Citation Nr: 21070468 Decision Date: 11/24/21 Archive Date: 11/24/21 DOCKET NO. 18-14 592 DATE: November 24, 2021 ORDER The appeal as to the matter of whether a debt in the amount of $492.00 for overpayment of educational assistance benefits under Chapter 1606, Title 10, of the United States Code (known as the Montgomery GI Bill for Selected Reserves (MGIB-SR)) was properly created is dismissed as moot. FINDING OF FACT Subsequent to being notified that an overpayment of Chapter 1606 educational assistance benefits had resulted in a debt in the amount of $492,00, the agency of original jurisdiction (AOJ) administratively determined that the Veteran was not responsible for repayment of the debt. CONCLUSION OF LAW The criteria for dismissal of the matter of whether a debt in the amount of $492.00 for overpayment of Chapter 1606 educational assistance benefits was properly created have been met. 38 U.S.C. § 7105(d). REASONS AND BASES FOR FINDING AND CONCLUSION The appellant served as member of the Army National Guard from November 6, 2012, to September 30, 2013, after which he was transferred to the Inactive National Guard. This matter comes before the Board of Veterans' Appeals (Board) on appeal from an October 2017 notification letter from the Department of Veterans Affairs (VA) Debt Management Center (DMC) in St. Paul, Minnesota. By that letter, the appellant was informed that his entitlement to education benefits had changed, which change resulted in an overpayment of $492.00. The appellant disagreed with the DMC's decision and subsequently perfected an appeal to the Board. Notably, in his VA Form 9 (Appeal to the Board of Veterans' Appeals), the appellant requested a Board videoconference hearing before a Veterans Law Judge. The record reflects that the appellant was scheduled for a Board hearing to be held on October 25, 2021. The appellant, however, failed to report for the scheduled hearing. As good cause was not shown for why the appellant failed to report for his hearing and he has not otherwise requested that the hearing be rescheduled, the Board will proceed as though the hearing request has been withdrawn. In the instant case, the record shows that in August 2017, VA received the Veteran's application for use of Chapter 1606 educational assistance benefits. Also received was an enrollment certification from the University of Mississippi for the school term running from August 21 to December 8, 2017. In response, VA sought verification of the Veteran's service data with the Department of Defense (DoD), who verified the Veteran's eligibility for MGIB-SR benefits, effective September 13, 2013. (Parenthetically, the Board notes that it is DoD, and not VA, who must verify eligibility for MGIB-SR benefits.) Based on the information received from DoD, VA processed payments of Chapter 1606 educational assistance benefits in the amounts of $123.00 for the period from August 21 to August 31, 2017, and $369.00 for September 2017. After those payments were issued, DoD informed VA that the Veteran's eligibility for MGIB-SR benefits was terminated, effective September 30, 2013. VA undertook action to retroactively stop the Veteran's Chapter 1606 benefits, which action resulted in an overpayment in the amount of $492.00. Notably, after the Veteran filed a notice of disagreement as to the letter notifying him of the overpayment and resulting debt in the amount of $492.00, the Veteran's debt was forwarded for consideration of non-liability. A system record then shows that it was administratively determined that the debt in the amount of $492.00 was created due to a DoD record error and was not the fault of the Veteran. It was stated that the Veteran should therefore not be held liable for repayment of the debt. The record then contains a March 2018 e-mail from a senior adjudicator with the VA Regional Office (RO) in Muskogee, Oklahoma, to the RO's finance department in which it was noted that an administrative decision was approved and the Veteran would not be held responsible for repayment of the total debt in the amount of $492.00. The VA employee requested that fiscal action be taken to remove the debt from the appellant's record and to refund the portion of the debt already repaid by the appellant A response was received indicating that the requested actions had been undertaken. Under 38 U.S.C. § 7105, the Board may dismiss any appeal that fails to allege specific error of fact or law in the determination being appealed. As it has been determined that the Veteran is not liable for repayment of the debt in the total amount of $492.00, there remains no adverse action for the Board to adjudicate. Accordingly, the Board is without jurisdiction to review the appeal with respect to this issue, and the appeal is therefore dismissed. See 38 U.S.C. § 7105. K. Conner Veterans Law Judge Board of Veterans' Appeals Attorney for the Board K. Neilson, 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.