One Man’s Struggle With the Gulf Oil Spill Claims Process

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I filed with BP and they just kept asking for more documentation but the person with my file did talk to me. Since re-filing with GCCF on 8/25 I’ve only been able to talk to people with generic answers. I call them the Placaters.

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My claim has been Under Review since around 8/28, but initially I applied for a Final Payment. It took two weeks to find out only Emergency Payment claims were being reviewed. I spoke with a Placater and asked if I should go ahead and file for an Emergency Payment. He said I’d have to start over with a new application and my initial claim for Final Payment would be voided.

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A week later I received a letter from GCCF asking if I was sure I didn’t want to file for an emergency payment. It said all I had to do was email, mail or fax them my intention to receive an EP. I did and was told, by a Placater, they not only received my email, but I had been put in an expedited queue. A week later I received an email asking if I wanted to file for an EP. … I was frustrated, but I replied that I did want an EP. The next week I received an email stating they had received my request. I called and a Placater said my claim for EP had been in an expedited queue for two weeks.

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Its obvious the left hand doesn’t know what the right hand is doing. … [W]hen you consider how much better off myself and untold numbers of others would be had our claims been handled within a week its actually pathetic.

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What’s more frustrating are rumors about the claims reps being inexperienced people with backgrounds in any and every field other than claims and/or accounting or finance.

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For now all I can do is keep checking my status online.