Passenger25

Just checking in ... I don't have anything substantive to post at this time. But I do have encouragement. Work with your representative's office. One Congressional is an annoyance. A pattern of Congressionals, from different districts, with the same complaint, will be noticed at 810 Vermont NW. If you have evidence of specific waste, fraud, or abuse, and you can identify the statute or regulation that was violated, and describe the harm done to you, you should also contact the OIG. Another option is to contact the media, but I am not media-savvy. I am bureaucracy-savvy.

Who did he speak to at the VA? I spoke to a CSR at the DMC, and didn't get very far. She couldn't tell me what authorities (directives, handbooks, etc.) they were operating under, but did give me the number of a form that she said would have my due process rights. I could not find that form anywhere on the VA's web site. I also spoke to a privacy officer at VBA. He let me know the VA had started offsetting my benefits and the debt was now substantially less than what had been referred to the Department of the Treasury. And I spoke to someone at the Treasury office that does VA's outsourced collections. He told me some things that contradicted Treasury's demand letters and was a real jerk when I pointed that out. I was really, honestly trying not to be confrontational, but when he started speaking over me as if nothing I was not worthy to be heard, I let him know that was generally considered rude. I don't think he appreciated that, either. Something else occurred to me today: veterans service organizations. I'm a lapsed VFW member-at-large, and I'm considering signing back up to see if I can get some attention on this matter. The strength of the ties between certain VSOs and VA leadership cannot be overstated.

That is interesting. I believe Title 31 CFR requires the use of administrative offset. They should have paid your husband his backpay, less the $200. That's the way it's supposed to work, that's the most efficient way to do it, and that's the way it always worked in the military, so that's how veterans expect it to work. If there is an overpayment in the military, or a deduction is not made one month, it will show up as "Debt Repayment" on the next LES. It never becomes a "debt" in the sense of creditworthiness, it's simply DFAS's way of balancing the books over time. I have learned that the VA does practice administrative offset, but they wait a number of months before they do it--just long enough to report 120 days overdue on my credit report, in my case. And they also referred the entire amount of the debt to the Department of the Treasury for collection, even after they initiated the administrative offset, so the Treasury is coming after me for money I have already repaid. In your case, it sounds like they overpaid the backpay, then did not offset the overpayment from subsequent benefit payments? So they declared it "delinquent" and put it on his credit report, all while continuing to pay him? That's very similar to what they did to me. I can't accept that I can have a "delinquent debt" while an agency continues to disburse thousands of dollars to me. Even if I were not personally involved, as a taxpayer I'd be offended at the inefficient, wasteful behavior on display here.

I am in a similar situation, and if I cannot fix it, I will be branded a deadbeat on my credit report for the next seven years because a bureaucracy overpaid me by $160 then failed to administratively recoup it in a timely fashion. As you can imagine, I am perturbed. I contacted my Representative and made a Privacy Act request with the VA within 24 hours of finding out they claimed a delinquent debt. I've spent a lot of my free time researching the CFR to see what rights I have, and there are precious few, but some of the rights I do have were violated. (See 31 CFR 901.) I may take this to OIG, as I believe I can substantiate a case of waste and abuse. I encourage anyone dealing with delinquent debts from VA benefits overpayments to contact their Congressional Representative, as well. Benefits are paid by the VBA, which has been in the news recently for an atrocious backlog and for paying lavish bonuses to their executives. I believe their collection practices represent the same institutional laxness. It is our responsibility as citizens and veterans bring these events to light so our lawmakers can correct them. I also encourage anyone who has been denied the due process required by law and regulation to report it to that agency's Inspector General. They are chartered to combat waste, fraud, and abuse, but they can only do that if they are aware of what's going on in their agencies.

Could you link to or quote said policy? I'm not familiar with it.

It'll be an issue. Do not plan on getting an interim clearance, but do not give up on obtaining a final clearance. Read the debt section of the Adjudicative Desk Reference and determine your course of action. http://www.dhra.mil/perserec/adr/financesdebt/debtframeset.htm

dupe

You want them to be honest, but you don't want them to report a secured card as a secured card?

I just carry my ATM card (NFCU CUCard). It gets me cash for those rare merchants that don't take credit, and it may even work at point of sale over the PIN network. (I haven't tried.)I see no reason to tempt fate with a check card.

Here is the FTC page on recovering from identity theft. It walks you through an identity theft report, and includes forms and cover letters so you'll be prepared when you meet with the police. http://www.ftc.gov/bcp/edu/microsites/idtheft/consumers/defend.html

Can they? I know the TU 98 score sold by myfico.com doesn't handle charge cards correctly, but are there any actual lenders still using such an old model? I look at charge cards and utilization this way: I have $1000 available revolving credit on one credit card. I spend $900 and pay after the statement cuts (for float). My utilization ratio is 90%. I have $1000 available revolving credit on one credit card and a charge card. I spend $50 on the credit card and $850 on the charge card and pay after the statements cut. My utilization ratio is 5%. It is credit cards that require understanding utilization and occasional interventions to maintain the ideal ratio. Charge cards are not revolving credit and do not count towards utilization, so you don't have to spend any time worrying about it.

The exchange rate is better than statement credits or AmEx gift cards, but not as good as Barnes and Noble gift cards. Amazon is usually cheaper than B&N, but I doubt the difference makes up for the poorer redemption rate.

Just out of curiosity, what did this accomplish? You lost a regular customer. If his wallet was stolen, he may have been using the gift cards while waiting for a replacement Visa/MC, and you inconvenienced him further. If he was using a stolen card, you did nothing to prevent further use of it at other merchants. Wouldn't it have been better to call for a Code 10 authorization? Unlike Visa and MC, Discover allows merchants to require ID as a condition of card acceptance. But they also encourage merchants to report fraudulent cards, not turn them loose. Some card issuers even pay a bounty for catching a fraudulently used card.

Right. It's defined in Regulation Z. "The date by which or the period within which any credit extended for purchases may be repaid without incurring a finance charge." When credit card issuers use the term in their solicitations, it must be congruent with this definition.