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VA makes calls to check up on GI Bill users

If you are a student-veteran using the Post-9/11 GI Bill and someone calls to ask if you have questions about your education benefits, it’s not a hoax — that really is the Veterans Affairs Department on the phone, and it really is trying to help.

VA representatives will be phoning randomly selected veterans to see if they are getting all the benefits they deserve and if they have any questions about the program, which launched Aug. 1.

VA officials said calls will be made to the address a veteran used when applying for benefits, and that family members will be asked for contact information if a veteran is away at school. Other than that contact information, VA representatives will not ask for any personal information. That includes not asking a veteran’s Social Security number, birth date or any information about the bank account where GI Bill benefits are being deposited.

The Post-9/11 GI Bill has suffered a number of glitches in its young history, from problems calculating payments because some states took a long time to set tuition rates for public colleges and universities, to delays in paying tuition, fees, living stipends and book allowances as claims processors wrestled with a flood of applications and a new set of rules.

Payment delays led to an unprecedented decision to provide emergency payments of $3,000 to student-veterans who had not received living stipends as if Oct. 2.

Calling veterans who are receiving benefits is another unprecedented move. VA Secretary Eric Shinseki said in a statement that VA is trying to head off more problems.

“Instead of making people wait to hear from us, we’re reaching out to veterans, so they can get the money they need to stay in school,” Shinseki said.