If you’re using the Post-9/11 GI Bill this semester, you might have noticed a delay in payment processing. VA’s Education Service–which administers the GI Bill–posted the announcement below on their Facebook page this evening. So rest assured–while we know this is a huge inconvenience for some of you–we’re working on fixing the issue now.

We’re trying to catch up. . . .

Hey, thanks for the feedback everyone and you’re right that we at VA are behind the curve right now.

The mess with the winter weather has had an impact on all of our processing offices. Unfortunately, we can’t get your enrollments processed if we can’t get to work. We are pulling out all the stops to make up for the lost time.

We want to reassure you that we don’t expect huge delays and we will get caught up very soon. We know how important these payments are to all of you and we apologize for the delay. We’ll keep you posted.

In the comment section, feel free to let us know if you’ve been affected.

Topics in this story

BenefitsEducationGI BillPost-9/11 GI Bill

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22 Comments

  1. Christopher February 9, 2012 at 16:10

    I understand that weather can be a pain, but we live in the digital age. There is absolutely NO excuse as to why these things should happen anymore. Systems should be automated, with the absolute minimum human input required.

    The VA doesn’t suffer when crap like this happens. The beneficiaries do.

    Because of your failure, I am unable to pay rent, bills, utilities, or even put food on the table. If it weren’t for the generosity of churches in the area, I would be starving and sleeping on the street in the cold.

    I’m trying to go to college and make something of my life.

    I GAVE YEARS OF MY LIFE TO THIS COUNTRY, THIS MILITARY, AND IN RETURN I AM HOMELESS AND STRUGGLING TO SURVIVE.

    My car has no gas. My insurance is about to be cancelled because I haven’t been able to pay. Banks are calling me about my loans.

    It’s a damn good thing I don’t have kids or a wife to support, or they’d be screwed too.

    Is this how we strive to treat our veterans?

    Should I send you a bill for all the late fees and charges I’ve incurred by YOUR irresponsibility? After all, I’ve done everything right. I’ve paid on time. I’ve made calls. I’ve kept people informed. The fault rests squarely on the shoulders of the VA. So shouldn’t the VA pay for these faults and fees? I think it only fair.

    I signed a contract, but so did you. I don’t recall anywhere on that contract that said “we’ll pay you as soon as it’s convenient.”

    Is it possible to sue the VA for damages caused by their negligence?

    YOUR VETERANS ARE SUFFERING AND HOMELESS BECAUSE OF YOUR NEGLIGENCE.

    I hope you’ll keep that in mind as you recline on your couch tonight, sipping coffee and reading your paper. Just don’t forget to set the thermostat — it’s going to be cold tonight.

    • Rc February 24, 2012 at 16:26

      I in the same boat I been waiting since dec
      I been emailing fox news Trying to get the medial involve

      I wish u luck

  2. Still waiting February 18, 2011 at 14:56

    Still waiting for BAH payment!!! When can I expect it?

  3. Motorcycle Fairings February 14, 2011 at 15:08

    My uncle recently got his BAH payment and it wasn’t too bad.

  4. Audrey February 11, 2011 at 15:34

    This explains a lot. I have finally received my BAH payment, but the tuition payment has not yet hit the school. They are getting understandably antsy at me to pay them thousands of dollars. Anyone know why the processing of these two things would have happened separately?

  5. A veteran February 10, 2011 at 17:38

    I have a 3 year old whos able to eat because of good friends who have been helping me thru the past month and a half. I live off of my GI BILL benefits. What should I tell my landlord? Or the electric company who’s breathing down my neck? Or the water? The list of bill collectors continues. So not only do I not have my entitlements, now I get slapped with x amount of late fees and extra charges. Now what I want to know is whos neck do I need to breath down? The time it has taken for the VA to get its act together is totally unacceptable, weather is no excuse. Maybe its time to invest in some of the automatic electronic processing software that the rest of America seems to be using. And i’d like to apologize to all the other Veterans who read this for making this about my situation because I know many of you out there are experiencing like situations. Time is now of the essence. Its time for the VA to make a plan B and quite possibly a plan C, so when the VA gets blind sided by another unforeseen situation there is a back up to the back up. Never in my military career did my unit breach a building without a back up plan and another back up plan just in case.

    Veteran families are waiting.

  6. Alejandro Rivera February 9, 2011 at 17:18

    I have been waiting since December for the letter that I’m supposed to take to my University. I have called for the past month on a weekly basis and there is no change. My supervisor got it, is approved. I even called with the VA worker at the university and the same thing is approved but we don’t know when we are going to send it… That’s crazy in the mean time I have to waste my time calling every week for an update that doesn’t change? If is approved why is it a hostage? Did my letter commit a crime? This is as frustrating as it gets. You serve the country when the country needs you, but the country takes their time when you need them. I understand the human factor, we all are. But how about; we have your letter, is aproved and we are waiting on this or that, it will take about X amount of time.

    Thank you,

  7. Benjamin T. Rose February 9, 2011 at 09:39

    Please Sir or Ma’am, I have the Montgomery G.I. Bill and not Post 9/11. Will our claims be processed with the others? Please help make a miracle happen! Look my claim up if you are able. I appreciate the hard work you do. Stay safe. _Benjamin T. Rose, Jacksonville, Fl

  8. Quinton February 8, 2011 at 20:22

    Now, I am not going to rail against the VA however much i think you deserve it, but you mean to tell me that with the economy on the ropes, and thousands of soldiers, sailors, marines and airmen and women coming home month after month after being shot at, blown up and pretty much despised in some parts of the world, that nobody thought that an increase in enrollment in colleges would not be a viable outcome to the introduction of the new G.I. Bill which was approved in 2008?!?! Why after two years do we still have no concrete way of making sure this never happens again? Had this been a military operation, you would have left everybody behind who does not have another way to support themselves save for the G.I bill. That’s like bringing in a loach to pick up a platoon of wounded: NOT GOOD ENOUGH!

