5 Reasons Veterans Should Fire Their Veteran Service Officer - VA Claims Insider

Capt Brian Reese All fine and dandy, but this is an advertisement. PLEASE state this at the beginning of your post.

I have only one point to argue with this article. It is in the early part, "You should never pay someone to help you with that, because you can do it yourself online in about two minutes or less inside eBenefits or VA.gov."

Paying someone to file a claim is illegal. Filing of a claim from any source is free.

As an Attorney, I have a problem with VSOs. However, most VSOs I deal with do a great job helping veterans. I always tell veterans filing an initial claim to see a VSO. When a veteran's claim gets denied at the Regional Office, it's usually not the fault of the VSO. Many disability claims get denied at the initial stage. Most VSOs will help veterans appeal their denial with the Board of Veterans Appeals (BVA), but leave the veteran hanging if denied by the BVA because many VSOs will not represent the veteran at the CAVC (Court of Appeals for the Veterans Claims). That's where I come in.

Attorney's cannot charge any fees until the Notice of Disagreement has been filed with the VA. Attorneys have an incentive to win because they do not get paid unless they win. Also, attorney fees are capped at 20% of the retroactive pay. The veteran must choose between giving up 20% of their retroactive pay, or file for free with a VSO. It's a difficult decision.

Great post,but it does not paint a complete picture of VSOs. We have plenty VSOs that do a great job.