Results 1 to 8 of 8

Hybrid View

  1. #1
    Join Date
    May 2014
    Posts
    4

    Default Options for Paying Off AAFES Debt After Garnishment

    My question involves collection proceedings in the State of: Tennessee

    I was active duty military at the time I signed up for the Military Star card. Upon exiting the military with a medical pension for the rest of my life, I became retarded for several months (while taking a huge mix of anti-depressants & other meds) & maxed out the card at around $5000. Being the irresponsible person I was, I never paid anything on this card (along with about 5 other cards that were maxed) & tried the "ignore it & it will go away" mentality. This actually worked for the banks. Three years later, almost all of the cards have fallen off of my credit report & it has steadily started to rise out of the 400's & I'm in the low 500's now. I signed up for a secured credit card & deposited $500 into a savings account as collateral so I can attempt to rebuild my credit. Anyhow, this Star card is basically a federal debt which has ballooned to $8000 thanks to finance fees & them constantly charging 18% each month (which I was unaware of until today).

    They had a garnishment of my pension ($134) for about 9 months before the card was actually closed. After speaking with AAFES collections today, I was told that was just for the past due amounts on the card because the garnishment actually stopped. I also had my tax return for 2013 taken by them in April for $460. I recently checked my credit report & saw that this Star account was at $7000. So I was surprised to see they were wanting a touch over $8000 now. Upon speaking with AAFES, they refuse to work out a payment plan nor will give me an early payoff offer. I also requested that a statement be sent which they refused, claiming they had no idea what I purchased, but when I asked for proof of these finance charges that seem to be reoccurring, I was told the part about them adding 18% every month. They still refuse to send any documentation.

    The lady also told me that I was welcome to email/fax an early payoff offer to them & it would take 4-6 weeks before I heard a decision but they would not be making any counter offers, they would just accept or deny the proposal. If I wanted to make more offers after they rejected them, I could continue sending them offers.

    It appears that my options are to attempt to get them to settle for less, to pay off the entire amount or to allow my pension to be garnished for the next ~10 years for $134 as it will probably never be paid off while they're adding 18% every month. As I said, I had a few stages of psychosis I went through for several months while racking up all of this debt. I made some really bad choices & I'm trying to climb out of the hole I dug myself. The good part is that nearly all of the credit cards have dropped off of my credit report & the couple of stragglers will be gone within the year, I would imagine. I'm trying to repair my credit & this will be the only obstacle in my way.

    What's my best course of action here?

  2. #2
    Join Date
    Jan 2008
    Location
    Toledo, OH
    Posts
    16,307

    Default Re: Options for Paying Off Aafes After Garnishment

    Those other five credit cards haven't gone away. The creditors can chase you down and still collect, regardless of whether they're listed on your credit report.

    You might consider filing for bankruptcy to get rid of ALL of your debts and get a fresh start. Especially if your pension is your only income.

  3. #3
    Join Date
    May 2014
    Posts
    4

    Default Re: Options for Paying Off Aafes After Garnishment

    The only way they'll collect is by suing me. Seems like if they were going to do that they would've already done it. Sure the collection agencies can try to harass me as long as they want but I've changed my number multiple times & have moved to 4-5 different states since all this debt was racked up so they don't have active numbers to harass me.

    If I was going to declare Bankruptcy, I would've done it at least a couple of years ago. Not now. Bankruptcy takes 7 years to go away so I wouldn't be able to get any sort of credit/loan for a long time. Seems easier to me to just let the stuff drop off then build my credit back. On top of all of that, I've read many cases where people list AAFES in their bankruptcy yet they still come after them since it's a federal agency, so that wouldn't fix my issue anyway.

