Posted on Aug 15, 2014
Debt & Scam Advice for Leaders and Service Members
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What DEBT & Scam advice do you have that assist military service members and leaders? I ask this question because every time I came across a new Soldier in my unit, I warned them of certain scams. I seen excessive hardship created as a result. Here are some things I have seen and some new insight would help so I can continue to watch out for them too.
1. USA Discounters - I truly dislike that these type of stores are here not to help the service member, but rather sell them: overpriced items, charge fees, and charge them an excessive APR.
http://www.nbcnews.com/business/consumer/usa-discounters-ordered-stop-scams-fined-50k-n181011
2. Education Scams - In 2004/2005, a scammer knocked on my door while living in the barracks at Fort Hood, TX. The scammer told me that they could sign me up for college. I was confused because I was already using TA and was enrolled in Central Texas College. What I found out was that the scammers were signing up Soldiers by having them sign a contract and required them to fork over $3000 - $5000 for unaccrediated college classes. What made the entire process worse what the scammers were doing was legal. The scammers sent books to their victims and would sue if the service member did not pay. The link below is something close to a certain scam.
http://www.cbsnews.com/news/alleged-scheme-targets-us-military-students-free-tuition-assistance/
3. Finally, the scam where they target Soldiers in the malls. I was very annoyed that SmartBuy and some other companies did not care about ripping off service members. They would tell service members that they could purchase an item through the use of an allotment or finance a purchase. They targeted Soldiers by selling Xboxes, computers, and other gadgets. They would sell laptops for 3x the costs, then charge a ridiculous APR, and add extra fees. When I was at Fort Gordon, I went to the mall as a 2LT waiting on Verizon to open. SmartBuy ran a booth that used a female employee who dressed to catch they eye of certain Soldiers. While waiting she kept trying to target me (thinking I new on the block) and got upset when I did not buy anything. Point is, I had Soldiers who owed $1000s for computers (that were only $300 computers) before deploying to Iraq because they made such purchases.
http://abc11.com/finance/scammed-military-members-receive-$92-million-debt-relief/226353/
What are other scams that you have come across that would help out others to be aware of?
1. USA Discounters - I truly dislike that these type of stores are here not to help the service member, but rather sell them: overpriced items, charge fees, and charge them an excessive APR.
http://www.nbcnews.com/business/consumer/usa-discounters-ordered-stop-scams-fined-50k-n181011
2. Education Scams - In 2004/2005, a scammer knocked on my door while living in the barracks at Fort Hood, TX. The scammer told me that they could sign me up for college. I was confused because I was already using TA and was enrolled in Central Texas College. What I found out was that the scammers were signing up Soldiers by having them sign a contract and required them to fork over $3000 - $5000 for unaccrediated college classes. What made the entire process worse what the scammers were doing was legal. The scammers sent books to their victims and would sue if the service member did not pay. The link below is something close to a certain scam.
http://www.cbsnews.com/news/alleged-scheme-targets-us-military-students-free-tuition-assistance/
3. Finally, the scam where they target Soldiers in the malls. I was very annoyed that SmartBuy and some other companies did not care about ripping off service members. They would tell service members that they could purchase an item through the use of an allotment or finance a purchase. They targeted Soldiers by selling Xboxes, computers, and other gadgets. They would sell laptops for 3x the costs, then charge a ridiculous APR, and add extra fees. When I was at Fort Gordon, I went to the mall as a 2LT waiting on Verizon to open. SmartBuy ran a booth that used a female employee who dressed to catch they eye of certain Soldiers. While waiting she kept trying to target me (thinking I new on the block) and got upset when I did not buy anything. Point is, I had Soldiers who owed $1000s for computers (that were only $300 computers) before deploying to Iraq because they made such purchases.
http://abc11.com/finance/scammed-military-members-receive-$92-million-debt-relief/226353/
What are other scams that you have come across that would help out others to be aware of?
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The worst ones I saw was while I was stationed in Norfolk. The used car dealerships who advertised financing for E-1 and up.
They finance these kids and when the E-1 says he has to take the contract to his command legal for a look over the dealer gives the old "oh, if you have to go show your command then maybe your not ready to buy this and I can't guarantee that the car will be here tomorrow", then the worst part comes, the monthly payment is $400 plus and of course they don't accept allotments from your pay, you have to bring in a check or money order, then when you fall behind they do a "title loan" to cover the deficiency which now pushes your payment to $600 plus a month, soon your 3 months behind and they repossess the car, they resell the car to another sucker and your still stuck with your original loan.
The crazy thing is that it takes so long for the military to blacklist these predatory lenders.
They finance these kids and when the E-1 says he has to take the contract to his command legal for a look over the dealer gives the old "oh, if you have to go show your command then maybe your not ready to buy this and I can't guarantee that the car will be here tomorrow", then the worst part comes, the monthly payment is $400 plus and of course they don't accept allotments from your pay, you have to bring in a check or money order, then when you fall behind they do a "title loan" to cover the deficiency which now pushes your payment to $600 plus a month, soon your 3 months behind and they repossess the car, they resell the car to another sucker and your still stuck with your original loan.
The crazy thing is that it takes so long for the military to blacklist these predatory lenders.
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Any place that advertises that they finance E1 or places that sell based on payments per payday and not a total price.
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CPT (Join to see)
Haha Sgt Packy Flickinger . Sadly, that's true. I wonder if there are more pawn shops, payday lenders, and etc than most places. I know at Fort Bragg, NC... that was the case.
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SSgt Gregory Guina
CPT (Join to see) Oceanside being in Southern California isn't quite as bad as some of the other cities right outside base with the business selections but it definitely has its fair share.
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Something I did when I was an E5 was call USAA. I had 3 store cards and a 14% APR on car. I did not know better. They gave me a 6% car loan and a $3000 loan to pay off the store cards with the loan being at a 10.99%, much better than the 18%. It was a good deal for still having weaker credit. I should have got the loan originally from USAA, Navy Fed, or Pen Fed.
Automax in TX did not have the best interest in finding the right loan and the store cards... just never get them, they work against your credit report. Now, there are even better ways to manage, but all options should be explored.
Automax in TX did not have the best interest in finding the right loan and the store cards... just never get them, they work against your credit report. Now, there are even better ways to manage, but all options should be explored.
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