Friday, December 25, 2009

My husband is in the army,currently depolyed to iraq

My husband is in the Army, currently deployed to Iraq. Since he has been in Iraq, I continually receive phone calls from NCO Financial regarding a debt of my husband's over 5 years old. This Saturday morning at around 8 am, a woman from NCO called and threatened my husband's career and attempted to use intimidation and scare tactics on me. She claims to have spoken with his commanding officer, which, I can tell you, is impossible as his ENTIRE division is in Iraq. If I can't call them in Iraq, she most certainly cannot. She claimed that my husband will be dishonorably discharged (this isn't even a term that the military uses anymore) because his "commanding officer" guaranteed her that we would pay. If the Army wants a soldier to make good on a debt, they would have us set up an allotment directly out of his paycheck, which happens frequently with soldiers and their debt. No one from my husband's unit has spoken with either of us (neither me stateside nor my husband in Iraq) regarding contact from NCO so I'm inclined to believe that she is bluffing and resorting to using scare tactics. She informed me that the company wants the full balance (she also said his "commanding officer" promised her that we'd pay the balance in full) but she'd take $1000, which is how much she claims that we're in arrears for. I informed her this was impossible, that I only had about $100 in my account until May 1 to which she responded that I needed to find a way to get it. She told me that we could've been paying a reduced amount due to financial hardship but now it's too late. No one had ever informed us of this option. Additionally, she failed to give me the standard fair debt collection practice warning this morning when she called which, I believe, is a violation of the FDCPA. She and NCO Financial are taking advantage of a deployed soldier and his struggling family. I believe that NCO is not only violating the FDCPA but also the Service members' Civil Relief Act as this was debt that was incurred prior to my husband joining the military. I refuse to succumb to the harassment and threatening nature of these individuals.

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