Disabled American Veterans

They pretty much treated me like they had better things to do.
I hear good things about MOPH and VFW though. I suggest you try one of them out before considering stopping here.

I never asked for DAV to have power of attorney or to represent me on my claims and now I can’t get rid of them. They have never contacted me. Never! The one time I went in to see them at the office on San Diego VA hospital the rep was short with me and never even pulled up my info. I would like to file a complaint on them for fraud because I never authorized them in the first place. They really suck as a veterans group…

I don’t get it. The DAV is understaffed. I think anyone assisting Veterans are under prepared for the claims assistance needed for Veterans. It is impossible to get a human being on the phone to answer questions at the Roanoke office. When workers are understaffed instead of being upset with their employers they typically take it out on the customer. Customers are allowed to make inquires, be concerned, have questions about what to do. At one time, I actually wondered if people processing claims were on a commission. Because before I started my claim I was asked over and over, have you filed a claim, can I help you, etc. I have been calling the office for 2 solid months. Automatically goes to a message and hangs up. I wonder if I were a member, a paid member if they would give me another phone number.

I selected the DAV for help with filing my VA disability claim. The first visit was great-​helped me with paper work, reviewed my medical record and interviewed me. After that nothing, no contact at all. Any time you call a center, does not matter what day or time they are at training or too busy to talk so you leave a message which will not be returned. The Portland office tells me a rep in Seattle is handing my claim. Three days calling leaving messages there, she calls me but says San Diego is handling my claim and gives me a number to nowhere to call. I get in touch with the San Diego office they confirm they are handling my claim and tell me who the rep is, I’ll not mention his name since he is already named in other negative reviews. I then leave messages for him for three weeks before he finally calls only to tell me he is not handling my claim but the DAV receptionists still tell me he is. At this point I do not know what to do, try to work through the DAV or just work with the VA directly.

I joined the DAV at Mission Valley after just stopping by to ask a question. I really did not intend to make them my «Advocate» or «POA» as it is called, but they signed me up when I stopped by to ask a question. A little later I went down the hallway to the Purple Heart Agency and thought that they were far more informed about the process of assisting Vets thru the paperwork and giving guidance. However, to my dismay it was pointed out that the DAV was officially my POA (Power of Attorney) and that Purple Heart could not be used to help me. Also, a friend of mine who had waited in the seating area and not really talked to anyone was placed on the list as having selected the DAV as his POA. He was furious since he preferred the Purple Heart Agency but was told it was set in stone and could not be changed.
My main complaint is that there appears to be some sort of a «numbers game» going on here and that the DAV is looking to «hook» as many Vets as they possibly can into their organization whether or not you actually wish to use the DAV. To me just stopping by to ask a single question does not constitute actually giving permission to the DAV to become my POA. Beware that there are possible funding issues that are pushing this organization to get as many Vets as possible in their ranks so that they can push for more funding from the Government by showing false numbers.

A couple days ago when I was there; they chewed out, snapped at, and mishandled an old black veteran hastily throwing him out of the building. It seemed like a common practice for the DAV «Service» Officer He appeared out of no where, aggressively and rudely confronted the waiting veteran who was politely & patiently trying to see someone.
The veteran arrived with about 4 other veterans when the office reopened after lunch at 1pm. He told the receptionist he had to catch the bus at 1:40pm and wondered if he may be seen and done before then. The receptionist wasn’t that articulate or detailed, but expressed after looking at the wall clock, and, seeing there weren’t many veterans in line before him that it was very likely he could accomplish his visit before time to catch the shuttle. The veteran patiently waited till 1:30pm, after everyone else had seemed to have come and gone. He then asked the receptionist at that point with no time left if he could just ask any service officer a question related to his case. The receptionist went to get one. An agitated, aggressive DAV «Service» Officer appeared in the veterans face as I was spectating and very quickly like a routine security was throwing him out.
They were never rude to me, but with my other 10 dealings with the Mission Valley DAV they have been mostly totally incompetent & left me screwed over with an issue I asked their help on years ago. Honestly, it seems the Veterans help organizations in Mission Valley are over whelmed, under staffed, & under trained and you would be advised to go any where else with issues in my opinion.
I totally regret forking over a chunk of money and joining them for a lifetime, naively years ago.