The biggest issue that I have with these "claim shark" companies is that many of them are owned and operated by veterans. It's quite surprising that some even take pride in their label as a "Veteran Owned Business" when they are taking advantage of what you would believe are their own.
Once a claim shark succeeds with a claim, they tend to take a portion of the awarded retroactive back pay. Alternatively, they may request nth months' worth of a veteran's total compensation payments as their fee; though, I've heard no more than six months, but that could vary from company to company.
Some of these claim sharks even go as far as to include perpetuity clauses in their agreements. This means that if a veteran that they "helped" ever has a rating increase, they are entitled to another payment. Since veterans provide them with all of their personal information, it becomes easy for the sharks to monitor any increases in payments made to the veterans through the VA hotline. And, if they become aware of an increase, the veteran better be prepared to receive another bill.
It's buyer beware when it comes to these unscrupulous and unaccredited VA claims assistance companies!