In order to participate in the GunBroker Member forums, you must be logged in with your GunBroker.com account. Click the sign-in button at the top right of the forums page to get connected.
U.S. military credit card rip-off exposed
Josey1
Member Posts: 9,598 ✭✭
Travel cards hurting
service members?
Bureaucracy's sluggishness to pay claims affects credit ratings
Posted: June 9, 2002
1:00 a.m. Eastern
By Jon Dougherty
c 2002 WorldNetDaily.com
Should U.S. military personnel be stuck with bad credit because of the slowness of Defense Department bureaucracy? The answer is yes, but only if the government is making money from service members' financial hardship, charges one soldier who has tried unsuccessfully to get the system changed.
According to the cover story of the May 27 edition of Army Times, military personnel are required by law to use government-issued travel credit cards for all official travel, and those charges, according to regulations, then must be paid in full every 30 days. However, because of staff shortages, technology gaffes and other problems, service members say that military finance offices are notoriously slow in paying travel claims. And when finance offices are late, the service member's credit rating can be put at risk.
Personnel also have been subjected to military disciplinary action because of finance division tardiness, soldiers charge, which includes service members having their ruined credit rating transmitted to commercial reporting agencies and being subjected to loss of pay, loss of rank and even court martial.
It gets worse, service members say. Soldiers, sailors, airmen and Marines must still comply with the "stringent" 30-day payoff requirement, even if they're deployed to a combat zone. And, if finance offices are late paying claims, personnel are expected to make up the difference out of their own wallets.
The Army soldier who has suggested changes to the system told WND that Bank of America ? which administers the cards ? has decided it will "discontinue the card if payments are late," and not reissue them, even when balances are paid in full. He says that's a problem because DOD policy, which is written into law, requires that all official travel be paid for with the travel cards. The Army Times reported that Bank of America has responded to higher card delinquency rates by "getting tougher on cardholders."
The soldier, who asked not to be identified, suggested through proper channels that the Pentagon simply switch to debit cards instead, as well as improve the technology available to finance personnel so they could process claims more rapidly. He said he wasn't necessarily surprised to see his idea rejected as much as he was stunned to learn the primary reason why.
"They rejected the plan because the government makes a buck off of screwing GIs," he said.
According to Army documents obtained by WorldNetDaily, the soldier's request was disapproved because travel cards are a "revenue generator" for the government.
"The government travel card does not cost the government millions in contracting fees," the document said. "Moreover, the Army pays no interest to the credit card company under the terms of the current contract. Therefore, the government travel card is designed to be a revenue generator for the government by providing a portion of the fees earned by the credit card contractor back to the government.
"Under the government travel card program, a part of the percentage kept by the contractor is paid to the government," said the document. "Consequently, your proposal would eliminate these payments to the Army. Therefore, there would be no savings under your proposal."
A military official with the Army Financial Management and Comptroller's Office denied that, however, and said there are no financial rewards for the services when members use travel cards.
"We don't get any fees," the official, who requested anonymity, said. "These are individually billed accounts between Bank of America and the service member, just like any other credit card."
The official said the cards were managed "under a no-cost program to the government," but "they have the contract with the merchants, and individuals pay Bank of America." The official added that the Defense Finance and Accounting Service "pays the travel vouchers to the soldiers."
When asked specifically about the Army's reply to the soldier, the official said, "What this allowed us to do was to remove infrastructure from our finance units in the Army."
"The move saved us money," the official said. Regarding the claims of revenue generation, the official added: "From what I understand, what's charged to the soldier must be paid [by the soldier]."
"This is really a leadership issue," the official said. "When you incur a debt, you have to pay that debt. And at times, soldiers misuse the card ? it's not designed to be used as a personal source of funds, but that happens a lot."
The Army Times said Defense Secretary Donald Rumsfeld "hit the ceiling" in March after the Pentagon's inspector general informed lawmakers of travel card delinquencies and abuses associated with other government purchase cards. In response, Rumsfeld ordered Pentagon comptroller and Under Secretary of Defense Dov Zakheim to head a task force to examine usage of all government-issued charge cards. He was ordered to report his findings June 1.
Pentagon spokeswoman Susan Hansen told WorldNetDaily that the task force had not yet wrapped up its report and therefore could not discuss its findings or recommendations. But she said all aspects of government charge cards were examined, including revenue generation.
"I don't want to pre-empt the results of the task force's findings, but it is looking at the overall activities of charge card matters here in the Defense Department," she said. "Certainly the concerns raised [in other articles] have been taken into consideration."
In regards to whether the department makes money from card use, Hansen said, "Let's revisit the basic premise that we're implementing [at DOD] a government-wide law, a requirement, that we must use charge cards," she said. "The fact that there is, from the charge card company, some funds that are rebated ? should come as no surprise to anyone."
Hansen went on to say the goal of the department was to pay all vouchers on time, but "in an organization as large as the Defense Department," it wasn't uncommon to incur payment delays.
"All of these matters are being looked at by the task force," she added. "We hope to have some good recommendations come out that will work to alleviate [the problems]."
Bank of America officials say they are cooperating with the Pentagon's task force.
http://www.worldnetdaily.com/news/article.asp?ARTICLE_ID=27891
"If cowardly and dishonorable men sometimes shoot unarmed men with army pistols or guns, the evil must be prevented by the penitentiary and gallows, and not by a general deprivation of a constitutional privilege." - Arkansas Supreme Court, 1878
service members?
