{"id":41916,"date":"2019-02-22T19:34:14","date_gmt":"2019-02-22T19:34:14","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/one.sightlinemg.com\/navytimes\/uncategorized\/2019\/02\/22\/here-are-some-problems-you-might-face-if-the-military-overpays-you\/"},"modified":"2026-08-08T19:51:03","modified_gmt":"2026-08-08T19:51:03","slug":"here-are-some-problems-you-might-face-if-the-military-overpays-you","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/one.sightlinemg.com\/navytimes\/news\/your-navy\/2019\/02\/22\/here-are-some-problems-you-might-face-if-the-military-overpays-you\/","title":{"rendered":"Here are some problems you might face if the military overpays you"},"content":{"rendered":"\n

The U.S. Defense Department\u2019s system for getting back overpayments made to service members is muddled, inconsistent and puts personnel at risk of receiving inaccurate and incomplete information about what they owe, according to the Government Accountability Office<\/a>.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

The Pentagon sometimes overpays military members due to administrative errors in processing pay and allowances, or when calculating pay and leave. There are nearly 400 debt collection offices within the Pentagon and the individual services are responsible for recouping these overpayments.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Department of Defense officials agree that recent overpayment collection efforts \u201chave placed undue burden on service members and their families, such as financial hardship, garnished wages, and damaged credit scores,\u201d according to the federal watchdog\u2019s recent report.<\/a><\/p>\n\n\n\n

GAO found that key parts of the DOD regulations for recouping overpayments are \u201cincomplete or unclear\u201d and letters sent to debtors sometimes fail to include all the information necessary to help service members navigate what\u2019s often a painful process.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

For example, some debt notice letters reviewed by investigators never stated that the debtor has a right to inspect and copy records related to the debt, or that the service member could review and dispute the sum.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Other debt collection letters excluded any information that the amount owed would be garnished from a service member\u2019s wages, or that they had the right to request a waiver of the debt, GAO found.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Policies and procedures at the Pentagon\u2019s Defense Finance and Accounting Service, or DFAS<\/a>, and the services \u201coften were not current, complete, or clear,\u201d GAO added.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u201cUnless the military services and DFAS fully incorporate the DOD Debt Collection Regulation into their respective policies and procedures, service members will likely continue to receive inaccurate and incomplete information about their debts and related rights and protections,\u201d GAO auditors wrote.<\/p>\n\n\n\t