VA Claim Sharks
They go by many names: VA claims consultant, claims coach, claim advisor, claims insider, claims preparer, and many more.
Despite the fancy monikers, all of them are VA claim sharks and none of them are actually legally allowed to help you with your VA claim or appeal.
A VA claim shark is any individual or organization that guides, assists, represents, or advises a Veteran on a VA claim or appeal and who is not accredited through the Department of Veterans Affairs.
4th Infantry Division soldiers deploying from CH-47 during an assault in 1967
Oftentimes this assistance involves illegal hefty upfront fees or they charge a portion of what you win on an initial claim.
The interesting thing is that these individuals and companies could easily apply to become accredited with the VA, but they won’t because then they would be required to abide by the rules, and that would hurt their bottom line. They make more money by remaining unaccredited and breaking the law.
I want to make something very clear: it is illegal for anyone, accredited or not, to charge a Veteran for representation or help with an initial claim. This includes disguised fees, like gifts or services in exchange for help, or a donation to a non-profit organization run by, or associated with the representative. An initial claim is defined as any new claim for a disability or grant of a new benefit, or a claim for an increase based on the worsening of a condition.
It is legal for accredited agents and attorneys to charge a fee for an appeal that they represent you for, but there are strict laws that they must adhere to regarding those fees. Usually this works as a contingency fee, and there’s only a fee if you win your appeal and win backpay.
LRRP team briefing - Operation Harrison 1966
Unfortunately, a lot of these claim shark companies are run by Veterans who leverage that status to unjustly earn trust from other Veterans who are simply looking for someone to help with their VA claims.
These individuals and companies have made a fortune by taking advantage of unsuspecting Veterans who don’t know about the laws established by Congress regarding who can legally represent and assist Veterans with VA claims and appeals and what fees can be charged. I talk with Veterans on a regular basis who have worked with one of these companies and are now facing an uphill battle on winning a legitimate claim because their claims file has been tainted with lousy medical opinions and/or other bogus claims.
The laws on who can represent and advise Veterans on VA claims/appeals were put into place a long time ago to protect Veterans from the predatory tactics that flourished following the US Civil War. Inexplicably, in 2006 the penalties for breaking these laws were removed. This gave claim sharks the freedom to break the law with no fear of any real repercussions. Many have morphed into multi-million dollar enterprises with deep pockets buying a lot of influence in Congress.
UH-1 helicopters preparing to disembark 199th Light Infantry Brigade soldiers
As a result of Congress’ and the VA’s inaction in cracking down on these individuals and companies, we now have individual states passing a patchwork of state laws across the country to try and protect Veterans from these vultures. While these efforts are well-intentioned, these laws are often drafted by people who don’t truly understand all aspects of the legal representation of Veterans, which results in loopholes in the legislation, or it ends up unintentionally hurting VA accredited advocates who are legally able to assist Veterans.
What needs to happen is Congress must reinstate the penalties (and make those penalties harsher) that were in place previously, and then they need to be enforced. This is a federal issue, not a state one. States wouldn’t have to try and fill the gap if Congress and the VA were doing their job.
It is my belief that claim shark companies have contributed to the very real, and very negative sentiment shift we are seeing in how the general public views Veterans and VA benefits. There has been seismic, palpable change in public opinion, and it sure is not to the benefit of Veterans.
So how can you know if someone is legally able to help you with a VA claim or appeal? Simply ask them, “Are you accredited through the Department of Veterans Affairs?” If they can’t say yes or become evasive, run the other way. You can also easily verify a representative’s claim that they’re accredited by searching for them on the VA OGC Accreditation search website:
VA Accreditation Search Website
Who is legally able to represent and assist Veterans?
VA Accredited Agents
VA Accredited Attorneys, to include accredited pro bono law clinics
Veterans Service Officers (VSOs) from VA accredited service organizations
Further reading:
This is an excellent article on the claim shark industry and the millions of dollars that these companies have spent to gain influence in our government and continue their lawless operations: Article
This is a follow up article to the one above and details how these companies have reacted to VA warnings to cease illegal operations: Article
American Veteran Advocacy is accredited with the VA and helps Veterans with VA disability compensation claims and appeals, and specializes in special monthly compensation (SMC). If you are a Veteran and need help with your claim or appeal, you can contact me here.