Citation Nr: 20007820 Decision Date: 01/31/20 Archive Date: 01/29/20 DOCKET NO. 18-54 816 DATE: January 31, 2020 ORDER Entitlement to the reissuance of a check the appellant asserts was not received is denied. FINDINGS OF FACT 1. A check dated October 27, 2016 was mailed to the appellant’s address of record; there is no evidence the check was returned as undeliverable. 2. The October 27, 2016 check was deposited by the appellant on November 3, 2016. 3. The appellant did not file a claim for the reissuance of the above check within one year following the date of the issuance of the indicated check. CONCLUSION OF LAW The appellant’s claim alleging non-receipt of a check was not timely filed and she is therefore barred from seeking entitlement to replacement or re-issuance of that check. 31 U.S.C. § 3702(c). REASONS AND BASES FOR FINDING AND CONCLUSION The Veteran served on active duty from May 1970 to December 1971. He died in November 2015. The appellant is his surviving spouse. This matter comes before the Board of Veterans’ Appeals (Board) on appeal from an August 2018 decision in which the Department of Veterans Affairs (VA) Regional Office (RO) in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, that notified the appellant that a nonservice-connected burial benefit in the amount of $300.00 had been mailed to her P.O. Box. In October 2019, the Board remanded this matter for further development. That development having been completed, this matter has returned to the Board for further appellate review. Entitlement to the reissuance of a check the appellant asserts was not received Following the Veteran’s death, the appellant submitted a June 2016 application for nonservice-connected burial benefits. In October 2016, VA awarded $300.00 in nonservice-connected burial benefits, mailing a check in that amount to the P.O. Box provided by the appellant on the application for burial benefits. There is no indication that this check was returned as undeliverable. Furthermore, the same P.O. Box address has been used for all VA correspondence sent to the appellant during the appeal period. In May 2018, the appellant contacted the AOJ by telephone to report that she never heard from VA following her application for burial benefits. That statement is the basis of the current claim, in which the appellant asserts that she never received the burial benefit check in the amount of $300.00, and that the AOJ should reissue the check. In December 2018, the AOJ informed the appellant that it had received a response from a tracer action by the Treasury Department, which shows the check issued on October 27, 2016 was cashed or deposited on November 3, 2016. The appellant’s signature appears on the back of the check. See December 2018 Financial Action. “Any claim on account of a Treasury check shall be barred unless it is presented to the agency that authorized the issuance of such check within 1 year after the date of issuance of the check or the effective date of this subsection, whichever is later.” 31 U.S.C. § 3702(c)(1). The effective date of § 3702(c)(1) is January 6, 2006. The date of the check at issue is October 27, 2016. The appellant submitted her claim to reissue this check on May 14, 2018 which is more than one year later than the date of the check. The appellant’s claim to have the check reissued is procedurally barred because it was filed more than one year after the date of issuance of the check. Furthermore, there is no evidence that the check was returned as undeliverable and there is uncontroverted evidence from the Treasury Department that the appellant’s endorsement is on the back of the check that was allegedly not received. The preponderance of this evidence is against a finding that the appellant did not receive the check that were issued on October 27, 2016. For this reason also, the appellant’s claim must be denied. P.M. DILORENZO Veterans Law Judge Board of Veterans’ Appeals Attorney for the Board S. M. Stedman, Associate Counsel The Board’s decision in this case is binding only with respect to the instant matter decided. This decision is not precedential, and does not establish VA policies or interpretations of general applicability. 38 C.F.R. § 20.1303.