Disabled American Veterans [DAV] review: I`m writing to file a cpmplaint about the DAV office in Pittsburgh, PA.

My name is Phillip Murray. I am a Vietnam veteran living in Japan. Several months ago I filed a claim for VA disability. My claim was submitted to the VA via The Veteran Service Office in Santa Ana, CA on or about 27 September 2023. Nancy was the person at the OCVSO office who submitted my claim. Once submitted, a veteran friend advised me to secure a VA representative. He recommended I contact the DAV office in Pittsburgh, PA. I called the Pittsburgh office (412-395-6241) on 10/19/23. Nikki was the person with whom I spoke. She took my information and told me someone would call me back. Amy was the VA representative who called within 15-20 minutes. She explained that I needed to complete and sign VAF Form 21-22 in order for her office to represent me. I immediately completed, signed, and returned the form to her office. However, and to my dismay, agency policy prevented me from speaking with an agent after initially speaking with Amy on 10/19/2023. Despite multiple calls to speak with an agent, I am always told someone will call me back. But, to date, no one has called back, despite Nikki insisting otherwise. She once told me someone tried calling and didn't get an answer. I disputed this claim because my phone is beside my bed. Their business hours are during the time I am asleep. I am a light sleeper. There is no way I would not have heard the phone if it had rung. My attempts to explain this to Nikki irritated her. Nikki, in my estimation, was further irritated when I asked why I couldn`t speak with an agent at the time of my call. She appeared unable to accept the fact that the 14-hour time difference prevents me from calling before midnight.

My most recent call to the DAV office on Thursday, (Japan time), 4 January 2024, brought out the worst in me. I will not say it was Nikki`s worst, but she was not a nice person on the phone. She was rude and disrespectful. She interrupted and talked over me. The vitriol exchanged between the two of us was beyond the pale. The exchange went downhill right from the start of the call, the moment she realized who I was. She interrupted me by asking for my social before giving me the opportunity to identify myself. She would not allow me to explain why I was calling and ignored my requests to speak with an agent. In robotic fashion, she kept asking me if I wanted someone to call or email me. I told her I preferred a call but she continued asking me for my preference. I angrily told her I would prefer a call. She claimed she did not hear me say I preferred a call, to which I said, "You didn`t hear me because you were too busy talking over me. It was at this frustrating point that I asked her for her name. She refused to tell me her name. I made multiple attempts to get her to tell me her name, but each time I asked, she robotically and incoherently asked me for my telephone number. When she did decide to give me a name, she told me her name was Gale. I knew she lied about her name. I recognized her voice and her manner of answering the phone from previous calls. She was the first person I talked to when I called the agency on 10/19/23. Nikki was the name of that person. Nikki`s tone, monosyllabic responses, and non spontaneous speech was the same person I spoke to on 1/3/2024. I did not understand Nikki`s harsh attitude and why she lied about her name until she said,"I do not want to argue with you every time you call."This, in my mind, suggests a grudge she held on to from previous calls. This attitude has no place in a professional organization where the highest standards of professionalism and business ethics should be maintained. As a veteran, I should be able to talk to a representative when I call. I know there are at least three representatives in the Pittsburgh DAV office. Even if they are all busy, someone should be able to return my call within a reasonable period of time. This is especially critical for veterans living in other time zones around the world. If a representative is unavailable at the time of my call, I should be given the courtesy of an explanation explaining when I can call back or when I can expect someone to call me. The Pittsburgh DAV office offers none of these courtesies. I have gotten no support from this office. It is a sham that they claim to represent veterans. I would normally give agencies like the DAV Pittsburgh office an E for effort, but since they extended little to no effort to help me, I give them an F for FAILURE! Mr. Noel might have thought he was helping when he gave me paper-cutter answers to the questions I asked in my 12/31/2023 email to Mr. Falk. At best, Mr. Noel`s answers were vague and ambiguous. This was one of the reasons that prompted my call on 1/3/2024. I am not convinced that Nikki asked an rep to return my call, but whether she did or did not, I didn`t get a call from anyone. And as of today, January 7, 2024, I have not received any communication from the DAV office.

Given the negative relationship I have with these folks, they are no longer worthy of the privilege to working with me as a client. I will rescind the"Appointment of Individual as Claimant`s Representative" letter and seek support elsewhere. I will post negative reviews on other webpages and I will advise other veterans with whom I come in contact with to stay away from the DAV Pittsburgh office.