Posted on Mar 11, 2024
I'm trying to get out of the Army in a timely manner, but there's a debt in my way. How should I proceed?
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Link to previous post: https://www.rallypoint.com/answers/leaving-the-army-before-end-of-debt-repayment
BLUF: The end of my service obligation is coming soon (in 3 months), but thanks to a large debt that my higher command created by overpaying me following a deployment, I find myself facing a dilemma. I feel that I'm stuck between being forced to stay in the Army for something that isn't my fault or trying to get out as close to the end of my service obligation as possible, but risking not getting the debt taken care of before my time's up.
In a previous post, I mentioned that I found myself saddled with a 5- figure debt following a deployment. The handling of our finances by our higher command was... unsatisfactory to put it politely.
Now that the dust has settled somewhat, the source of the debt (an overpayment) has gotten a little clearer, but the way forward hasn't. My finances are in a good enough place that I could pay off the entire debt immediately, but that's apparently not an option I can just choose like I could with my taxes or my GTC. Instead, I've been put on a payment plan that has me drilling for a little less than a quarter of my base pay. According to this payment plan (the exact details of which have not been disclosed to me), it would take me almost two years to pay off the debt, meaning my plans to get out on time would be out the window. This is a problem for me because my intent is to start working on the German economy full- time, which is a problem if I have to disappear once a month to go to drill and then take two weeks off every summer. I don't live near a military installation and have no intentions of working for the Army as an LN, so I would have no USERRA protection.
I have been in contact with my unit's S-1 on a weekly basis for the last 3 months and both my BN and BDE command teams are involved in this as well. That being said, I have received pretty much zero communication from our command's finance team on the matter during this time, nor did they ever once reach out to me regarding the debt when the issue first came to light.
I spoke with DFAS about options to repay the debt in full, but they said that could result in an over collection, which I would then have to fight the Army for to get back.
My patience with the command has just about run out and I'm starting to get the impression that we are having to do more work than our command is to get this fixed even though I had nothing to do with the screwup. My question, then, is this: What can I do? All I want to do is pay off my debt in full and get out when my service obligation expires. In light of how this matter has been handled until now, I'm considering filing a Congressional. Is there anything else I can do to make this process less painful?
BLUF: The end of my service obligation is coming soon (in 3 months), but thanks to a large debt that my higher command created by overpaying me following a deployment, I find myself facing a dilemma. I feel that I'm stuck between being forced to stay in the Army for something that isn't my fault or trying to get out as close to the end of my service obligation as possible, but risking not getting the debt taken care of before my time's up.
In a previous post, I mentioned that I found myself saddled with a 5- figure debt following a deployment. The handling of our finances by our higher command was... unsatisfactory to put it politely.
Now that the dust has settled somewhat, the source of the debt (an overpayment) has gotten a little clearer, but the way forward hasn't. My finances are in a good enough place that I could pay off the entire debt immediately, but that's apparently not an option I can just choose like I could with my taxes or my GTC. Instead, I've been put on a payment plan that has me drilling for a little less than a quarter of my base pay. According to this payment plan (the exact details of which have not been disclosed to me), it would take me almost two years to pay off the debt, meaning my plans to get out on time would be out the window. This is a problem for me because my intent is to start working on the German economy full- time, which is a problem if I have to disappear once a month to go to drill and then take two weeks off every summer. I don't live near a military installation and have no intentions of working for the Army as an LN, so I would have no USERRA protection.
I have been in contact with my unit's S-1 on a weekly basis for the last 3 months and both my BN and BDE command teams are involved in this as well. That being said, I have received pretty much zero communication from our command's finance team on the matter during this time, nor did they ever once reach out to me regarding the debt when the issue first came to light.
I spoke with DFAS about options to repay the debt in full, but they said that could result in an over collection, which I would then have to fight the Army for to get back.
My patience with the command has just about run out and I'm starting to get the impression that we are having to do more work than our command is to get this fixed even though I had nothing to do with the screwup. My question, then, is this: What can I do? All I want to do is pay off my debt in full and get out when my service obligation expires. In light of how this matter has been handled until now, I'm considering filing a Congressional. Is there anything else I can do to make this process less painful?
Reserves
Finance
Transition
Military Pay
Posted 9 mo ago
Responses: 9
CPT (Join to see), I gave a pretty detailed run-down in the other post from back in December.
A straightforward option for you is to separate with an outstanding debt.
When the Army does a final reconciliation on your account, any outstanding payments and debts will be totaled and any debt will be taken out of your final pay. If there remains a debt, it will be transferred to the department that handles out-of-service debt* and you'll be notified of the balance you owe. You'll have 30 days from the date of the first collection notice to pay off the debt in full before interest starts accruing (if you don't pay it in full or establish an installment plan, then it is considered delinquent).
Just keep checking in with DFAS to see when the debt is transferred and then pay it in full. At that point the issue will be resolved and you can put it in the rear-view mirror.
-----------------------------------
* Out-of-Service Debt and Claims - https://www.dfas.mil/debtandclaims/
A straightforward option for you is to separate with an outstanding debt.
When the Army does a final reconciliation on your account, any outstanding payments and debts will be totaled and any debt will be taken out of your final pay. If there remains a debt, it will be transferred to the department that handles out-of-service debt* and you'll be notified of the balance you owe. You'll have 30 days from the date of the first collection notice to pay off the debt in full before interest starts accruing (if you don't pay it in full or establish an installment plan, then it is considered delinquent).
Just keep checking in with DFAS to see when the debt is transferred and then pay it in full. At that point the issue will be resolved and you can put it in the rear-view mirror.
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* Out-of-Service Debt and Claims - https://www.dfas.mil/debtandclaims/
The official website of the Defense Finance Accounting Service (DFAS)
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CPT (Join to see)
COL Randall C. - Sir, there was one other thing I forgot to ask about in this post: What is your experience with paying debts via cash collection vouchers? When I most recently spoke with DFAS, the representative mentioned this, but said there was a risk of over collection since I'm already on a payment plan. She also mentioned that it can have a pretty slow turnaround time. If this was the case, would I need to put off my commission resignation until the voucher was completely processed?
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COL Randall C.
CPT (Join to see) - That I can't directly help you with (no experience). From the way you asked the question, it sounds like you've submitted one. If so, then what I mentioned above will still apply - payments and debts will be reconciled when they do the final audit on your account.
If you have submitted a cash collection voucher, then suggest you contact DFAS and ask them about the timelines for it to be processed (for understanding). Also request that your account have a note placed on it that you have an outstanding cash collection voucher to be processed.
If you have submitted a cash collection voucher, then suggest you contact DFAS and ask them about the timelines for it to be processed (for understanding). Also request that your account have a note placed on it that you have an outstanding cash collection voucher to be processed.
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COL Randall C.
CPT (Join to see) - In that case, then I wouldn't submit one if I were you. Let the payroll deductions work out and it's one less thing to worry about being reconciled when they audit your account.
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You would get a debt and then you would just get the bill. I was overpaid with leave. I got out of the Army for a couple years and out of the blue I was hit with a 3k bill in the mail from when the Army forgot to take my leave and give me extra terminal leave. I end up get calling up DFAS and set up a payment and I was good. It was pretty simple.
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