Bureaucracy's sluggishness to pay claims affects credit ratings
Posted: June 9, 2002
1:00 a.m. Eastern
By Jon Dougherty
c 2002 WorldNetDaily.com
Should U.S. military personnel be stuck with bad credit because of the slowness of Defense Department bureaucracy? The answer is yes, but only if the government is making money from service members' financial hardship, charges one soldier who has tried unsuccessfully to get the system changed.
According to the cover story of the May 27 edition of Army Times, military personnel are required by law to use government-issued travel credit cards for all official travel, and those charges, according to regulations, then must be paid in full every 30 days. However, because of staff shortages, technology gaffes and other problems, service members say that military finance offices are notoriously slow in paying travel claims. And when finance offices are late, the service member's credit rating can be put at risk.
Personnel also have been subjected to military disciplinary action because of finance division tardiness, soldiers charge, which includes service members having their ruined credit rating transmitted to commercial reporting agencies and being subjected to loss of pay, loss of rank and even court martial.
It gets worse, service members say. Soldiers, sailors, airmen and Marines must still comply with the "stringent" 30-day payoff requirement, even if they're deployed to a combat zone. And, if finance offices are late paying claims, personnel are expected to make up the difference out of their own wallets.
The Army soldier who has suggested changes to the system told WND that Bank of America ? which administers the cards ? has decided it will "discontinue the card if payments are late," and not reissue them, even when balances are paid in full. He says that's a problem because DOD policy, which is written into law, requires that all official travel be paid for with the travel cards. The Army Times reported that Bank of America has responded to higher card delinquency rates by "getting tougher on cardholders."
The soldier, who asked not to be identified, suggested through proper channels that the Pentagon simply switch to debit cards instead, as well as improve the technology available to finance personnel so they could process claims more rapidly. He said he wasn't necessarily surprised to see his idea rejected as much as he was stunned to learn the primary reason why.
"They rejected the plan because the government makes a buck off of screwing GIs," he said.
According to Army documents obtained by WorldNetDaily, the soldier's request was disapproved because travel cards are a "revenue generator" for the government.
"The government travel card does not cost the government millions in contracting fees," the document said. "Moreover, the Army pays no interest to the credit card company under the terms of the current contract. Therefore, the government travel card is designed to be a revenue generator for the government by providing a portion of the fees earned by the credit card contractor back to the government.
"Under the government travel card program, a part of the percentage kept by the contractor is paid to the government," said the document. "Consequently, your proposal would eliminate these payments to the Army. Therefore, there would be no savings under your proposal."
A military official with the Army Financial Management and Comptroller's Office denied that, however, and said there are no financial rewards for the services when members use travel cards.
"We don't get any fees," the official, who requested anonymity, said. "These are individually billed accounts between Bank of America and the service member, just like any other credit card."
The official said the cards were managed "under a no-cost program to the government," but "they have the contract with the merchants, and individuals pay Bank of America." The official added that the Defense Finance and Accounting Service "pays the travel vouchers to the soldiers."
When asked specifically about the Army's reply to the soldier, the official said, "What this allowed us to do was to remove infrastructure from our finance units in the Army."
"The move saved us money," the official said. Regarding the claims of revenue generation, the official added: "From what I understand, what's charged to the soldier must be paid [by the soldier]."
"This is really a leadership issue," the official said. "When you incur a debt, you have to pay that debt. And at times, soldiers misuse the card ? it's not designed to be used as a personal source of funds, but that happens a lot."
The Army Times said Defense Secretary Donald Rumsfeld "hit the ceiling" in March after the Pentagon's inspector general informed lawmakers of travel card delinquencies and abuses associated with other government purchase cards. In response, Rumsfeld ordered Pentagon comptroller and Under Secretary of Defense Dov Zakheim to head a task force to examine usage of all government-issued charge cards. He was ordered to report his findings June 1.
Pentagon spokeswoman Susan Hansen told WorldNetDaily that the task force had not yet wrapped up its report and therefore could not discuss its findings or recommendations. But she said all aspects of government charge cards were examined, including revenue generation.
"I don't want to pre-empt the results of the task force's findings, but it is looking at the overall activities of charge card matters here in the Defense Department," she said. "Certainly the concerns raised [in other articles] have been taken into consideration."
In regards to whether the department makes money from card use, Hansen said, "Let's revisit the basic premise that we're implementing [at DOD] a government-wide law, a requirement, that we must use charge cards," she said. "The fact that there is, from the charge card company, some funds that are rebated ? should come as no surprise to anyone."
Hansen went on to say the goal of the department was to pay all vouchers on time, but "in an organization as large as the Defense Department," it wasn't uncommon to incur payment delays.
"All of these matters are being looked at by the task force," she added. "We hope to have some good recommendations come out that will work to alleviate [the problems]."
Bank of America officials say they are cooperating with the Pentagon's task force.
http://www.worldnetdaily.com/news/article.asp?ARTICLE_ID=27891
"If cowardly and dishonorable men sometimes shoot unarmed men with army pistols or guns, the evil must be prevented by the penitentiary and gallows, and not by a general deprivation of a constitutional privilege." - Arkansas Supreme Court, 1878
Comments
SSgt Ryan E. Roberts, USMC
~Secret Select Society Of Suave Stylish Smoking Jackets~