VA disability claims · Claims guidance · Rating increases · SMC

VA Disability Claims Guidance: Complimentary Consult, SMC Focus, No 5×-Increase Fee

Most veterans who already have a rating are not looking for a pep talk. They are looking for a straight answer: is the next work an increase, a secondary, a decision review, Special Monthly Compensation, some combination, or nothing. That is what we mean by claims guidance. It is a file review, an evidence plan, and an SMC screen. It is not a guaranteed percentage. It is not a filled-in form. It is not a sales script about “who you should work with” that pretends accredited VSOs do not exist.

This page is the commercial answer to that question. The walkthrough of the first conversation itself — what to bring, how a consult actually goes, and what we do not do — lives on how Veterans Promise works. Read that for the mechanics. Stay here for who this is for, that we do not bill five times a VA rating increase, and where free accredited help still sits.

Veterans Promise is a veteran-led team based in Nashville. We work with veterans nationwide on rating increases and Special Monthly Compensation, including Aid & Attendance and housebound when the facts support them. We are not an A&A-only shop. The first conversation is complimentary. We do not bill five times a VA rating increase.

This is general information, not legal or medical advice. We are not affiliated with the U.S. Department of Veterans Affairs. VA decides every claim. No one can honestly guarantee a result.

Request a complimentary consult or call (877) 778-0385. Email support@veteranspromise.com.

What guidance means here

Guidance is not a nickname for “we file everything.” It is three concrete jobs on a real file.

File review. What VA has granted, denied, or never been asked. The last rating decision is the useful object: codes, percentages, dates, reasons and bases, any SMC letter already assigned. A typical week sits next to that letter. The gap is where work either lives or does not. How that review is sequenced is on how we work.

Evidence plan. What you already have and what is still missing for the filing that actually fits. Current treatment notes for an increase. A medical link for a secondary. New and relevant evidence for a supplemental. Function in specifics — who helps with personal care, whether you leave the home — when SMC is on the table. We do not invent the missing piece. We name it.

SMC screen. Separate from chasing another 10%. Does the file raise loss of use, a regular need for personal help, statutory or factual housebound, or a K add-on sitting next to a rating you already have? That screen is why veterans at 90% and 100% still belong in this conversation. Map: Special Monthly Compensation, Aid & Attendance, 100% is not the ceiling.

Guidance also means telling you when the next filing is a straightforward increase and not SMC. We will not steer a worsening knee into an Aid & Attendance narrative because SMC is a specialty. The file picks the tool.

Complimentary consult

The first conversation is complimentary. You are not hiring us by picking up the phone. You can hang up with a clearer picture and never work with us. Complimentary does not mean that later work, if you ask us to take it, is free. After the consult we explain options in plain language before you decide.

Bring the latest rating decision if you have it. A medication list and an honest good-day / bad-day description help. If you have none of that yet, still call. Consults are by phone. You do not have to come to Nashville. Details of that conversation belong on the how we work page, not duplicated here.

Start with the complimentary consult. Call (877) 778-0385.

We do not bill five times your VA rating increase

Veterans Promise does not bill five times the amount of a VA rating increase. We do not use a contingency tied to the size of an increase, and we do not publish a multiplier so this page can look like a rate sheet. The first conversation is complimentary. If we take a case after that, the arrangement is explained before you agree to it.

A fee built on a monthly rating increase has little reason to spend time with a veteran already at schedular 100% — the regular table has no 110% row — or with a veteran whose real issue is Aid & Attendance, housebound, or another SMC letter the percentage never priced. That is not a rule of law. SMC still exists. An underrated individual code still exists. We still look.

Free help through Veterans Service Organizations exists either way. We will say that in the same breath. This is a disclosure of what we do not charge, not a comparison to another company.

Who this is for

This is for veterans who already have a rating and want a file-first conversation about what, if anything, comes next.

It is for veterans whose rated conditions have changed — more limitation, worse sleep, missed work, a new device, a typical week that no longer matches the last criteria. You do not need to be in crisis. You do need current facts. Increases are core work.

It is for veterans at a high combined rating, including 90% and 100%, who were told there is nothing left. Sometimes that is true. Often the unasked question is SMC, an underrated code, or a secondary that was never developed. Daily function — help with dressing, bathing, meals, medication, or being substantially stuck at home — is a compensation question, not a character test. Aid & Attendance is a function test, not a prize for being close to 100%.

It is for 100% files. We review them. Silence on the award letter is not proof that SMC was considered and denied. It is also not proof that you qualify. It is a reason to look. See 100% and SMC.

It is for veterans in Nashville and veterans who are not. We sit in Middle Tennessee. We take files nationwide. Living in Tennessee is not a requirement. Neither is driving here. See VA disability help in Nashville.

It is not for someone who wants a promised percentage, who wants us to replace a VSO they already like, or whose only goal is to file every possible claim at once. If there is no supported next filing, we will say so.

VA accredited on the application — and free VSO options still exist

The representative who signs onto a Veterans Promise application is VA accredited. That is the person VA sees on the claim. It does not mean every person at the company is accredited, and it does not mean we are VA or a VSO.

Before you hire anyone, including us, know that VA-accredited VSO representatives also help with claims and decision reviews at no charge. Accredited attorneys and claims agents can charge fees under VA’s rules. VA does not automatically assign you a representative. You appoint one. The official search is Find a VA accredited representative or VSO.

If you already have a representative you trust, keep them. A second look at increases and SMC is a normal reason to call us. Firing a VSO is not a requirement. We are a private company — not VA, and not a VSO. The representative who signs onto our application is still VA accredited. The complimentary consult is how you find out whether we add anything the file does not already have.

What we will not promise

We will not promise a rating, an SMC letter, an effective date, a timeline, or a dollar amount. VA decides. We will tell you whether we see a theory worth filing. We will not tell you it will win.

We will not practice medicine, coach exaggeration, or hand you filled-in forms or magic phrases. We will not call any claim the easiest claim. We will not invent a VA household rate that is not on the published tables. Confirm current pay on our 2026 disability rates page or on VA.gov.

We will not pretend we are affiliated with VA. We will not tell you to hide a representative from VA. We will not tell you free accredited help is a trap. We will not run a campaign against other companies.

If the honest answer is leave the file alone, that is the guidance.

Call (877) 778-0385 or request a complimentary consult online. Email support@veteranspromise.com.

FAQ

Is this the same page as How We Work?

No. How we work is the consult walkthrough. This page is the “who should I work with” page: what guidance means, who it is for, that we do not bill five times a VA rating increase, and that free accredited reps still exist. Do not treat one as a redirect for the other.

Do you only take Aid & Attendance cases?

No. Aid & Attendance is one part of SMC. Rating increases are core work. So are new claims, secondaries, supplementals, and appeals. If a rated condition has changed, say so.

I am already at 100%. Is there a point in calling?

Yes, if the question is SMC, an underrated individual condition, or a secondary that was never claimed — or if the honest answer may be to leave the file alone. A 5×-increase fee model has little reason to look. We still look. We will not promise a higher check.

Do I have to fire my VSO to talk to you?

No. Keep a representative you like. The representative who signs onto a Veterans Promise application is VA accredited. VA-accredited VSO help is also free. Search VA.gov find a representative. A second look is optional.

Can you guarantee VA will grant the claim?

No. Nobody can. Veterans Promise is not affiliated with VA. Only VA decides claims, ratings, effective dates, and payment. Individual results vary.

Last reviewed: September 2, 2026