July 22, 2008
CBCA
1186-RELO
In
the Matter of CHARLES W. BELL
Charles
W. Bell, Denison, TX, Claimant.
Anne
M. Schmitt-Shoemaker, Deputy Director, Finance Center, United States Army Corps
of Engineers, appearing for the Department of the Army.
SHERIDAN, Board Judge.
Claimant,
Charles W. Bell, a maintenance worker with the United States Army Corps of
Engineers (USACE), seeks reimbursements associated with permanent change of
station (PCS) travel orders. We dismiss
CBCA 1186-RELO as a claim which is not yet ripe for review.
Background
On
November 5, 2007, claimant was issued PCS travel orders authorizing travel from
Clayton, Oklahoma, to Denison, Texas.
Among other things, sixty days of temporary quarters subsistence expense
(TQSE) and household goods (HHG) shipment were authorized.
On
January 3, 2008, claimant submitted a travel voucher seeking $397.38 for
lodging costs from November 26 through November 30, 2007; $195 for meals from
November 26 through November 30, 2007; $2546.28 for TQSE expenses; $60.60 for
weight slips; $3340 for shipping of HHG; $88 for stowage of HHG; and $1000 for
miscellaneous expenses. Regarding the
voucher expense of $2546.28 for TQSE expenses, claimant attached a worksheet
(DD Form 2912) showing a breakdown of thirty days of lodging, meals, and
laundry expenses for December 1 through December 30, 2007, and in the remarks
section of the worksheet stated: AReceipt
#1086 shows $1100 for first and last month rent amount paid for December and
January for the 60 days allowed for temporary quarters.@
Other
documentation in the record included Areceipt
1086,@ dated November 19, 2007, in the amount of $1100, on
which it is noted it is Afor 1st + last months rent for Kelly Fritzarell - 1425
W. Day, W. Lawrence Evans PC@ and is signed by AJ.
Butler.@ AReceipt 8684,@ dated
November 19, 2007, in the amount of $88, notes APro rate
Nov 07 + Dec 07 + $20.00 deposit, due again Jan 1st 2008,@ with the signature illegible. The lease pertaining to the $88 receipt is in
the record and was executed by claimant with Texoma Boat, R.V. & Mini
Storage on November 19, 2007, for locker room C2-44. The record contains several tickets issued by
Certified Automated Truck Scale showing various weights. None of the tickets contains information
tying the tickets to claimant. AReceipt 289987,@ dated
November 20, 2007, and AReceipt 289992,@ dated
December 13, 2007, Afor packing and moving furniture from Clayton, OK to
Denison, TX,@ are each for payment in the amount of $1670 and
signed by Enrique Casillas.
On
February 26, 2008, the agency wrote claimant stating:
In receipt of your
PCS claim for TQSE and household goods move.
We cannot process this claim without a valid receipt for lodging and
household goods. A valid receipt must
contain the name, address, and telephone number for the company/individual you
are renting from. Also, the household
goods, the number of pounds moved, the storage and TQSE lodging must have a
copy of the rental/lease agreement, when this is provided the claim can be
processed.
On
June 24, 2008, the Board contacted the parties because the items and amounts
for which the claimant sought payment were unclear from the record. The record contains copies of some receipts,
but is otherwise incomplete. The agency
responded that currently the claimant has not been reimbursed for any of the
above-listed items, and noted:
The claim was being
reviewed and we contacted Mr. Bell. He
was informed that additional information was needed and was provided the
appropriate regulations regarding the request.
We thought Mr. Bell would respond and/or provide the information needed
to process the voucher in its entirety; however, Mr. Bell decided to file an
appeal rather than respond.
Discussion
The
problem here is that the claimant has not submitted the documentation requested
by USACE. The USACE has not yet
completed its review of the claim and made its initial adjudication of the
claim. Rule 401(c) of the Board=s Rules of Procedure provides that any claim for
entitlement to travel or relocation expenses must first be filed with the
claimant=s own agency and the agency must initially adjudicate
the claim. The appeal is premature in
view of the absence of an agency adjudication of the claim, and we are,
therefore, dismissing this case and remanding it to the agency for initial
adjudication. Dennis J. Fitzgerald,
GSBCA 16434‑TRAV, et al., 04‑2 BCA &
32,800; George Oliver, GSBCA 14550‑TRAV, 98‑2 BCA & 29,800.
It
is apparent from the correspondence and the record that the claimant does not
regularly travel or relocate for the agency and is unfamiliar with the type of
documentation the agency would typically require for reimbursement of travel
and relocation expenses. We caution the
claimant that the likelihood of receiving a favorable determination would be
enhanced if he provides the documentation requested by the agency. The fact that some documentation may be
difficult to obtain should not stop the claimant. An agency correctly denies travel and
relocation expenses that are not properly substantiated by sufficient
documentation. That being said, because
the claimant seems unfamiliar with travel and relocation policies, the agency
should work proactively with the claimant to explain on each expense what types
of documentation will satisfy its needs and allow it to properly reimburse the
claimant for that expense. If certain
requested documentation is unobtainable, the agency should work with the
claimant to devise what alternative documentation might be accepted to prove a
particular expense was properly incurred and allowable.
Decision
We
dismiss CBCA 1186-RELO as a claim which is not yet ripe for review.
___________________________
PATRICIA
J. SHERIDAN
Board
Judge
#23369 CBCA 1186
BellPrematureDecision.wpd
Regarding the
voucher expense of $2546.28 for TQSE, claimant attached a worksheet (DD Form
2912) showing a breakdown of thirty days of lodging, meals, and laundry
expenses for December 1 through December 30, 2007, and in the remarks section
of the worksheet stated: AReceipt #1086 shows $1100 for first and last month
rent amount paid for December and January for the 60 days allowed for temporary
quarters.@
The agency
indicated that based on the documentation it had received it considered certain
items Aallowable,@ but
other items it questioned and sought additional information from the
claimant.
