In a letter sent this week to the Secretary of Veterans Affairs (VA), Congressman Chris Pappas (NH-01) expressed his concern about the rise of unaccredited disability claims consultants that target veterans for financial exploitation and requested a briefing from VA on its strategy to raise awareness of these predatory practices and protect veterans.
Unaccredited disability claim consultants, known as "claim sharks," are not subject to VA standards, strategically advertise their services to avoid regulatory oversight, and as a result, may engage in predatory and unethical practices targeting veterans and rob them of their VA disability compensation benefits.
"Veterans who have taken an oath to serve our country are owed benefits and care when their service ends," said Congressman Pappas. "It is unconscionable that predatory actors would target veterans specifically and rob them of these hard-earned benefits under the guise of helping file their claim. This is an issue for veterans in my state and for veterans across the country, and I am committed to exposing these claim sharks and their unethical practices, and calling on the VA to take action to protect veterans and their benefits from these deceptive practices."
VA-accredited representatives - such as Veterans Service Organization (VSO) representatives, agents, and attorneys - are the only entities that can prepare, present, and prosecute VA claims and are bound by VA regulations in addition to other legal and ethical standards.
Pappas encourages any veterans who feel that they may have been taken advantage of by these practices to contact his office at (603) 285-4300.
The full letter can be found here and below.
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The Honorable Denis McDonough
Secretary of Veterans Affairs
U.S. Department of Veterans Affairs
810 Vermont Ave, N.W.
Washington, DC 20420
Dear Secretary McDonough,
I write to express my concerns with the recent rise of unaccredited disability claims consultants that target veterans for financial exploitation, engage in predatory and unethical practices, and charge veterans for assistance filing disability benefits claims. Accordingly, I request a briefing from the Department of Veterans Affairs (VA) on its strategy to raise awareness of unaccredited disability claims consultants, protect veterans benefits, and educate veterans of their rights to competent representation in the VA benefits process through the services provided by VA accredited Veterans Service Organization (VSO) representatives, agents, and attorneys.
As you know, eligible veterans with service-connected disabilities can file a claim for disability compensation with the Veterans Benefits Administration (VBA). In order to ensure veterans have access to qualified representation when seeking assistance filing a claim, the VA provides accreditation to three types of representatives – VSO representatives, attorneys, and agents. VAaccredited representatives are the only ones that can prepare, present, and prosecute VA claims and are bound by VA regulations in addition to other legal and ethical standards. For example, VA-accredited representatives are prohibited by statute from charging veterans a fee to file an initial claim, and the VA implemented detailed rules and regulations for how attorneys and agents can charge fees after a denial of an initial claim.
Unaccredited disability claims consultants, meanwhile, are not subject to VA standards, strategically advertise their services to avoid regulatory oversight, and therefore may engage in predatory and unethical practices that target veterans and rob them of their VA disability compensation benefits. According to Veterans of Foreign Wars (VFW), these consultants may charge "five times the amount of the veteran's retroactive compensation, potentially costing [the veteran] thousands of dollars."1 The National Organization of Veterans' Advocates (NOVA) states many of these companies claim "they do not charge for the filing of a claim and are merely "consulting" or "coaching," but require veterans to sign contracts that will make them pay unregulated sums out of future benefits."2 Veterans working with these predatory consultants often file the claim themselves, making it difficult to determine which companies were assisting them, underscoring the need for the VA to create an awareness campaign so veterans don't fall victim.
Last year, VetAttend Professional Services, LLC, was shut down by the Louisiana State Attorney General for operating a VA benefit consulting and management business without accreditation from the VA. While VetAttend advertised its services for free, it "required veterans to sign three-year contracts to use VetAttend's home care services, giving all or a portion of the veterans' benefits" to the company.3 An investigation into Veterans Guardian – an unaccredited North Carolina-based company that advertised itself as a "pre-filing benefits company" – revealed it was charging veterans who signed a contract for their services five times the total amount of the increase in their monthly benefits.4 Some consultants even go so far as to ask veterans to provide their eBenefits and MyHealtheVet log-in information to access their private information and medical records.
While the VA's Office of the General Counsel provides a list of VA-recognized organizations and VA-accredited individuals on its website, the pandemic has tragically allowed predatory actors to exploit social isolation and aggressively target veterans with flashy online advertisements that promise veterans more monetary benefits in a time of financial uncertainty. The VA must do everything in its power to protect veterans from predatory, unaccredited disability claims consultants and get veterans the benefits they've earned.
Accordingly, I request a briefing from the VA within the next 30 days on its strategy to raise awareness of unaccredited disability claims consultants, protect veterans benefits, and educate veterans of their rights to competent representation in the VA benefits process through the services provided by VA-accredited VSO representatives, agents, and attorneys. Thank you for your attention to this important matter and I look forward to your response.
Sincerely,
Chris Pappas
Member of Congress
Original source can be found here.
