Vetted VA does not condone, approve of, or encourage the use of the terms “Lead(s)” or “Referrals”.   In this post, the term “Member” will refer to any Veteran/AD/Spouse with which you are approached.

However, we fully understand that these terms Referral and Lead are customary and normal in any and all industries.  To that end, the following is the expectation and outline of how to serve and what to communicate to other professionals when serving the great Vetted VA community.

  1. Any contact from a Vetted VA Veteran/AD/Spouse should be received and handled by the Vetted VA Professional.  In the course of serving that Member the Vetted VA Professional’s team contact can, and should be, utilized to serve the Member the best.  This team support should be in positions of support as defined in the “Non-Consumer Facing” portion of the Tagging/Naming Professionals post.  Handing off a Member to a Service Source Provider (as also defined in the same post) can be seen as a breach of service agreement with Vetted VA.
  2. Referring business for a state or service in which you are not able to support: First, refer the Member to the map.  Remember that autonomy of choice is one of our core fundamentals.  Allow them to choose whom they will work with.
    1. If pressured for direct names then the primary choice goes to fellow Vetted VA Professionals.  Reasoning: All VVA Professionals have gone through, and continue to adhere to, the training and accountability of Vetted VA.
    2. If no VVA Pros exist in that service area then you may default to referring the Member to service providers whom you know and trust will serve the Member as expected.  In the instance of a breakdown, you will be called forward to support the AAR of the issues.
  3. Realtor/Real Estate Licensed Specifically: Receiving a “Referral Fee” of any kind from a fellow Real Estate licensed provider is NOT ALLOWED.  Instead, when asked, demand as nicely as possible that the customary fee be removed from the client or credited to the VA Eligible consumer at closing.

In Vetted VA COC or any other communication portal, referring to Members as Leads/Referrals will earn quick rebuttal.  Continuance of such terms and posturing will result in further action up to and possibly including removal from Vetted VA.