If you thought that Walter-Reed was bad, this will turn your stomach. Here's a letter from the wife of a serviceman, written to an attorney who specializes in dealing with banks and others that use sleazy debt collection practices.

(Thanks, George, for giving your buddies in the financial sector a complete free ride!)

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this has shit to do with GWB

this has to do with a piss poor chain of command who isnt helping a soldier

and a soldier who cant handle his finances

there are a shit load of agencies this guy can go to , his chain of command should of made him go to, and where he could of gotten money in interest free loans, or grants ( Army Emergency Relief is one)

Lastly just because someone is a soldier doesnt mean they dont have to pay their bills, and cant/shouldnt get sent to collections like any other citizen......

Since when does a civilian lawyer have the authority to court martial any service person?

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The quote doesn’t make any sense. As you’ve noted, civilian attorneys have no jurisdiction in courts-martial, prosecutions are solely the jurisdiction of the Judge Advocate General corps (although actions can be initiated at the behest of civilian attorneys). In addition Servicemembers, especially deployed servicemembers, are protected by the Servicemembers Civil Relief Act (formerly “The Soldiers and Sailors Civil Relief Act”). Lastly, the couple could make arrangements with a debt consolidation agency. The whole thing seems a bit fishy.

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Election 2008 – Addicted to Placebos

The most fishy part of it that I can see is that some unethical lawyer is making bogus threats against these people in an apparent effort to extort money from them.

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I find that claim fishy as well, considering debt consolidation firms have advertising budgets just short of sexual performance enhancement product.

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Election 2008 – Addicted to Placebos

There are seperate rights under fair debt collection. I dont care if the Pope is doing the bill collecting, there are rights that protect you from harrassment.
ide tell the collector (debt) to 'cease and desist' the collection, that you will work directly with the biller to settle.

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Most creditors sell their bad paper to get non-performing assets off the books and let someone else do the secondary collection process, the real dirty work, and with the new BK legislation those firms take no prisoners.

they are not.....you get court martialed for indebtness.........that process is implimented by the services not civlians

In 1997 debtors gained the right to legally pursue collections, including the ability to deduct funds from soldiers.

And the military decided to clamp down tighter on soldiers who were zapped.

All of the collection crap that can happen to civilians, with the exception of personal collections on a federal base, can happen to soldiers. For the Army:

The chain of command can be called as well. Typically, it is handled by the NCOs. If a call comes in to an HQ, it is referred to the soldier's BN NCO (In the Army it is the SGM), who will direct the call to the Company NCO (The 1sg) who will then not-so-politely tell the creditor not to call there again, and will call in the soldier's platoon sergeant (typically a SFC) who will then call the Squad and Team leaders in, and then the soldier. If they think the collection could lead to legal issues, they will give him a chance to solve the problem, then direct him to any base/military affiliated programs that could help (if he qualifies) and in many cases a good Team leader/Squad leader will help outside the scope of their simple command/leadership of the soldier.

If the soldier doesn't fix the situation, he could very well find himself slapped with an article 15 under UCMJ with punishments that range from a slap on the wrist to something that could eventually lead to a bar from reenlistment or even a discharge under less than honorable...

Soldiers are expected to maintain themselves as responsible adults. Although many soldiers require a kick in the pants, most soldiers DO learn financial responsibility in the military...IMHO much more than they do on the street or on college campuses.

/shrug

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The finance industry? I don't understand the title of your thread. How does that relate to the topic?

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"Our fears in Banquo
Stick deep; in his royalty of nature
Reigns that which would be fear'd: 'tis much he dares;
And, to that dauntless temper of his mind,
He hath a wisdom that doth guide his valour
To act in safety."

Macbeth 3:1

I was under the impression finance industry collection methods were being blamed by the OP for a soldier's fiscal irresponsibility and subsequent discomfort.

I don't care one way or the other. Maybe the soldier or his wife is addicted to drugs. I don't see how a soldier who's making all that money can get into debt.

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Is our children learning? -George W. Bush

"I think—tide turning—see, as I remember—I was raised in the desert, but tides kind of—it's easy to see a tide turn—did I say those words?"—Washington, D.C., June 14, 2006

"[T]he illiteracy level of our children are appalling."—Washington, D.C., Jan. 23, 2004

Don't blame colleges: people should be required to master that stuff in high school. Why it's rarely taught there is a mystery to me.

(Unless, of course, the finance industry has lobbied against it.)

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I was under the impression some payroll clerk messed up. If your employer's payroll deptartment makes mistakes, does that make you fiscally irresponsible?

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