A VA letter may be giving you what is known as "due process," which allows you 60 days for a response. You can shorten that by responding as soon as you get the letter. If the information is correct and you agree, write back and tell VA to take immediate action on the claim based on the evidence it has on file.                                                  8.  Keep notes. Get the name of the person who assisted you or answered a question, the date of contact and the advice given. You may not always be able to deal with the same person each time. But knowing who you dealt with before can sometimes make the job easier for the next employee who tries to help you.                            This suggestion is especially important in the area of complaints. A valid complaint about "someone" telling you to do something a certain way will carry

less weight than if you say, "On Oct. 3, Mr. Toczek advised me to submit form XYZ to your processing center in Austin, Texas."                                                  This also allows VA supervisors to get back to their employees and refresh them on procedural errors.                                                    9.   Know and use your appeal rights. VA decisions can be appealed. If you feel your claim was improperly denied, find out how to have it reviewed.                                           No government agency is 100% perfect, and mistakes can be made. If your case is one that may have been mistakenly decided and you don't appeal it, the only one who loses is you.

All VA decisions come with your appeal rights attached--follow them. Also, remember that VFW will represent you free of charge as your power of attorney.                                            10.   Share your knowledge. Once your claim has been satisfactorily processed, consider yourself a "mini-expert" in that area. If you know of someone else who might be in need of the same benefit, assist him or her.                          It is human nature for someone to more readily accept assistance from a friend or relative than an informal government employee. If you are a "people" person, you might even want to consider becoming your local VFW Post service officer to help fellow vets.

There you have it. Ten concise and concrete suggestions for helping your claim go through the system faster.                                        There is no guarantee these steps will alleviate all problems and delays, but they are bound to improve most situations. No one likes run-arounds and red tape. These ideas will help you smoothly navigate the byways of what sometimes seems a daunting process.                   RAYMOND P. TOCZEK is a benefits counselor at the VA Westside Hospital in Chicago, a veteran of 20 years of Post service work and a member of Post 2004.

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