ARMY AIRFORCE EXCHANGE(A.F.F.E.S) NO contract?

[texas43234]

What is the name of your state?What is the name of your state?TX
Well I got out of the army in 1994 and towards the end of 2003 I got the letters from AFFES saying I owed them money(1500).
well it was a collection agency called O.S.I collections who contacted me via mail and phone calls.
O.S.I and A.F.F.E.S started telling me my wages where going to be garnish if I did not pay this debt and to make a long story short they started garnishing my wages for a total of 4500 ( intrest and fees).
The used federal law usc31 3720D which authorized a goverment contractor to garnish someones pay once a hearing by an excecutive officer is conducted and find the debt a just one.( no court order needed)
I read this law and found out that AFFES has broken every bit of it for example Its my right to review all documentation concerning this debt, but when I asked to see my signed contract I was told by AFFES via mail that they lost my contract and they sent me a blank unsigned contract.
I even had my congressmen try to get a copy of a signed contract but he hasnt been able to get one.
This debt is an unsecured line of credit and the debt was over 10yrs old but when I brought these issues up AFFES told me that they had ways around the law and I had to pay and no law could stop them,Yes this is true they said that.
I trying to see if I have a case and sue these guys a goverment contractor is not above the law, I say if there is no contract theres no debt.
If anyone can help drop me an e-mail and I'll be watching out for responses on this forum.

[debtcollector`]

I got out of the Army in 1994 (3ACR) and when through a similiar issue. First the laws regarding chain of command contacts for third party collectors changed in the mid 90s -- don't ask me when, I'm not sure.

Second, they can keep coming after the money until it is paid. At a certian point there is really nothing they can do tp you anymore (SOL and credit reporting expires). But that doesn't mean they can't still try to collect the debt -- there are of course options. I don't normally share those -- there are people on the board that are more than happy to advise others on that aspect.

Send me an email -- [email]panzerfahre@yahoo.com[/email] -- I'll help you out to the best of my ability. I was a 19K.

DC

For the others, AFFES had a deferred payment plan in late 80s and early 90s that soldiers were ordered to sign up for. In 1992 or 1993 they changed from 0 interest to 12 percent. While I have no feeling for people who sign up for credit cards and are not able to pay for them, I do care when lower enlisted soldiers are order to sign up for credit plans when everyone (including the people issueing the orders) knows they don't have the income to handle that.

[texas43234]

thank man, and I to was a tanker M1-A1

Originally Posted by debtcollector`

I got out of the Army in 1994 (3ACR) and when through a similiar issue. First the laws regarding chain of command contacts for third party collectors changed in the mid 90s -- don't ask me when, I'm not sure.

Second, they can keep coming after the money until it is paid. At a certian point there is really nothing they can do tp you anymore (SOL and credit reporting expires). But that doesn't mean they can't still try to collect the debt -- there are of course options. I don't normally share those -- there are people on the board that are more than happy to advise others on that aspect.

Send me an email -- [email]panzerfahre@yahoo.com[/email] -- I'll help you out to the best of my ability. I was a 19K.

DC

For the others, AFFES had a deferred payment plan in late 80s and early 90s that soldiers were ordered to sign up for. In 1992 or 1993 they changed from 0 interest to 12 percent. While I have no feeling for people who sign up for credit cards and are not able to pay for them, I do care when lower enlisted soldiers are order to sign up for credit plans when everyone (including the people issueing the orders) knows they don't have the income to handle that.

[Donnie H.]

Not that it helps you now, but, I thought you could go to the Base Finance Office to get help with debt issues. Several of the guys I work with have gone there for help. In some cases they will even help G.I.'s set up budget and payment plans to keep them on the right track or help them recover from poor decisions. Money issues are a serious priority and I have seen people loose security clearance and even be denied deployments or assignments because of excessive bad credit. It especially affects the younger guys that are fresh out of Basic with their STAR card or A.A.F.E.S. line of credit and no concept of how to use it wisely.
Just for my own curiosity, why didn't you just pay the $1,500.00 when you got out of the Army? Didn't you have to clear your debts with the service as part of your outprocessing paperwork?
I'm not trying to put you down, we all have bills, but I know that I would have loved it if any credit card was so slow at collecting on my account that I could have paid $150.00 a year to clear it.

[hotstuff2]

Sorry to drag up an old topic, but FWIW, I have recently been getting collection calls about an old AAFES debt from when I was discharged in 1995 (well over 10 years ago.) According to the collection agent, it's a "federal debt" that stays in effect for 20 years. I haven't heard a word about it until last year, when I filed a tax return (I don't normally, for other reasons), and they took it and applied it to the AAFES charge. Now I've gotten several calls about it.

Did some surfing today after getting yet another automated call; came across this:

[url]http://www.consumeraffairs.com/news04/2007/11/aafes.html[/url]

Which I'm going to re-post here, since it's quite important IMHO:

"Feds Scam Vets, Lawsuit Charges
AAFES illegally calculating military credit card payments

November 16, 2007

The Army and Air Force Exchange Service (AAFES) is breaking the law by taking money from soldiers and veterans who have military credit card debts that were either improperly calculated, too old to collect or both, according to a lawsuit suit filed by Public Citizen in the U.S. District Court for the Northern District of California in San Francisco.

Public Citizen filed the suit on behalf of veteran Julius Briggs and a class of soldiers and veterans nationwide.

For years, the AAFES has offered credit cards, known as Military Star cards, to military personnel to purchase uniforms and other items from the stores it operates on military bases.

If a service member is delinquent in paying a debt, the government has the right to deduct the money owed from the member’s government benefits or tax refunds. The government can add interest, penalties and administrative costs as permitted by the credit card contract or federal law.

AAFES, however, is not permitted by law to collect debts that have been outstanding for more than 10 years or amounts in excess of what the contract allows. In improperly collecting these debts, the AAFES has steadily appropriated millions of dollars from soldiers and veterans nationwide, Public Citizen says.

“It is shocking that a U.S. government agency would illegally take this money from veterans who have served our country well, particularly from those veterans who may be depending on government benefits,” said Deepak Gupta, an attorney for Public Citizen who is working on the lawsuit.

Briggs, the plaintiff, is a 21-year veteran of the U.S. Army and Army Reserves with an honorable record. He served in Germany and later in Saudi Arabia in the aftermath of Operation Desert Storm.

While on active duty in 1977, he suffered a back injury that has since limited the number and types of jobs he can take.

Since 2004, the U.S. government has withheld more than $2,300 in federal payments to Briggs to pay an AAFES debt that was outstanding more than 10 years.

The withheld payments have caused Briggs to be unable to pay his housing costs, leaving him homeless for several periods over the past few years. Not only has the government collected money beyond the time limit, but it also has inflated the amount due through improper interest rate calculations.

“With any luck, this lawsuit will force AAFES to stop collecting money that it has no right to take,” said Briggs.

The lawsuit seeks an injunction against further illegal collection of debts by AAFES and restitution of all funds inappropriately collected."

Ergo, my debt from 1995 is *12* years old, and neither AAFES nor the collection agency nor the gov't has any legal right to attempt collection or garnish wages or income taxes to collect on said debt, as the SOL and time has expired on it. At least, that's how *I* read it, and I will be demanding that they cease and desist any and all calling, do everything by mail, provide me with a copy of the contract, and take it from there.