  9. Princess February 8, 2011 at 12:25

    is this include the Chapter 35 benefits??

  10. Michael February 7, 2011 at 23:32

    why is there a delay, when the money is sent electronic

  11. Matt February 7, 2011 at 13:44

    The va just needs to face it already. This happens every year, the pathetic excuses are getting old and annoying.

  12. Joe Average February 7, 2011 at 00:32

    To solve the backlog of claims problem, the following “excuse number” list should be created:
    1. It is the Veteran’s fault because too many applied at once.
    2. It is the wars fault because there are too many wars.
    3. It is the fault of congress.
    4. It is the computers fault.
    5. It is the weathers fault.
    Now, pick a number from 1-5. Instead of sending VA executives their paycheck, send them one of the above numbered excuses explaining that when Vets get paid on time, VA execs will also get paid on time. Repeat the procedure each pay period. Executives pressure employees so Vets get paid promptly so VA execs can get paid. If VA executives do not like the plan, then get new VA execs who will comply. Problem solved. As it is now, VA executives still get a bonus no matter how many million Veterans become homeless while waiting on benefits.

  13. VAISBULLSHIT February 6, 2011 at 23:37

    Figures, the VA which is a government run entity is shut down do to poor weather conditions. Just like the Marine Corps, I cannot wait to distance myself from the VA. It’s typical; your apologizes don’t pay bills. Today’s forecasts are pretty accurate out to about three days (It is a fact and I’m a meteorologist). The forecasting and the combination of prior knowledge of this being the most busy time of year for GI Bill claims. Still didn’t alert them to “put out”. So you mean to tell me that thousands of private sector entities can get it done but, the VA can’t. Maybe because the VA is just like every other military related organization. Undereducated and lazy, it is coincidental that the people who are supposed to be helping others achieve a higher level of education are most likely not college grads anyway. I already know the response “we don’t want to jeopardize the safety of our employees”. It is just my opinion but, I have a feeling that I am going to have the same view of the VA as many of the veterans before my time feel.

    • Brandon Friedman February 7, 2011 at 12:46

      Without going into whether or not VA could have prevented this from happening, would you rather know what caused the delay is or not? Because that’s the point of the piece: If your payment processing is late, here’s why. We’re trying to keep you informed.

      • Joe Average February 8, 2011 at 23:51

        Sorry, Brandon, but if the “shoe were on the other foot”, and your paycheck was very, very late, and YOUR daughter wanted to know why she could not have the prom dress YOU had promised her, would you want to listen to the excuses as to why it was late, or would you want the problem solved so you can get your money and get to see your daughter in her prom dress? Our bill collectors do not accept your “excuse lists” for payment and we dont either. IT is not right that Veterans are ALWAYS the last ones to be paid, with the VA ensuring all employees are always paid on time. If there is a backlog, then that backlog should apply to VA Employees and executives also and Vets should be paid FIRST, not last. The VA is not an organization that was chartered to “take care of VA employees first” but rather to serve Veterans first. Your job is to serve Vets, Vets did their service, and now its your turn to serve them. If you dont have a “serve Vets first” attitude, then you and all VA employees with a “serve Vets last” attitude need to be fired.

    • Met February 7, 2011 at 22:33

      I hear ya man. I too am a fellow weather guy. The VA should of been proactive. Their excuses are crap! Hell, most of the employees aren’t even Vets any ways, so they have no idea what we went through! They should have had a process to issue payments early if something like this happened. They could of had a skeleton crew stay at their offices to get the payments to the Vets that need them. They don’t understand that all Vets rely on this money that we all earned. We were all good enough to go to War, but not good enough to receive the benefits that we were promised!

  14. John February 5, 2011 at 17:07

    Sorry dude but this is absolutely pathetic. Insurance companies, banks and universities process thousands of claims a day, I’d love to hear of even one other organization that would make such a dubious excuse.
    The only time I ever received a post 9/11 GI Bill payment was 7 months after I applied in june ’09, which damn sure didn’t do me any good freezing at a firing range on ft sill as the army had already recalled me. Fresh back and this hah. But I suppose a lousy reason is better than none at all, perhaps VAntage point has purpose yet.

  15. matt&rita February 5, 2011 at 14:11

    when will the gi money hit. we have 2 kids and are homeless, we have been approved by 4 diff places but i cant afford the move in fee so we wait for the gi money to hit, you might of been affected by the weather but for two homeless marine with 2 kids… your not trying hard enough to catch up. so dose any one know when your going to pay up?

    • Nao February 8, 2011 at 15:48

      matt&rita, it is hard when your living depends on VA benefit alone.
      Have you applied for financial aid? You could be qualified for free education grant. I am a VA certifying official and do refer my students to the FAFSA web site below if veterans are having hard time due to not receiving VA benefit on time.

      http://www.fafsa.ed.gov/#

  16. Creighton February 5, 2011 at 01:08

    Same here, waiting in BAH.

  17. Chris February 4, 2011 at 22:28

    Does this include BAH payments? May explain why I didn’t get mine yet.

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