On occasion, VBA receives inquiries from claimants who indicate that their a. General Information on claim has been completed, but they have not received their notification Releasing letter/rating decision and want to know the decision that has been made. Decision or Award This occasionally occurs when the POA notifies him/her that a claimant’s Information decision was made prior to VA mailing the award letter and rating decision, or the documents have not yet been delivered by the post office. Until the claimant receives and thoroughly reads the notification letter and b. Policy on Releasing decision, we should not discuss the details of what was decided. The letter Information and rating decision provide detailed information as to the decision and the From a Rating reasons and bases for that decision. In addition, the letter also includes the Decision or appeal rights. claimant’s Award Letter The letter should answer most, if not all, potential questions. If after thoroughly reading the letter and decision the claimant has any questions, please suggest that the claimant call back. There are differences in how we handle these types of calls when the Note: address is correct versus incorrect. (See Guidance in block 14.c). The following general guidance is provided to deal with these types of c. General Guidance on inquiries: Releasing Information Verify that an award letter and/or rating decision has been completed From a Rating Check the date of the completed end product Decision or Verify the address claimant’s Award Letter Provide a minimum of 10 mailing days (14 calendar days) for the receipt of the notification letter. Continued on next page , Continued
a. General Information on Releasing Decision or Award Information On occasion, VBA receives inquiries from claimants who indicate that their claim has been completed, but they have not received their notification letter/rating decision and want to know the decision that has been made. This occasionally occurs when the claimant’s POA notifies him/her that a decision was made prior to VA mailing the award letter and rating decision, or the documents have not yet been delivered by the post office. b. Policy on Releasing Information From a Rating Decision or Award Letter Until the claimant receives and thoroughly reads the notification letter and decision, we should not discuss the details of what was decided. The letter and rating decision provide detailed information as to the decision and the reasons and bases for that decision. In addition, the letter also includes the claimant’s appeal rights. The letter should answer most, if not all, potential questions. If after thoroughly reading the letter and decision the claimant has any questions, please suggest that the claimant call back. Note: There are differences in how we handle these types of calls when the address is correct versus incorrect. (See Guidance in block 14.c). c. General Guidance on Releasing Information From a Rating Decision or Award Letter The following general guidance is provided to deal with these types of inquiries: Verify that an award letter and/or rating decision has been completed Check the date of the completed end product Verify the claimant’s address Provide a minimum of 10 mailing days (14 calendar days) for the receipt of the notification letter. Continued on next page , Continued