Too many companies, this one in particular, choose to remain uneducated and ignorant of the rights and entitlements of National Guard and Reserve service members who are called to active duty. They prey on their supposed ignorance to deny them protections under the Service members Civil Relief Act (SCRA). They put the burden of proof on the service member's family and find "creative" ways to word their reasoning to explain why the service member doesn't qualify.
So, while these service members are serving the country or state their families are struggling with punitive actions taken by companies who refuse to follow federal law. The law is clear. However, ask a dozen companies and get a dozen answers. I tried to get my relief from this company and was constantly shuffled from operator to operator, my credit has bee ruined, punitive charges have been added, and extreme collection actions have been taken despite the fact that military orders were sent in and SCRA protections were requested 30 days in advance of my spouses first duty day. As I answer each rebuttal by doing my homework their answer changes as to why we don't qualify.
This company's final stance has been to hide behind a lawyer I have never seen, spoken to, or received a written response from and claim my spouses enlistment contract (NOT active duty orders) pre-date the loan so we are rendered ineligible. The law states 30 days or more for reserves/national guard at anytime during their military career as long as the orders themselves are after the origination of the obligation. And most of our creditors think late charges and negative reporting are allowed if even a dollar is short.
All I can say is if you have a spouse on active duty it is a real eye opener to see which companies actually follow the letter of the law and which ones hide behind a facade of respectability only to abuse the consumer when they need consideration the most. Now I not only do I have a spouse called to active duty I have the added stress of bad credit and inflated payments while operating at a substantial financial loss. I support soldiers; shouldn't the corporations that benefit from their money? All I want is for them to follow the law in its entirety and put the burden of proof back on the company not on the already overtaxed reserves and National Guard.
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