Dumb question re VA theft...

[hootinholler]

I got my letter this week. It went to my ex-wife's house where I have never resided. Yes she has gotten some of my mail forwarded incorrectly, but here's the thing: I've had zero interaction with the VA since seperation 20 years ago!

How did they get an address for me?

Did they get it from my tax forms? Isn't that illegal?

[bleever]

1. Not such a dumb question.

How?

[Nickster]

2. The letter tells you how they did. They sent the names to the IRS and the

IRS addressed the letters for them, but didn't transmit the addresses back to the VA.

[hootinholler]

4. Thanks, I said it was a dumb Qestion.

I just read the part that said I was affected, and put it away. I was in the truck and it's still there.

-Hoot

[Nickster]

5. No worries. I read it and then went off on a rant for awhile. I read it

real close looking for all the parts where they said all the things they'd do to protect us, still haven't found that part. Damn bastards.

[Kutjara]

3. Someone posted yesterday...

...that the VA sent the letters to the IRS to be forwarded to their address of record for the intended recipient. The IRS was clear to say that they had forwarded no information to the VA and were merely acting as a mail merge operation to get the letters to recipients for whom the VA had no current address.

Whether you believe that no information passed between them, however, is a very different question. ;)