Claims sharks
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Ray Davis jr
May 5, 2026, 7:49:29 AM (10 days ago) May 5
to veterans...@googlegroups.com
News article below on claims sharks. Never give your VA log-in information to any claims company. If the they are legitimate they will have your power of Attorney and don't need it. Only the crooks need it.
Sincerely, Ray B Davis Jr
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A new bipartisan bill in Congress aims to curb what lawmakers say are predatory collection practices by so-called "claim sharks" — companies that charge disabled veterans large sums for help claiming benefits with the Department of Veterans Affairs.
The bill, sponsored by Rep. Chris Pappas, D-N.H., Rep. Don Bacon, R-Neb., would prevent companies from using auto-dialers to call federal agencies.
Pappas said the legislation was prompted by a 2025 NPR investigation of Trajector Medical that revealed how the Florida company used auto-dialer software to access a VA benefits hotline meant for veterans. The company would dial into the system to monitor benefit payments for thousands of its clients, often without their knowledge, and then automatically send the veteran a bill if their payments increased.
"It's crazy what these guys are trying to get away with," Pappas told NPR. "To use a robo-dialer to make multiple calls to government lines and then just send veterans a bill whenever their eligibility has changed, it's just outrageous."
Federal law prohibits charging veterans for assistance filing initial disability claims — a service provided for free by the VA and accredited nonprofits. But civil penalties were removed from the law in 2006.
Veterans should never be targeted by bad actors trying to profit off their hard-earned benefits," said Bacon, a retired Air Force brigadier general and member of the House Armed Services Committee.
The bill, he said in a press release, "takes a commonsense approach to crack down on predatory practices and protect veterans from exploitation."
Pappas is also the sponsor of a bill to reinstate civil penalties and effectively ban for-profit claims consulting nationwide. The industry views that bill as an existential threat and has lobbied heavily for a competing bill that would legitimize the industry and set a $12,500 cap on their fees. The two bills are stuck in the House Committee on Veterans' Affairs.
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