BP Cuts Claim Payments To 40,000 People With Incomplete Files

(AP) BP has decided to reduce payments to tens of thousands of people whose claim files are incomplete, the secretary of Louisiana's Department of Children and Family Services said.

"This action is irresponsible and in complete contrast to BP's repeated promise that they will 'make things right,'" the secretary, Kristy Nichols, wrote in a letter sent Friday to federal oil spill claims administrator Kenneth Feinberg.

It was not immediately clear how severe the payment cuts would be. BP did not immediately respond to a request for comment.

Nichols said her department discovered the change after reviewing BP's Thursday claims summary, which showed a significant cut in daily payments.

She said a BP representative estimated more than 40,000 of the 99,508 people who have filed claims may get lower checks. That "will be devastating to individuals surviving financially month-to-month," she wrote.

RELATED: Oil Spill Big News

Comments

[livesimply]

04:07 PM on 07/13/2010

It was predictable that they would pull this and continue to stall payments. When they said they would honor all claims, they kept stressing the word "legitimate." They were planning on making the process as difficult as possible from the start. Yeah, I know. There are a few people saying they had no problems at all. They had to do that with some people so they could parade them out to the press.

[mizerello]

02:36 PM on 07/13/2010

Welcome to the world of Prince William Sound and the Big Oil Runaround folks. To all those unaffected by the spill who suggest that the $20 billion fund that BP agreed to provide via the gov't is a slush fund, you don't have a clue. The people of the gulf will be lucky to get even one year's compensation. And, to all you out there who have this false sense of whatever it is and believe that in a year or two, the signs of this spill will be gone--I've got a bridge to sell you for cheap. 21 years later and there is still oil a plenty on beaches around Prince William Sound, courtesy of the Exxon Valdez spill. 21 years later and the crab and herring fishing industries are still non-existent. 21 years later and the people of the Prince William Sound got nothing from Exxon except for broken promises. If you're a Gulf fishermen/woman--get your compensation now while the getting is good because you won't be getting anything again in the next few years from BP. And to all you Red Staters who are incensed by the so-called slush fund, try living in an area hit by a disaster of this magnitude. Too bad we can't bundle you all up and throw you into the Gulf since you believe it's a natural substance.

[mrJJ]

10:06 AM on 07/13/2010

Bobby Jindal's $350 Million Dollar Boondoggle... a Failure...

Chandeleur sand berm segment shrinking like a wool sweater in hot water!

If a single picture is worth 1,000 words this 3-picture 378-word post is short on verbiage but long on information.

Regular readers of LaCoastPost know that I have long been challenging the wisdom and effectiveness of constructing artificial sand berms for the specific purpose of intercepting intruding oil. I’m far from alone in this controversy and all the scientists with whom I have spoken share my concerns. For example, see the article by Amy Wold in the July 11 The Advocate, which describes the decision to build the sand berms as driven more by politics than science.

more: http://lacoastpost.com/blog/?p=25001

Gulf's Artificial Islands Already Failing

http://news.discovery.com/earth/gulfs-artificial-islands-already-failing.html

[nolookpass2]

11:43 PM on 07/12/2010

I guess these people will start claiming income in the future so that if something like this happens they can get legitimate help.

Taxes must be way to high for that many people to be trying to avoid them yet the democrats swear they are not high enough.

[LittleMittens]

12:52 AM on 07/13/2010

Wow, your compassion is underwhelming

[livesimply]

04:08 PM on 07/13/2010

Convoluted thinking some?

[John Toth]

10:42 PM on 07/12/2010

Bubba should have reported those cash earnings (or at least part of it). But who knew that BP would one day would blow up the Gulf and Bubba would need tax returns from past years to prove income? Bubba thinks life is unfair and BP sucks, along with Obama (but then, he thought Obama sucked even before the explosion).

[StopThePlanet]

10:47 PM on 07/12/2010

And Bubba doesn't think that he should have to pay taxes I guess maybe this is karma for all the roads and bridges he's driven over without paying for, for all the parks he's visited without contributing to the upkeep, for all them Arab's that got whacked without his paying for their extermination. And so on and so forth.

