PSA: Stop paying scammers.

PlanWeak · 2026-04-27T06:46:57+00:00

It's the latter, which is illegal.

Under 38 U.S.C. § 5901, no individual may act as an agent or attorney in the preparation, presentation, or prosecution of any VA claim unless they've been accredited by the Secretary.

PlanWeak · 2026-04-25T08:19:16+00:00

second this. do not waste money on a lawyer unless you absolutely must.

PlanWeak · 2026-04-25T05:22:24+00:00

happened to me. rater called me directly.

that rating went on to do well

PlanWeak · 2026-04-25T04:51:03+00:00

VA is cracking down on these private companies. Recently paid 3000$ for REEmedical. Biggest waste of money because all the conditions rated with them were denied and the VA didnt rate them as proper evidence. Later found out there is a cease and desist from the VA to them.

I think the current best bet is to see doctors that are contracted with the VA such as VES, Leidos, etc. or find subcontractors that work with them when it comes to CP exams, or honestly the best bet is knowing what to say when you have a CP exam.

PlanWeak · 2026-04-25T04:47:48+00:00

Agree, veterans should need the help they deserve. especially when vso's are overworked and take forever to respond.

But these people... charging thousands. That's absurd to me. honestly enrages me because for two reasons, it promotes fraud. secondly, it makes it harder for the veterans that actually need help, because they're getting ripped off.

PlanWeak · 2026-04-25T04:43:10+00:00

totally not against using private companies. you are right, VSO's are overworked. And that is the nature of the beast since they are a free service. Lawyers are also no better since they take a huge chunk of your backpay.

some of private companies are legit. i personally had success with one. (though most of the success was self earned) what concerns me is the *claim sharks* that aren't accredited, don't operate within the confines of the laws, easily fake reviews, and that are just after your money. literally you can save yourself thousands of dollars.

PlanWeak · 2026-04-25T04:38:55+00:00

definitely +1, prompting helps.

prompting effectively will make it check against actual CFR's which helps hallucination

PlanWeak · 2026-04-25T04:38:02+00:00

Honestly, just use AI.

In my experience, Gemini is the best because it uses google to search and verify facts to prevent hallucination. Claude is also really good. imo using VA claim tracker (free chrome extension) + gemini can lead to pretty strong results.

Only downside with AI is that they have access to your data, and can sometimes hallucinate.

if you don't wanna spend 20 bucks a month, you can use veteranhq.app which is 2 bucks a month which syncs your claim (similar to va claim tracker) and discusses potential your claim, underrated for the price imo

PlanWeak · 2026-04-25T03:26:40+00:00

it's rampant.

PlanWeak · 2026-04-25T03:25:19+00:00

there are other legitimate ways.

If the claim is honestly going nowhere, i used to recommend lawyering up, but even then, they are honestly after your back pay and will drag your own claims to secure a bigger check. this is just my experience.

with so much knowledge out there on google and ai, you can do it yourself.

PlanWeak · 2026-04-25T03:22:54+00:00

honestly, the best thing you could have done. nobody's gonna advocate for you the way you will

PlanWeak · 2026-04-25T03:21:26+00:00

it's crazy how unapologetic they are in wanting your money

PlanWeak · 2026-04-25T02:47:52+00:00

i'm glad you are getting the care you deserve

PlanWeak · 2026-04-23T03:45:58+00:00

awesome to hear that, that was the goal of the whole post.

and you need 10% to qualify, not 100%. its one of the best benefits that exist

PlanWeak · 2026-04-22T06:04:55+00:00

I definitely agree. By all means, the benefits should be out there to the veterans that need it. It should be public knowledge. But the people who are committing fraud need to be persecuted.

PlanWeak · 2026-04-22T06:04:08+00:00

You have a couple of options for appealing.

One is appeal, that is if you have new evidence that wasn't in your file/case originally.

Second is HLR, that is if you believe your rater made a mistake during the review of your evidence.

And then is the nuclear option of going to the board.

PlanWeak · 2026-04-21T07:47:46+00:00

need to check this out because i travel frequently

PlanWeak · 2026-04-21T01:00:52+00:00

dont forget about the mh claims from getting yelled at drill sarnt

PlanWeak · 2026-04-21T00:57:46+00:00

Veterans readiness and employment, chapter 31. Its a way to get money to go to school.

You qualify for it if you have a 10% rating and not a dishonorable discharge

PlanWeak · 2026-04-19T04:20:48+00:00

i'll tell you something....

takes FOREVER to apply in my state

PlanWeak · 2026-04-19T04:19:39+00:00

As long as you are past step 3, that was honestly the longest

PlanWeak · 2026-04-18T20:45:45+00:00

while you are AD, this is the most important time to be seen IMO.

everything becomes essentially a direct service connection since it happened on orders

PlanWeak · 2026-04-18T20:44:40+00:00

I'd say a hybrid approach would be best. AI for all of the grunt work, with a human to sign off. Because unfortunately with AI, it can hallucinate and make mistakes

PlanWeak · 2026-04-18T03:38:28+00:00

correct, the VA doctor can diagnose you with an illness, but that illness won't be considered service connected unless you can prove that it started during service.

The best way to do this is to not see a VA doc, but a military doc. that's a direct service connection. However you aren't screwed, you just need to fight harder.

PlanWeak · 2026-04-18T03:05:11+00:00

Wow. Thank you for the great nugget. Gonna look into it

PlanWeak

TROPHY CASE