The last appointment was a few days before my retirement date.

Waiting

Several of my friends received their rating from two to four months after their retirement dates. I received my VA disability rating five full months after my retirement date. That’s the date my benefits letter displayed on the eBenefits website and my compensation claim status switched to Closed–not the date I actually received my package with the breakdown of how the VA arrived at my rating.  Eight days later (including a weekend and federal holiday) I received my full length exhaustive report with why I was approved or denied for each condition I claimed. The VA also included some forms for additional optional benefits and information regarding appeals.

Claim Status the Quick and Easy Way

I’m going to keep this simple. Use the eBenefits website. Upgrade to the premium edition (it’s free). You need to get your DoD Self-Service Logon (DSLogon) to access the premium features. You can check your claim status on the eBenefits website. I checked my status periodically, after four months, I started checking my status every evening. There are four phases of status for your Compensation & Pension Claims Status. The italics are my comments on the phase definitions I copied from the VA website.

Development: This phase begins when the claim is received and ends when the claim appears to be ready for a decision. This was the status of my claim until I retired at which point it switched to Decision.

Decision: This phase begins when the claim appears to be ready for a decision and ends when the claim has a proposed decision. This phase took the longest. After four months had passed I called the VA 800 number (1-800-827-1000) to ask the status. The call center rep said he’d open an incident and I should hear something within 72 hours.  I received a call from the regional office in charge of my claim the same day. He explained my claim was in a batch of other claims with the board. He said the batch fell between two dates and gave me the dates–mine was in the middle. Then he said I would very likely hear something in two to three weeks. I called again two weeks later to check the status. This time a different rep basically told me to wait–it can take up to a year.

Notification: This phase begins when the claim has a proposed decision and ends when the proposed decision becomes final, all notification letters have been mailed and the claim closed. I switched to this status four months and three weeks after my retirement date. On this day the VA called me because they had a question about one of my forms. The technician told me I should expect a final answer within 10 days. I previously talked to the call center before I switched from Decision to Notification, they told me 10 to 40 days for this phase depending on volume of cases. Having worked in a call center I expect they did not want me calling on the 11th day and that’s why they said up to 40 days…

Closed: This phase begins when the claim is closed or cancelled. For me this was five days after I switched to Notification phase. The same day my account switched from Notification to Closed I went to the letter generator portion of the eBenefits website and I was able to immediately generate a letter with my disability rating and compensation payment information–this is the single page letter you need to get your Disabled Veteran plates (depending on where you live) and other benefits to disabled veterans offered by your state. Strangely, this single page letter does not come in your compensation claim results package. I also called the VA the same day my rating showed on the eBenefits website and requested the letter and they faxed and mailed me a copy of the single page rating letter. I received my first direct deposit (monthly payment) on the next “1st of the month” after I received my official notification. I received my back-pay by direct deposit six weeks after receiving my first monthly payment. 

Things I Learned Along The Way

  • Be patient
  • Be prepared to spend some time filling out questionaires; don’t think you’re going to fill out your questionnaire the night before your VA exam appointment–PLAN AHEAD
  • Know your medical history or read through your medical records
  • Get help from a Veteran Service Organization (VSO) with your compensation claim
  • Be courteous to the VA call center rep; s/he might tell you your ‘unofficial’ rating during the notification phase.
  • BDD claims can take up to a year to process (although, very unlikely for BDD)
  • The eBenefits website is a huge timesaver and is (almost) always available
  • You get back-paid to date of separation. The benefit for the first month is paid on the first day of second month; so, it seems like you will not get a month’s pay when they back-pay you
  • If you retired you cannot receive your lump sum back payment until DFAS reviews it
  • Check for an update of your Retiree Account Statement; you’ll see your monthly VA benefit (CRDP) in the message section on page two (back) very soon after you receive your disability rating
  • Friends who’ve already been through the process are a great source of information and encouragement
  • Payment history on eBenefits is very useful.
  • What is 33-SC-E?

