VA Overpayment on Credit Report

[rlbr0wn]

Hi All! I cannot tell you how thankful I am to have found this forum. I have two Post 9/11 GI Bill debts to the VA, totaling 20k - for an ASSOCIATES DEGREE! I won't waste time explaining how they say this happened, but I would really appreciate any advice/recommendations for my side of this process. I do want to share some of what has happened and where I'm at in the process now, in the event it helps someone else and to give you all a more complete picture of my case, as I ask for your help in what to include on my request to my congressman--what exactly am I asking him to do?

 

Here are the deets (short version, I promise):

 

I requested a waiver of debt/compromise or extended payment plan 40 days after notification of my debt, along with a request for an audit of my debts because it doesn't add up (literally or figuratively). As I waited for a response on these items, we PCS'd; time slipped by. I didn't begin making payments because I was waiting for it to be sorted out. **Lesson learned: make some kind of payment until your waiver has been accepted into the review process.**

 

Having heard nothing from the VA in five months (I'd been told the process generally takes 3-6 months), I finally received a letter stating my accounts were delinquent. I called them up and learned that although they received that original email (I had the automated confirmation), the waiver request and financial status report (FSR) were never opened. Therefore, my timeline continued tracking and I was now in (INTERNAL) collections. One agent I spoke with was rightly disgusted that no one let me know they couldn't (or didn't) open my attachments, and he was able to reset my clock (60 days, I think) before it went to EXTERNAL collections (interest rate and fees). He also had me resend my waiver request/FSR (which he opened just fine from my original email) and marked it "EXPEDITE". He asked me to call back late February to check on it.

 

I called mid-Feb and learned that the request had been denied due to the fact it was not made within 180 days of notification of my debt. Again, the agent I spoke with immediately saw this was incorrect, as my original request was made within 40 days. He resubmitted it and accepted it for review as timely.

 

Now, I still have 3-6 months for a waiver determination and these collection accounts are already on my credit report. I plan on making monthly $100 payments on each account until a determination is made so that it doesn't go straight to EXTERNAL collections, if the waiver is denied.

 

All recommendations and insight are welcome! Thank you for your time, and for everything you've shared already.

 

My questions:

 

In writing my Congressmen, what exactly should I ask him to do?

 

To have this removed from my credit report, should I dispute my collection account with the VA my collection or the credit reporting agencies?

 

Is there anyone else I should include, or appeal to?

 

P.S. This happened to about 30 of my GI Bill classmates during a VA audit, so you aren't just helping me--what you share could help us all!

[ICANHASMUNY?]

you should start you own thread.

[OmniCamaro]

The credit reporting system is stacked against us disabled veterans. As stated previously and a very true fact; the VA's processing of our 'benefits' is inhumanely slow. So slow that our credit gets ruined before they get around to approving our disabilities. It's a situation that forces us to either file bankruptcy or lose everything. And as anyone on here knows, both ways screw your credit. I believe some changes need to be made to the regulations in regards to this. Actually, in regards to anyone who abruptly becomes disabled (which is a majority of disabled people) their needs to be laws that protect their credit, or at least help those folks recover quicker.

I know mine and my wife's credit is in the crapper for at least another 3 years all because the VA took over 2 years to do some paperwork. We've been dealing with bad credit since 2011. Very very frustrating to say the least. Just another reason why veteran suicide is extremely high.

 

 

Sent from my iPad using Tapatalk

[ICANHASMUNY?]

write your congressman , senator and whomever is on the armed services committee

 

E warren also

[belleama]

This should all fall under the 31 State AG Agreement , because it wasn't a consumer credit transaction

 

 

https://creditboards.com/forums/index.php?showtopic=571275&hl=

 

https://creditboards.com/forums/index.php?showtopic=572655&hl=

 

 

Do not report debt that did not arise from a contract or agreement to pay, including, but not limited to, certain fines, tickets and other assessments," the credit reporting agency document explained. "For example, library fees or fines, parking tickets, speeding tickets, and court fees or fines."

 

 

Write letters to your state AG. EQ, EX and TU should be telling the military not to report these over payments ,

 

and Write Holly Petraus @ the CFPB too.

 

Contact Servicemember Affairs --- military@cfpb.gov

 

Does anyone have contact info for Holly Petraus' replacement?

[ICANHASMUNY?]

https://www.facebook.com/pg/CFPBMilitary/about/?ref=page_internal

 

 

https://www.consumerfinance.gov/servicemembers/

[belleama]

https://www.facebook.com/pg/CFPBMilitary/about/?ref=page_internal

 

 

https://www.consumerfinance.gov/servicemembers/

 

Thanks! I was able to get ahold of one of my congressmen's office and they seem like they're really going to help. If they don't I'll go back to CFPB.

[belleama]

 

 

This is to acknowledge we received your inquiry on behalf of Ms. Belleama. We are reviewing the inquiry and a more complete response will be provided as soon as possible. We apologize in advance for any possible delays in our response time as we are currently working through a large number of inquiries.

 

I got this yesterday as part of a letter from my congressman. Sound like they just sent him a form/FOAD letter. Do they normally reply like that to congressmen? Maybe they'll respond with something useful soon...

[Quarters]

Filed a complaint with the CFPB regarding the overpayment on my reports against the the cra's results pending, will update with results.

[ICANHASMUNY?]

Maybe you should contact a reporter @ the Washington Post or NY Times

 

they eat this stuff up

 

Please tell us what College this was for - was in one of the for profit schools that was caught up in the DOE fines ?

 

https://www.nolo.com/legal-encyclopedia/overpayments-veterans-benefits-paying-them-back-the-va.html

 

 

https://www.militarytimes.com/2015/10/23/gi-bill-overpayments-leave-veterans-facing-big-debts/

 

 

Veterans are responsible for tuition overpayments when:

• Student withdrew after the first day of the term.

• Student reduced hours either before or during the term.

• Student attended at least one day of any of the certified classes.

• School reports a reduction in tuition, fees, and/or Yellow Ribbon amount due to student action.

• Student drops a course and adds a course that results in a reduction in tuition, fees, and/or Yellow Ribbon amount, even if there is no net change in training time.

Schools are responsible for tuition overpayments when:

• Student never attended any classes.

• Student completely withdraws on or before the first day of the term.

• Student died during the term or before start of the term.

• School reports reduced tuition and fee charges and/or Yellow Ribbon amount.

• School received an erroneous or duplicate payment from VA.

• Overpayment resulted from school's willful or negligent false certification or failure to certify significant changes.

[Quarters]

So got a response from EQ via CFPB - the letter stated that the account that i filed the complaint about is not reflecting on my report! So interestingly enough I went to take a look at the new report they sent and it was gone. However on the 3B report I seen it gone as a collection but moved to closed accounts ... hmm? Any ideas on this?