$ Taken From Tax Refund but Not Owed

[morninglory]

Hi.

I am writing this for a friend. Several years ago he was in the military and stationed in Germany. While there, he wrote some bad checks totalling around $1200 to AAFES. When he was transfered back to the states, he had to pay off the debt in order to get clearance to leave.

So, he paid the money back and thought nothing else about it until last year when he didn't get his tax refund. They are saying he never paid his debt with them and took it from his tax refund last year (which was around $700). So, this means this year they'll probably take the rest.

He did call them last year and complained but he doesn't have his receipts and they supposedly can't find any record of the payments. He thinks he can get a copy of his papers where the AAFES people signed off saying he was paid up and could leave Germany but we are having a hard time finding out how to get ahold of that paperwork. It's hard to find German numbers, especially for the military.

Regardless, he desperately needs his tax refund from this year and last year but we have no idea what to do. He's thinking about hiring a lawyer but we're not sure it would be worth it.

Any advice is appreciated....

Thanks,
morninglory

 

[djohnson]

They would have to have a judgment against him. Check into that. See how he was served. Without receipts or proof it isn't going to do you any good. He needs to find what he can.

 

[Tinkerbellsmom]

Aafes

AAFES does not need a judgement against you to garnish your income tax check. They work the same way as defaulted school loans, or owed Fed Taxes. My suggestion: Call back to Germany, you can get the base info number by calling any military installation near you or by going to www.army.mil, and searching for the Base name in Army A-Z. Once you get the correct number start with JAG, and ask for a copy of the clearing papers. Also try calling the old unit, they should have a copy too, since you must clear your unit last. He is right in saying that he had to pay off his AAFES debt before clearing. They will not let you clear if you owe money. AAFES is hard to win against, but if you can get proof that you paid them, they will refund your money. Good Luck.

Army wife in GA
(former AAFES employee )

 

[morninglory]

Thanks bunches! That really helped us but we've gotten stuck again. He talked to someone in his old unit but they are saying that they don't keep copies of clearing papers for more than one year and that they know of several others with the same problem and there's nothing they can do....

But, there's got to be a way around this. I don't really understand how they can LEGALLY do this. But, there's got to be a loophole in it somewhere, otherwise they wouldn't be doing it. I mean, they don't give people a way to defend themselves. They could do this to anyone and it's looking like there's nothing anyone can do about it......

Thanks,
morninglory