WESLACO – Veterans are being charged and losing thousands of dollars for assistance services they can get for free.

In Hidalgo and Cameron counties, veterans can receive assistance at no cost. They will not get money taken from their benefits or pay up front.

The Disabled American Veterans organization, or DAV, is saying they’ve been seeing the opposite.

“We see veterans still being charged thousands and thousands of dollars erroneously, illegally and they’re still getting away with it,” said Carlos Tamayo, a service officer at DAV. “It’s quite simple; the code of federal regulations requires if you're going to charge veterans, they can only be charged after they initially filed a claim.”

According to the Department of Veterans Affairs, it takes an average of 91.7 days to complete disability-related claims as of September.

Tamayo says younger veterans are not patient. Causing them to go another route and hiring someone who may take advantage of them.

Watch the video above for the full special report.