Two veterans accuse a consulting company of charging them illegal fees to boost their disability ratings.
The companies maintain that they are legally providing education services, and that their veteran customers are paying to learn how to fill out their forms.
Both were billed five times the increase for consulting. That came to a total of $2,988 for Patterson, taking into account a 10% discount for a lump sum payment, and $2,990 for Otters, to be paid in five monthly installments. Today, the VA and other federal agencies are limited in their ability to enforce the law as Congress took away penalties for unaccredited assistance in 2004. Four representatives in the U.S. House have introduced bipartisan legislation to reinstate criminal penalties for unaccredited representatives who charge unauthorized fees while helping veterans file a claim.
The number of veterans making claims has surged with the passage of the PACT Act, or Promise to Address Comprehensive Toxics Act. A captain in the Army, Patterson served in Baghdad’s Green Zone as an emergency room trauma nurse at the Ibn Sina Hospital. She found out about Veterans Guardian through another veteran whom she knew. At first she had no plans to sue, she said, but was disappointed in its practices. As she learned more, she realized Veterans Guardian was a predatory company, she said.
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