verbal vs. written contract

My husband leased a vehicle in Michigan, he is in the military so we than moved to Colorado. 1 year into the lease the Army informed us we were being moved to Germany. Under our lease agreement we are not allowed to take the vehicle overseas. (which we were not informed of when we leased the vehicle)
We contacted the finance company to see if there were any provisions for military. We were told by an employee who deals with only military customers that he would make a special provision and allow us to turn in the vehicle without having to pay anything except possibly, he wasnt sure, any excess mileage and we would get our security deposit back.
We continued to recive bills for monthly payments for 3 months after the car was turned in. And now 4 months after we turned the car in we recive a bill for almost $7,000, aparently the remainder of the lease and a few other fees. I have seen nothing of my security deposit, and it was not applied to the balance they claim I owe.
I realize that the lease is a binding contract, but is this persons promise to relive us of all fees also binding verbal contract? I have been told a verbal contract cannot alter a written contract, but I have also been told a verbal contract is as good as a written.
If I had belived that I would be charged $7,000 I never would have taken this persons offer. I could have sold the car at a loss of $1,000 instead!

you screwed yourself. you sound smart enough to know that you should have any agreement in writing, but took a chance. Now you are paying the consequences.

a blurb about verbal agreements- people tend to "forget" or recall the details differently. That's why written agreements hold a lot more force. Unless you can get the other party to agree that they did indeed enter into a verbal ageement EXACTLY as you stated, and that they broke it anyway, there's really no chance that arguement will help you at all.

that's what you get for being any army of one. should'a married into the navy.

(you know?)