Update on 10.26.2011 | 10:56 PM by  Bruce Bebow

Benefits Delivery at Discharge: http://www.vba.va.gov/predischarge/bdd.htm

Retiring: http://www.dfas.mil/dfas/retiredmilitary.html

Military Order of the Purple Heart: http://www.purpleheart.org/

DoD Self-Service Login: https://myaccess.dmdc.osd.mil/appj/dsaccess/index.jsp

VA Call Center: https://iris.custhelp.com/app/answers/detail/a_id/1703

DFAS reviews it: http://www.dfas.mil/dfas/retiredmilitary/disability/payment.html

Retiree Account Statement: https://mypay.dfas.mil/mypay.aspx

(VA) Payment history: https://eauth.va.gov/ebenefits-portal/ebenefits.portal?_nfpb=true&_nfxr=false&_pageLabel=ebenefits_myeb_paymenthistory

Update on 02.5.2012 | 02:21 PM by  Bruce Bebow

-Best regards, Bruce

Update on 07.17.2012 | 03:55 PM by  Bruce Bebow

If this is the first time you visited my page, I recommend you read the comments. Some good folks took the time to make a few remarks about how the system is working now. 

PLEASE POST YOUR COMMENTS  AND EXPERIENCES SO OTHERS CAN LEARN AND BENEFIT.

Life lessons from working in a call center

Seven weeks changed my life.

I’ve been too busy learning a new job and dealing with external factors to sit down and write. I’ve had the thoughts and ideas brewing in the back of my head for several weeks. I’m starting my seventh week at my new job tomorrow and will soon surpass the length of my first job after I retired from the Air Force.

I finally took a few quiet moments to reflect and try to get something in digital ink. So, here goes…

I worked in the Total Force Service Center – San Antonio, the US Air Force’s personnel assistance call center for seven weeks. When I walked away from the call center for the last time I saw the world differently.

How did I end up working at a call center? Many people asked this to my face (and behind my back).  I can sum up the reason in one word. Arrogance. God gave me the opportunity to work in a call center because I thought I was too good for it. I could not understand how people I knew working there could ‘stoop so low’. I understand now. An uncertain financial future changes one’s perspective. Significantly. Humility is not the only lesson I was reminded of in my call center job.

I am sorry. How fuming-mad customers responded to those three little words amazed me–still amazes me when I think about it. Was the problem my fault? No. But, saying, “I am sorry,” immediately turned the conversation in a positive direction every single time I dealt with an angry customer–without fail. So, when you deal with customers (or family members) it’s okay to say, “I’m very sorry about that,” and, “How can we make this better?” Notice how I said ‘we’? Yes, we’re in this together.

People don’t like to wait–make it worth the wait for them. I knew exactly how long someone had been on hold when I picked up the line. Sometimes their guns started blaring the instant I picked up the line. Refer to the above paragraph–again, very effective. I found myself thinking of how I would feel if I waited 20 or 30 minutes to talk to me. My sympathetic thought process made me routinely break my time limit, but I ended nearly every call I took with a very grateful person on the other end of the line.

Time is limited. When you’re forced to literally watch the clock, you realize how time is quickly fleeting. First, I want to say my contract employer gave me plenty of time for lunch and several generous breaks throughout the day. However, every minute, every second that was not a scheduled break belonged to the company. They wanted and got their money’s worth from every employee. Watching the clock all day reminded me of the persistence of time. It’s limited quantity. Make the best of your time; you won’t get it back. It’s gone.

Be grateful for what you have. It may not be the most ideal situation for you, but if you’re staying afloat or if your getting by, it’s okay. You’re still moving forward. A grateful attitude goes along very well with a positive attitude. It makes for a happy life in spite of circumstances.

Do your best. I saved the best for last (no pun intended). I’ve lived this lesson all my life. The “finish the phone call quickly and take the next call” concept tested me. Working in a call center is a thankless job. How can you make a thankless job better? How can you make your life better? Be the best you can be. God commands it. “Whatever you do, work at it with all your heart…” I can’t really top that. Work at it with all your heart.