so i just got a $3000 bill in the mail from the department of justice.

[PhillyB]

two days ago my wife was rifling through the junk mail pile and came across an envelope listed as DoD (which i casually tossed aside, this is why i let her do these things) and opened it. it informed me that i had an outstanding balance of $3,092 owed to the department of defense about to be sent to collection for overdue payment.

 

wtf? i don't owe the department of defense anything. i assumed it was spam, still. my wife called the number listed and it went to the actual department of defense's call center. she waited for a while and never got through, so she hung up and we tried to figure out what it was.

 

turns out it's a bill from tuition assistance i received from the USMC in 2005. a year prior to that i went into the officer program, a dual-enrollment system that allowed me to complete OCS (officer candidate school) while in my last two years of college, getting commissioned upon graduation. long story short i went to OCS, passed, but tore my meniscus in both knees during that summer and after months of knee pain i was diagnosed as need dual arthroscopic surgeries to repair the damage. the USMC officer selection office, upon getting catching wind of it, released me from the program offering full readmission post-surgery if i was able to pass the physical fitness test.

 

i rehabbed but was never able to get back up there, and then went seven years without hearing a word from anyone in the organization. my understanding upon signing up was that the tuition would have to be repaid if i voluntarily left the program at any point; no one said anything about if they cut my ass from injuries sustained in the program. and now, closing in on a decade without a call, email, letter in the mail, debt notification, anything, they're saying i owe $3000.

 

what do i do? is there any way to get around paying this, any appeals system? anyone else dealt with this sort of thing before?

[panther4life]

Damn man... A collection can kill your credit score. I remember I lost close to 100 points for not paying comportment at a $19 prorated bill after I had moved and disconnected the service. Never knew it was due as they didn't have my new address.

Get them on the phone and work something out!

If it does make it to collections then the damage is done and paying it will do nothing to help your score.

[Jeff L]

Go and talk to a Veterans Service Officer (VSO) in your local area. Let them do the leg work for you and hopefully you can get some results!

[pstall]

call them DIRECTLY. you would be amazed what you can negotiate directly.

[PhillyB]

Go and talk to a Veterans Service Officer (VSO) in your local area. Let them do the leg work for you and hopefully you can get some results!

 

i'm not sure if they could do anything. i'm not a vet. i was issued an entry-level discharge, so i have no actual connection to any kind of veterans administration or services.

 

 

 

 

call them DIRECTLY. you would be amazed what you can negotiate directly.

 

 

the DoD or the collection agency? i'm not even sure what i can tell them other than "please let me off the hook sirs" and somehow i'm skeptical about that plan

[pstall]

Call either. Its better than hoping something changes. Call man.

[bLACKpANTHER]

so i just got a $3000 bill in the mail from the department of justice.

 

 

 

COOL!!!

[Big A]

[Jangler]

what the f**k is wrong with you? Did you drink antifreeze when you were a baby?

[PhillyB]

 

 

COOL!!!

 

 

now all i need is a ninety-two dollar bill and i'm golden!

[Creep59]

Call your congressman and talk to him or her - see if they can help.  Nothing makes the armed forces but holes quiver like a call from congress.  On the other hand if you really owe the money, dont bother.

[PhillyB]

Call your congressman and talk to him or her - see if they can help.  Nothing makes the armed forces but holes quiver like a call from congress.  On the other hand if you really owe the money, dont bother.

 

everyone i've talked to so far heavily recommends calling my congressional office and seeing what i can make happen, so i'll be doing research over the weekend and placing some calls on monday. letting it default and hit collections and then my credit isn't an option though, i've got too many plans that involve having stable credit and the ability to get a fairly large loan a few years from now.