DFAS Stuff on Credit Report

[whitneyrene]

I recently got married and am trying to repair both mine and my hubby's credit so we can buy a house soon. On pulling his credit report, I saw the DFAS says my hubby owes them $24,000 from 2005, supposedly from an overpayment he received while in the Navy. However, he was an salamander and actually got sentenced to a year in the brig for smuggling marijuana across the border. Genius, I know. Anyway, he has definitely turned his life around and isn't smuggling drugs these days but I need some help with this DFAS thing. He was in the brig when the overpayment occured and never received the money. They say it was direct deposited, but his bank account was closed at the time. So basically the money is lost in the space, and dealing with DFAS is impossible. So does anyone know the SOL on something like this? He was living in California while in the navy, then moved to Oklahoma & Texas. I just didn't know what type of debt this would be considered, and what we should do about it. Will it fall off his credit report in 7 years (2012) like regular debts. I could just really use some help since I"m new. Thanks so much in advance!!!

Whitney

[mastergunner]

Hello Whitneyrene,

 

Welcome to CB!

 

Wow! I'm not sure if debts to the government are treated the same as regular debt. Hopefully, someone will come along with the correct answer.

 

What have you done so far to attempt to rid yourself and DH (Dear Husband) of this?

 

I suggest finding his old Leave and Earning Statements (LES's) or Pay Advice form or whatever they're called in the USN, especially the one showing the erroneous payment. It should have the Account Number where DFAS sent the payment. Contact the Financial Institution who was supposed to receive payment, and see what they did with it (the erroneous payment).

 

Believe me there is a paper trail somewhere...you just have to find it.

 

Good luck; keep us updated; and I'll check back often. There are really good people in here that like to help.

 

MG

[vetswife]

if he can still get into the milpay portal he can print LES ...you can track it that way and get in touch with the original bank

 

call dfas and ask wth

 

theyre very polite at least

[tireredsquare]

Call them. That is the easiest way. I cannot help you more than that because my finance people are army.

[caliblonde6]

Wow, my BF and I are in the same situation. While in the Brig they payed him only a partial amount and then claimed that they over-payed him and put it on all on his credit report. Since we are also trying to buy a house we went back over all of his paperwork and it turns out that they not only didn't overpay him, they underpaid him. I was wondering how your call to them went and if anything was ever resolved. I am not expecting an easy road with this since I know how they can be.

[snowpuppy]

ITA with those that said to contact DFAS and see if you can get some type of audit, I'm assuming this was pay?

 

It's a debt to the governement, which will never go away.

 

For those trying to buy a home via VA/FHA/RD, they use a system call CAIVRS which will pull debts to the governement that don't show on a credit report. I've seen small amounts from VA hospital bills left unpaid to huge IRS debts. If you're going the guaranteed route, it has to be cleared before they will fund the loan.

 

I believe HUD still maintains information about CAIVRS on their website.

[whitneyrene]

Thanks for all the answers. Sorry I have taken so long to respond - I gave up the house buying dream for a while since I was finishing up my last semester of college and didn't have time to deal with all this. Anyway, now I'm graduated and back :-) Unfortunately, he has none of his records or paperwork or anything like that. We have since gotten a notice from a collection agency (not sure of the name - my files were ruined due to a flood in our entire downstairs!!) Anyway, the collection didn't look or sound like a government collections. We called DFAS and they really couldn't give us any information - they just told us how much my husband owed and we haven't pressed the issue because honestly we are scared to open this can of worms. Since it is in collections would that mean that it is no longer technically a government debt? Credit report about 6 months ago listed the date of last activity as 2005 - will it really never go away?? I would try to set up a payment plan if he really owed the money but that's not the case.

 

To caliblonde6 - did you ever figure anything out? I am desperate for help. I have improved my credit from a low 600 to around 700 and my income is ok but not enough to buy a house I'd want alone :-(

 

One more question - even if we couldn't get an FHA loan could he still qualify for any other kind of home loan? He has pretty junky credit - around 543 right now but I am working on some medical bills that for some reason weren't paid by insurance. Thanks!!!

[breeze]

I missed this! Congratulations on your graduation! Hubby's alleged debt will fall off his credit report, but it won't go away. They can take tax returns, put liens against property, take money from a bank account, all with no notice to you at all. Keep your bank account low profile - a local bank or credit union, not one of the national banks.

 

I believe you should take this bull by the horns. It's never as bad as you think - plus, you don't want to go to buy a house and have them pop up and keep you from closing at the last minute. They can find the money if you can get them to look for it. Your congressman can help if you strike out, but you need to dig in and try, as soon as you can work up the steam.

[clambert1273]

First.... you definitely need to get with DFAS and get copies of LES' and find out where exactly they are stating overpayment. Don't let them tell you they can't tell you anything - thats crap. It is their system and they should be able to tell you EXACTLY what they are claiming.

 

Second... if that fails... SERIOUSLY call your congressman... I can guarantee you that phone calls will progress very quickly with that one phone call....

 

I only received my VA disability payments after calling congress - it is a power in your corner. You need to get all his military records and YES they can be obtained...

[apsman]

I personally do not know about your issue but I did want to let you know about my situation when it comes to DFAS debt. I owed them money (legit) and after I paid them off they removed the account off all 3 of my reports with no problem. When I asked they were very nice about it!

 

Every time I called they were always willing to help me in any way, so I would call and explain the situation and they will probably help you out!

[schizcat]

I owed a small amount of $$ (less than 500) to DFAS for school.

 

To start, the total was around $1100. They hit my credit and I called them. This was in 06. They gave me the option of making payments so I said sure. I made the first payment of $500. They reported to my CR that all was up to date. I never got a phone call or letter from them after. I had every intention of paying the rest off but I got caught up with other things. Anyway, when I filed my 08 taxes, they pulled the rest out of the taxes. No biggie since I had enough coming back.

 

In a nutshell, like others have said, it wont go away. They will just get what they can from other means. First from taxes, then, from what I hear, wages, etc.

 

From what I hear, experience, read....Govt debt does not go away until its paid for. Your best bet is to contact them and work something out. The one good thing about the Govt (and I know this cause both my parents work for the IRS) is that they are willing to work with payment plans. However, if you slip up just a little, be prepared. I wouldnt bring up the fact that your husband was put in the brig (much less for bringing drugs across the border) but just that he owes the debt. If they wanted to find out exactly why the debt was there they would, but will not go out of their way to solve the puzzle.

[CindyCRNA]

I personally do not know about your issue but I did want to let you know about my situation when it comes to DFAS debt. I owed them money (legit) and after I paid them off they removed the account off all 3 of my reports with no problem. When I asked they were very nice about it!

 

Every time I called they were always willing to help me in any way, so I would call and explain the situation and they will probably help you out!

 

Do you have the direct number you called? I have been out for a couple of years with the same problem and have no contact numbers anymore.

[TallDudeSD]

http://www.dfas.mil/debtandclaims/contactus.html#

I personally do not know about your issue but I did want to let you know about my situation when it comes to DFAS debt. I owed them money (legit) and after I paid them off they removed the account off all 3 of my reports with no problem. When I asked they were very nice about it!

 

Every time I called they were always willing to help me in any way, so I would call and explain the situation and they will probably help you out!

 

Do you have the direct number you called? I have been out for a couple of years with the same problem and have no contact numbers anymore.