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  1. #1
    Join Date
    May 2008
    Posts
    10

    Exclamation AAFES Trying To Collect Debt From Husband He Knows Nothing About

    First let me state that my husband is active duty military and currently in Iraq.

    Totally unexpectedly, our Maryland tax return was recently intercepted by AAFES (Army & Air Force Exchange Service).

    Acting as power of attorney, I phoned AAFES immediately to inquire about this baffling, out-of-no where debt my husband supposedly has. I was told our return was applied to his outstanding debt from February 2004 charges on his Military Star credit card which, after applying the return, was now $2,700.29! I asked for a statement showing me what the charges were and the woman I was speaking with told me AAFES had sent my husband a notice back in February of 2004 and that they only send one out. She said she could send me a summary but it would take 30 days to reach me. I had her put in the request.

    My husband is completely baffled. He wasn't even in the military in February 2004! He was active duty Army until 9/00 and then went into the National Guard in 2/05. When he was active duty Army, he said he had a DPP card (a deferred payment card) but that his debt on that card had been paid off by his dad back then. Furthermore, what also makes no sense here is how AAFES went after our Maryland return (which is really mine since I made all the money in Maryland last year but we filed jointly) but not his Utah return which is twice what our Maryland return is (not that I'm complaining).

    As of a conversation with my husband this morning, he contacted AAFES himself today. The guy he spoke with told him his account has already been purged and gone to collections! My husband told him he never even had a Military Star card and the guy argued with him that a DPP card is the same thing--NO, IT ISN'T! A credit card is a credit card; a DEFERRED PAYMENT card is obviously NOT!

    It seems to me, first of all, that AAFES is not following ethical debt collection practices AT ALL. Secondly, don't we have a right to see a statement of the detailed charges for this debt before we blindly submit a payment??? I've read 5 other stories on the Net so far this morning about other military people getting screwed like this by AAFES and it seems they have no recourse!

  2. #2
    Join Date
    Mar 2007
    Posts
    9,096

    Default Re: AAFES Trying To Collect Debt From Husband He Knows Nothing About

    Military organizations have different rules.

    I will have to look up the statutes around AAFES and DeCA to be sure.

  3. #3
    Join Date
    Jan 2008
    Posts
    1,948

    Lightbulb Re: AAFES Trying To Collect Debt From Husband He Knows Nothing About

    You can get free advice from your base's legal office. They should be up to speed on what regulations AAFES is required to follow.

  4. #4
    Join Date
    May 2008
    Posts
    10

    Default Re: AAFES Trying To Collect Debt From Husband He Knows Nothing About

    Thank you. And yes, my husband has already gone to JAG at his camp over there in Iraq about this. I don't think, from what he told me though, they are aware of just how many servicemembers AAFES has done and is doing this to! But they need to know!

  5. #5
    Join Date
    Jan 2008
    Posts
    1,948

    Default Re: AAFES Trying To Collect Debt From Husband He Knows Nothing About

    If things get too crazy, it might be time to see if filing an IG request would help.

  6. #6
    Join Date
    May 2008
    Posts
    10

    Default Re: AAFES Trying To Collect Debt From Husband He Knows Nothing About

    What is an "IG request?"

  7. #7
    Join Date
    Jul 2005
    Location
    Texas
    Posts
    254

    Default Re: AAFES Trying To Collect Debt From Husband He Knows Nothing About

    Inspector General

  8. #8
    Join Date
    Jun 2008
    Posts
    1

    Default Re: AAFES Trying To Collect Debt From Husband He Knows Nothing About

    There is a class action law suit filed by Public Citizen.org against AAFES. They are looking for more people who were/are being hurt by these practices. I would strongly suggest contacting them. We did!

  9. #9
    Join Date
    Nov 2007
    Posts
    811

    Default Re: AAFES Trying To Collect Debt From Husband He Knows Nothing About

    Have your husband engage his chain of command, JAG, and the MNF-I IG and his unit IG. After that engage his senator. The military is pissed that people go direct to their senators. Why? Because the senators don't jack around with the soldiers. If you look at the surveys going around to soldiers they are very unhappy. If their chain of command wont help they go to the next logical place, their elected officials who work for THEM!

  10. #10
    Join Date
    May 2008
    Posts
    10

    Default Re: AAFES Trying To Collect Debt From Husband He Knows Nothing About

    Quote Quoting anonblonde
    View Post
    There is a class action law suit filed by Public Citizen.org against AAFES. They are looking for more people who were/are being hurt by these practices. I would strongly suggest contacting them. We did!
    Thanks...I actually stumbled across info about that lawsuit myself shortly after this whole mess started. I decided to Google "AAFES Fraud" one day and a link to a news article about it popped up. I tracked down Public Citizen, emailed them, and they told us to email the attorneys. We've received a short correspondence from one of them (there appears to be 3 attorneys on the case) but nothing more so far. Meanwhile, we're getting tossed around between AAFES and OSI (their collection agency) and neither are cooperating in sending us a simple statement showing what we owe, let alone all the BS late fees and penalties. In fact, when my husband phoned OSI the other day, a rep told him that "AAFES likes to sit on this stuff." Not surprising---they want to keep racking up as many late fees and penalties as they can! This is the kind of crap that causes good people to go postal (not alluding, of course, that we will, but just the thought makes us feel better anyway)! What was your situation and what kind of luck have you had in contacting Public Citizen?

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