The unaccredited claims services are violating federal law by charging veterans when they file disability claims. Veterans organizations are opposing Ohio House Bill 708, which does not do enough to stop the exploitation.
Veterans paying fees to access their benefits is a growing problem in Ohio, where for-profit, unaccredited claims services are violating federal law by charging veterans thousands of dollars in fees when they file disability claims.
Veterans’ affairs officials have called the claims services “claim sharks” because of their predatory practices. According to local officials, these organizations are active in Ohio even though veterans can receive help with their applications for free.
Jon Reiss, executive director of the Cuyahoga County Veterans Service Commission, said that every county in the state has a Veterans Service Commission funded by taxpayers to assist veterans with navigating benefits for free.
Commissions must hire a Veterans Service Officer to assist with applications for veterans benefits.
“Claim sharks” are a growing problem in Ohio. They take advantage of the claims process being complex and time-consuming by charging fees for veterans trying to obtain or increase their benefits.
Ohio House Bill 708 has been proposed to regulate claims consulting assistance for veterans. The legislation would set limits on some of the unaccredited services’ predatory practices. It would allow the services to charge up to five times the monthly increase in the amount awarded to a veteran from the U.S. Department of Veterans Affairs in compensation for their work on the claim.
David Root, the state legislative chair for Veterans of Foreign Wars of Ohio, said that problems in the bill need to be addressed before it moves further. This includes the “five times” language being unclear.
“I’m afraid that, ultimately, they’ll be able to charge the biggest amount that they can, which is what they’ve been doing all along,” Root said in a recent interview.
Root said that House Bill 708 “doesn’t have enough penalties” for the unaccredited services, and “they can still operate as unaccredited representatives, and that’s something that we definitely cannot accept.
The bill is sponsored by Rep. Steve Demetriou (R) and 22 other state legislators.
“Veterans should be protected from anyone who would mislead them, overcharge them, or take advantage of a complicated claims process,” Demetriou said in a recent statement. He maintains that the legislation puts guardrails into place on assistance provided by unaccredited organizations.
For now, the unaccredited claims services are still targeting Ohio veterans.
“There’s so many things they’re doing that are totally wrong. I couldn’t begin to list them all,” Root said. “It’s really hurting those veterans that do fall into that trap and sign that contact with them.”
