Veteran's Help -Submitted Stories

Deserted By The Disabled American Veterans (DAV)

     In the 1970's I signed up Disabled American Veterans (DAV) as my power of Attorney to help me fight the VA. It looked really good and the rep for DAV said he was really going to dive into my case and see that something was done. My hopes were high. After a few encouraging calls from the DAV about how things were going with my case, the DAV stopped calling. I started making calls to the DAV asking about my case. I was told someone would return my calls. No one ever did. I then started calling the DAV daily leaving msgs. Finally one day I got a real person on the line. They said that the person that was working on my case no longer worked for the DAV and that he left no record of my case behind, and no one knows how to contact him. They said they were no longer my power of Attorney and that they could not help me.

     There was another time I asked the DAV to help me. I don't have that date in mind as I write this. They told me that time also that the VA will not respond to them and without that response the DAV can not help me.

     This year 2002 the DAV again was my Power of Attorney. (I was also a member at this time) As I tried again to get help in my fight with the VA. All I have ever gotten from the DAV is mail asking me to send them money to help Vets.

     I would call the DAV office to check on the status of my claim, only to be confronted with an answering machine that told me someone would call me back. (No one called) I started calling dally leaving a msg on that machine. Three times I did talk to a real person. She (same person) told me the first time I called, that my DAV rep was on the phone and would call me back later that day. He did not call. I called again the next day and the next day and the next day the same lady answered. She said that he had just slipped out of the office and would be right back. He should call me as soon as he gets in as this was his day to return all calls.
After another week not getting any calls at all. I wrote the DAV headquarters and complained about the non responses that has been going on. About three days later I received a call from my DAV rep from this office here, and he was very angry with me for the letter that I wrote to his boss. He said that he had been sick during the times that I was calling and was out of the office and could not return any calls.

     Not long after this I received a letter from the VA and they gave me 60 days to respond. I started calling my DAV rep again with the same results. Not one call was being returned. So I started making dally calls again until I got a real person. The lady that answered was the same one I had talked to twice before and she remembered me. I told her that none of my calls are being returned. She thought that was not right and said so. I told her about the angry call I got for e-mailing higher ups. I told her how my DAV rep (her boss) said that he was sick and out of the office, that is why he never returned my calls. She was shocked. She told me that he was not out of the office, sick and he was in the office. "If he was here and sick he did not say anything" She did not know why he was not returning my calls now either.

     I wrote another e-mail to the head office of the DAV and received another angry call from my rep. This time he angrily ran on about it only being a one man operation and he is so busy that he can't return all his calls. He said that he could do nothing with my case and that I needed a lawyer. The VA would not respond to him and would not release my files. I felt brushed off. I got a hold of someone at the VA (another story) and asked why they are not responding to DAV's request for my files? I was told that there was no request from the DAV for my files. I started calling my rep again. No calls were returned.

     An e-mail went out to the DAV head quarters. Again I got the angry call from my DAV rep. There was not much I could get out of that call. My rep was angry at me, he was angry at the VA, and was not making much sense. I no longer have a Power of attorney.

     I still get lots of mail from the DAV. They keep asking me to send them money to help the Vets.
What can I say?
Mike (BEING)