SSCRA and Repo

What is the name of your state?KY

We had a car loan with Fort Knox Federal Credit Union. The loan was taken out while my husband was Active Army.

He ets'd in Nov 1999, we moved in July 2000 and he was deployed with the NG Nov 2000.

While he was deployed to Bosnia, we fell behind on the car payments. I sent notification several times to the CU to reduce the interest rate. They refused saying the loan was taken out while he was on Active Duty and that Bosnia was not considered a War Zone, which it is, his wages wer tax-exempt.

They repo'd the car June 2001.

Do we have any recourse? The repo happpened while he was on deployemnt orders for the NG to Bosnia. Our income was also reduced because I had to quit my job to be closer to our kids. I was commuting 100 miles one way to my job. HELP!

And what did JAG say when you asked them??? A problem that I see is that the SSCRA loan reduction is not automatic, nor is it simply a matter of your asking it be reduced.

What you are referring to is found in 50 U.S.C. App. § 526:
"No obligation or liability bearing interest at a rate in excess of 6 percent per year incurred by a person in military service before that person's entry into that service shall, during any part of the period of military service, bear interest at a rate in excess of 6 percent per year unless, in the opinion of the court, upon application thereto by the obligee, the ability of such person in the military service to pay interest upon such obligation or liability at a rate in excess of 6 percent per year is not materially affected by reason of such service, in which case the court may make such order as in its opinion may be just. As used in this section the term "interest" includes service charges, renewal charges, fees, or any other charges (except bona fide insurance) in respect of such obligation or liability."

So, what was the interest rate PRIOR to his entry into service?
And what, if anything, did they 'adjust' it to after request?
And finally, what EXACTLY were your actions to try to get the adjustment??

For more, go to:
http://usmilitary.about.com/library/milinfo/sscra/blchap3-7.htm
http://www.bankersonline.com/compliance/ci-sscra.html
http://www.dod.mil/specials/Relief_Act_Revision/

JETX said:

And what did JAG say when you asked them??? A problem that I see is that the SSCRA loan reduction is not automatic, nor is it simply a matter of your asking it be reduced.

What you are referring to is found in 50 U.S.C. App. § 526:
"No obligation or liability bearing interest at a rate in excess of 6 percent per year incurred by a person in military service before that person's entry into that service shall, during any part of the period of military service, bear interest at a rate in excess of 6 percent per year unless, in the opinion of the court, upon application thereto by the obligee, the ability of such person in the military service to pay interest upon such obligation or liability at a rate in excess of 6 percent per year is not materially affected by reason of such service, in which case the court may make such order as in its opinion may be just. As used in this section the term "interest" includes service charges, renewal charges, fees, or any other charges (except bona fide insurance) in respect of such obligation or liability."

So, what was the interest rate PRIOR to his entry into service?
And what, if anything, did they 'adjust' it to after request?
And finally, what EXACTLY were your actions to try to get the adjustment??

For more, go to:
http://usmilitary.about.com/library/milinfo/sscra/blchap3-7.htm
http://www.bankersonline.com/compliance/ci-sscra.html
http://www.dod.mil/specials/Relief_Act_Revision/

Click to expand...

JAG at first thought we had enought to pursue a claim and receive triple damages but then they found out it was a loan taken out while he was prior active duty.

So does 50 U.S.C. App. § 526 actually state we can ask for a reduction in the interest rate? Confused.

The interest rate was 9.5% and for some reason it kept climbing. That's a whole different issue.

The CU did not adjust the rate at all, they flat refused to do anything.

My actions were to send certfied letters to request the reduction.

I guess my biggest question is, did they infringe on any rights by repoeing th e car while my husband was deployed?

"JAG at first thought we had enought to pursue a claim and receive triple damages but then they found out it was a loan taken out while he was prior active duty."
*** Unless there is something that you didn't tell the JAG office about the loan.... I presume they knew what they were doing when they made their decision that the SSCRA didn't (apparently) affect the loan.

Scra

Even though this is an old question, I am still posting this reply for anyone else that may have this question. There is a name below that will give you (in my case) same day answers.
I am sorry that I haven't checked this site for a while. This SCRA stuff is still fresh in my mind having researched it for my son in the past few months. I hope in the meantime, someone has been sympathetic enough to help you with this problem, but as far as the SCRA goes, this interest reduction does apply to installment loans incurred prior to active duty. And trust me, some companies still give a hard time about granting it. And by the way, that bankersonline.com will give you quick answers. This is the man I questioned, even after having all the info I needed, I still needed someone's help. Andy Zavoina CRCM
BankersOnline.com
1800 Crestview Dr.
Killeen, TX 76549-1122
(254) 526-8798
(888) 229-8872 x804
(512) 233-0649 fax
Good luck with this problem. I hope something goes right for you.

108th Congress Report
1st Session HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES 108-81
======================================================================
SERVICEMEMBERS CIVIL RELIEF ACT
_______
April 30, 2003.--Committed to the Committee of the Whole House on the
State of the Union and ordered to be printed
SEC. 207. MAXIMUM RATE OF INTEREST ON DEBTS INCURRED BEFORE MILITARY
SERVICE.
``(a) Interest Rate Limitation.--
``(1) Limitation to 6 percent.--An obligation or liability
bearing interest at a rate in excess of 6 percent per year that
is incurred by a servicemember, or the servicemember and the
servicemember's spouse jointly, before the servicemember enters
military service shall not bear interest at a rate in excess of
6 percent per year during the period of military service.

The only problem that I see for you is that you stated that the loan was taken out while your husband was on active duty. If that is the case, then the SSCRA does not apply because it only sets a 6% cap on interest for loans taken out prior to military service.

Tankerwife said:

What is the name of your state?KY

We had a car loan with Fort Knox Federal Credit Union. The loan was taken out while my husband was Active Army.

He ets'd in Nov 1999, we moved in July 2000 and he was deployed with the NG Nov 2000.

While he was deployed to Bosnia, we fell behind on the car payments. I sent notification several times to the CU to reduce the interest rate. They refused saying the loan was taken out while he was on Active Duty and that Bosnia was not considered a War Zone, which it is, his wages wer tax-exempt.
They repo'd the car June 2001.

Do we have any recourse? The repo happpened while he was on deployemnt orders for the NG to Bosnia. Our income was also reduced because I had to quit my job to be closer to our kids. I was commuting 100 miles one way to my job. HELP!

Click to expand...

Just because your husbands wages were tax exempt does not mean he was in a war zone. If he was in an AOR that was considered hazardous, or in a hostile fire area, then he would still get tax exempt status. That does not translate to "War Zone". The CU did not have to lower the interest rate. I think they should have, but they were not required to.

Sorry to hear about the repo. It sucks to have things like that happen when your spouse is far, far away.