Form 21-4138 Statement in Support of Claim was returned - please advise

[janah]

I sent form 21-4138 and form 21-0845 on behalf of my vet mom and just received them back in the mail today with the attached letter

Is this letter normal? Why would it have been sent? The forms were filled out correctly. Should I go ahead and follow the letter's instructions

I put X marks in certain parts to ensure privacy.  In the upper right it say in reply refer to .. is that my case number?


Thank you for your help.

[vetadmin]

What a joke, this is.  If you provided all the information on the original paperwork, somebody must have been having a bad day!

Fill it out and send it back.  When the VA asks for information again that has already been provided, it is useless to argue that you already did it.

Did they include the original paperwork with this letter back to you?

[vetwife]

Could it be that you have not sent the whole application yet?
Just from reading your previous post that you were waiting on your mom's discharge papers?
I know it is supposed to start the clock, but maybe they are looking for a claim to associate it to.
Just a guess...good luck   

[janah]

What a joke, this is.  If you provided all the information on the original paperwork, somebody must have been having a bad day!

Fill it out and send it back.  When the VA asks for information again that has already been provided, it is useless to argue that you already did it.

Did they include the original paperwork with this letter back to you?

Yes, they did include the original paperwork. I don't understand what was wrong. My vet mom signed the papers, however her signature was not real legible...maybe that was the reason?

[janah]

Could it be that you have not sent the whole application yet?
Just from reading your previous post that you were waiting on your mom's discharge papers?
I know it is supposed to start the clock, but maybe they are looking for a claim to associate it to.
Just a guess...good luck   

 I agree with you. When I read the letter it gave me that impression. However,I think that they are supposed to tell me that the application is incomplete and then assign a VA claim number. I haven't read any posts where they actually sent the forms back.

[maralina1]

I would send a copy  of what was returned back to the VA. Hold on to the original Statement in Support of Claim(Informal Claim) that the VA mailed back to you along with the letter. Did the VA stamp the 21-4138 before they mailed it back? if so, that's good news. It's proof that it was recieved and the VA will have to honor the claim from that stamp date even if they mailed it back. The VA did the same to us. I battled with them and in the end they had to pay from that original  date because I saved the 21-4138 that they stamped and mailed back. They said they never recieved it, but I had proof that they had! The informal claim doesn't require much info, so I doubt yours was incomplete. I know ours was not. Good Luck

[janah]

I would send a copy  of what was returned back to the VA. Hold on to the original Statement in Support of Claim(Informal Claim) that the VA mailed back to you along with the letter. Did the VA stamp the 21-4138 before they mailed it back? if so, that's good news. It's proof that it was recieved and the VA will have to honor the claim from that stamp date even if they mailed it back. The VA did the same to us. I battled with them and in the end they had to pay from that original  date because I saved the 21-4138 that they stamped and mailed back. They said they never recieved it, but I had proof that they had! The informal claim doesn't require much info, so I doubt yours was incomplete. I know ours was not. Good Luck

Yes, they did stamp the 21 -4138 and the back of the form 21-0845.  I made a copy of the stamped forms and the letter and sent the originals back. I didn't read your post until after I mailed the originals (certified mail). I thought about keeping the originals, but the letter specifically said return original copies with letter. I was afraid that if I did not do as directed it might cause a problem.

[maralina1]

Keeping the copies will be fine as long as you can read the date on the stamps. Just hold on to that 21-4138 copy. As I said, this is the proof that it was recieved by the VA on that date. When the claim is approved they will have to pay from that date on. Good Luck again!