[ARC]

Ok, so I am having some major problems getting my money for my GI Bill benefits for school this month.  I was just wondering if there was anyone else out there who has had a problem with th VA.

[bigity]

You are wasting your time looking for help here

Call them.  Sometimes depending on the amount of claims they can get a little behind.

Did you check the status online?  My GI Bill was pre-911 so it was a different beast back then.

[kirk]

Agree with Bigity. In addition, at most (US) universities and colleges there is a particular person in the financial aid or treasurer's office who handles VA loans. Find this person. Roll high on etiquette (be nice) and ask him or her if he/she can tell you what's going on.

It has never ceased to amaze me how often turning one of the faceless into a face with attached name multiplies effectiveness -- both ways.

[ARC]

I'm not looking for help.  Just wondering if anybody else has been having problems.

[kirk]

I'm not looking for help.  Just wondering if anybody else has been having problems.

Ah. Can't speak for today, my use is literally decades ago. Yet every year there are some (I found the VA person at all the schools I attended; it's a question I asked.) So I would wager that there is someone.

Is it a system wide problem right now? who knows. Because it always happens it may not even be noticed.

[bigity]

I asked a couple of my post-911 buddies and they didn't seem to know about any issues.  Again, best bet is to call, they usually will put an automated message if they are having widespread issues.

[ARC]

I've got it figured.  I wasn't talking about widespread problems.  Just wanting a way to vent.  The VA is just being horrible about somethings that they messed up and are making me pay for it.

[CanRay]

Typical of any bureaucracy, ARC.  "We never make mistakes in our paperwork, you must have filed it wrong.  Nothing ever gets lost.  We admit nothing."

Good luck with going through things with them.

[ARC]

Typical of any bureaucracy, ARC.  "We never make mistakes in our paperwork, you must have filed it wrong.  Nothing ever gets lost.  We admit nothing."

Good luck with going through things with them.

According to them, they took a hunk of my already cut money (they only pay for days where there is actually classes) because they overpaid my college.  So I am now supposed to go to my college tomorrow and see about my money that they supposedly got overpaid.

[CanRay]

Oh boy, buck passing.

Just a suggestion from a former clerk (And small gear in the process):  Paperwork is your friend.  If you can get anything faxed over (Or in PDF if you lack a fax machine) that has any kind of corroborating evidence at all, even peripherally, it can go a long way.

And never have just one copy.  Make three, minimum.  And it has to be faxed or PDF-Scanned (At least, in Canada), not just e-mailed.  I wouldn't trust the mail, as well, as...  Well, it's an old joke because it's true.  And is too slow really to confirm that it was sent (They could sit on the issue for months rather than days.).

Not trying to bad mouth the VA or anything, but I've seen and had to deal with offices and the like for many years now, and, at least up here, they're typically like that.  My own office was pretty decent, but we were specialized and didn't deal with the public, so the issues that usually crop up with bureaucracies and people didn't happen there.  But I had to deal with other offices, and get info to them, and the whole nine yards.

Again, good luck.

[ARC]

Thanks.  I need it.  It should be fixed soon.

[KarmaInferno]

And never have just one copy.  Make three, minimum.  And it has to be faxed or PDF-Scanned (At least, in Canada), not just e-mailed.  I wouldn't trust the mail, as well, as...  Well, it's an old joke because it's true.  And is too slow really to confirm that it was sent (They could sit on the issue for months rather than days.).

As an aside, I have had to send packages to a business in Canada, from the USA. Most times I use a private carrier like UPS or whatever.

One time, an enterprising secretary decided to save some money and sent it via Post.

It took three months to get there.



-k

[kirk]

And never have just one copy.  Make three, minimum.  And it has to be faxed or PDF-Scanned (At least, in Canada), not just e-mailed.  I wouldn't trust the mail, as well, as...  Well, it's an old joke because it's true.  And is too slow really to confirm that it was sent (They could sit on the issue for months rather than days.).

As an aside, I have had to send packages to a business in Canada, from the USA. Most times I use a private carrier like UPS or whatever.

One time, an enterprising secretary decided to save some money and sent it via Post.

It took three months to get there.

-k

Whereas my experience with post is it took just as long. (Shipping books back and forth between libraries.)

[KarmaInferno]

Might have been something to do with customs. They were able to track the package just fine up until it hit the Canadian border, then it just kinda dropped off the map. We ended up sending another package via private carrier, thinking the first one was just lost, but three months later we got a call, "Hey, you know that package that got lost a while back?"



-k

[kirk]

Could have been, it's the most common cause of delay and I saw it happen to all the delivery systems I've used.

Or it could have been one of the fraction that gets the one-two of not getting properly read and getting onto the wrong pallet. I had that happen with a UPS delivery. Fortunately it was in the states and the last known warehouse was in the city where I live. It "only" took two weeks to find it.

In my experience, if it absolutely positively HAS to be there, hand carry it yourself. There's still a small chance something will happen, but at least you'll know it's happened and can work on fixing it with minimal delay.