  4. #4
    Join Date
    Jan 2008
    Location
    Toledo, OH
    Posts
    16,307

    Default Re: Options for Paying Off Aafes After Garnishment

    The only way they'll collect is by suing me. Seems like if they were going to do that they would've already done it. Sure the collection agencies can try to harass me as long as they want but I've changed my number multiple times & have moved to 4-5 different states since all this debt was racked up so they don't have active numbers to harass me.
    You understand that moving out of state tolls the statute of limitations, right? That means that it stops running until you return to that state, and that leaves you vulnerable to suit. Never underestimate a good skip tracer - you're not as invisible as you think. We get people here every day looking for help to get out of old debts that they're being sued for.

    On top of all of that, I've read many cases where people list AAFES in their bankruptcy yet they still come after them since it's a federal agency, so that wouldn't fix my issue anyway.
    The Star card is in fact dischargeable in bankruptcy. And while it does take 10 years to fall off your credit report, most people are able to obtain new credit - even mortgages! - within a year or two after the bankruptcy.

    But, you already have all the answers, so I'm not entirely sure why you're here. Good luck.

  5. #5
    Join Date
    May 2014
    Posts
    4

    Default Re: Options for Paying Off Aafes After Garnishment

    I'm not pretending to know all the answers, I'm simply providing my input from what I think I know. If I'm wrong, you're welcome to correct me & expound on it.

    It seems to me that declaring bankruptcy at this point would be worse than just letting things drop off my report & rebuilding using secured cards or new lenders. Am I wrong?

    I'm not invisible which is why I said since it's been 3 years since those accounts were closed, wouldn't they have already brought a suit against me? I lived in the same state for more than a year after those accounts were closed. I was being called by collectors probably 6x a day back then before I changed numbers.

  6. #6
    Join Date
    Jan 2008
    Location
    Toledo, OH
    Posts
    16,307

    Default Re: Options for Paying Off Aafes After Garnishment

    Am I wrong?
    Yep, deeply. An account dropping off your credit report means nothing. You still owe the debt, and as long as the owners of the debt are within the statute of limitations, they can still sue you for it. Out of the SOL, they can still dun the hell out of you, and make your life miserable.

    I'm not invisible which is why I said since it's been 3 years since those accounts were closed, wouldn't they have already brought a suit against me?
    Not necessarily. You're no longer in the state in which the debts were incurred, so the SOL has stopped - which means they've got til the day you die to sue you, unless you move back to that state and the SOL runs out. And while the current owner of the debt hasn't yet filed suit, that doesn't mean the next one won't.

    Again, we have people come here every day, looking for help because they're being sued by an old credit card company or its successors, after thinking they were in the clear because they hadn't heard a peep in 4 or 5 years.

    You've got $8000 and growing on the Star account. You have 5 more maxed out accounts that are most likely still accruing interest and fees. How much are you in Dutch for, total? If everyone sues you and wins tomorrow, can you afford to pay the judgments, without moving into a cardboard box?

    If the answer is No, you really need to be talking to a BK attorney. "Good credit" means nothing when you have old debt lurking in the corners, ready to pounce just as soon as you think you've got it beaten into submission.

    1. Sponsored Links
       

Similar Threads

  1. Debt Collectors: Garnishment of a Bank Acount by AAFES
    By timlab55 in forum Debts and Collections
    Replies: 3
    Last Post: 10-30-2013, 11:07 AM
  2. Debt Collectors: Collection of Debt Owed to AAFES
    By dsbarton1221 in forum Debts and Collections
    Replies: 3
    Last Post: 07-11-2013, 05:38 PM
  3. Debt Collectors: AAFES Debt Collection
    By steven.phaup in forum Debts and Collections
    Replies: 1
    Last Post: 04-08-2013, 10:42 AM
  4. Debt Collectors: AAFES Debt Collection
    By harpersedge in forum Debts and Collections
    Replies: 4
    Last Post: 02-17-2010, 04:00 PM
  5. Debt Collectors: AAFES Trying To Collect Debt From Husband He Knows Nothing About
    By OIFvetWife08 in forum Debts and Collections
    Replies: 9
    Last Post: 06-27-2008, 08:55 AM
 
 
Sponsored Links

Legal Help, Information and Resources