[patches12]

09:22 PM on 07/12/2010

hate to say it but many of these people don't want to pay income taxes!!! They haven't paid taxes for years and the BP payments put them in the cross hairs of the IRS..

If you work Black Market and don't pay taxes.. I have no sympathy

[sharris96]

01:21 AM on 07/14/2010

Even the IRS, along with people in that area joke and talk about the "informal economy"

[StevieRae]

08:58 PM on 07/12/2010

It's a horrible mess. When is anyone happy with the insurance company claims department on their settlement, particularly, a medical or liability payment?

What isn't being talked about are all the fishermen/shrimpers, for example, who have lost their livelihood. But, but, most of them functioned on a "cash" basis. They paid no taxes.

Should they be paid if they can't produce the documentation?

[dogman44]

08:50 PM on 07/12/2010

i wonder why it took 83 days to figure this out.......booki

[sharonh]

07:04 PM on 07/12/2010

Class action!

[01202009]

06:11 PM on 07/12/2010

I'm back to my old song and dance! Nationalize BP America and hold it hostage until everything is clean and everyone paid for their losses! BP is holding us hostage!

Next tax all the friggin' oil companies (Exxon, for example pays the US not a penny in taxes) and get rid of all subsidies. That move right there would go a long way to balancing the budget

[DaMojo]

06:05 PM on 07/12/2010

Um..what about the $20 Billion and the guy Obama set in place to oversee it?

[John Toth]

10:50 PM on 07/12/2010

The law does not let him cut checks to people who claim to have so much annual income, but are not showing the income on past tax returns. If he did, you and I could go there, pick a number and collect a nice check also.

[econ1]

05:39 PM on 07/12/2010

It is hardly irresponsible to ask for complete files on losses....otherwise we'll all be filing for some cash.

[01202009]

06:13 PM on 07/12/2010

A lot of people don't know how to file complete forms! The government should set up offices to help them and make BP foot the bill. Besides, let's remember who the victim is here and who the bandit! BP, Halliburton and Transocean literally got away with mur der.

[John Toth]

11:00 PM on 07/12/2010

You also get away with murder if you pocket thousands of dollars of cash income weekly and not contribute to the tax base of this country. I agree that those companies need to be held accountable, but you also cannot look past the shrimper who uses public services but reports no income because he gets paid in cash. Those are the guys now screaming that they are not receiving fair compensation, but without tax returns how do you know what is fair?

[sharris96]

01:13 AM on 07/14/2010

I would certainly like to see just how (overly)-complete those forms are.

I don't think the people should be paid if they didn't pay taxes.

To see the tax behemoth rear it's ugly head is a real irony since the senate and the house and so many others skirt payment of theirs in many ways, not all of them legal.

However, they could ask for whatever records these folks have, estimate a total write a check and a certain amount could be paid with the appropriate taxes withheld on said amount.

My opinion is that a bunch of the folks that are left out in the cold are uneducated small operators from the bayous-and others not too far up the totem pole from them.

Somebody asked Obama about this and he said everybody will be taken care of. I'd like to see that newsclip again now.

I do know it's wrong to pay them without adequate records, but this would not have happened had not BP done something ungodly and immeasureably more horrible.

I see it, I comment on it, but I still cannot wrap my head around it.

[Lieber Tarianz]

10:12 PM on 07/12/2010

Agreed. I wish it could work on the honor system but Katrina proved that a lack of proper documentation will lead to large amounts of fraud.

I'd like to think that for every fraudulent claim prevented will leave more money for legit claims and a better cleanup.

[realitycheckers]

05:39 PM on 07/12/2010

BP, Beyond People

[Telemachus]

05:02 PM on 07/12/2010

Iff ju do not heff jur peppers, ju cannot expekt ze kompenzation.

[peowlemeow]

04:36 PM on 07/12/2010

Governor Jindal noticed some fine print that had not been brought to BPs attention.He's so nice.Screwing little people,maybe he uses lube sometimes when he's feeling charitable.

[landrew12088066]

08:42 PM on 07/12/2010

I knew Jindal's name would come up. How did this dink get elected? He is the phoniest political creep in the country next to McCain.