In a whirl of hurt right now... (Vent)

stacyd1987

TCS Member
Thread starter
Top Cat
Joined
Jun 15, 2007
Messages
1,883
Purraise
2
Location
Fayetteville, NC
So we're hoping and praying that this month the Army pays us the BAH (Basic Allowance for Housing) that we desperately need. They've missed the last 2 months, making us have to max out our credit card which is only set to 5k. And worst news of all, we can't apply for another one at my bank because of it. So if they 'forget' to pay us the money for the rent again, we're screwed! My husband's superiors are furious though that the leasing office has already issued a statement to the state court for us to pay this and next month's rent, which is a little over 3k, ASAP. They know that the financial office has been as slow as a snail, if not worse, and that we're doing the best we can to make ends meet. Heck, our fridge and cupboards are practically empty because we had to choose between paying the rent or eating.
At least the kittens will be fine. They have plenty of kitten chow and litter for them both. And at least I'm a light eater.
It just makes me so furious that the military is phasing out base housing and making families go through an agreement they made with certain apartment complexes. Not only is that risky due to the obvious incompetence of their financial department to the families but it's also frustrating because there's nothing we can do about it!
And what's worse, they can easily discharge service members for going into debt all because of their
slow system! I am outraged! We're already trying to pay back the AER military loans that we had to take out for the down payment of the apartment because we had to spend almost a month in hotels, waiting for a darn room to open!

And my husband, bless his heart, is trying his best to find a way to fix everything. He says that I should concentrate as much as I can with my schooling which is a bit difficult to do at the moment due to my stressed induced insomnia that I've had for 2 days now. I'm tired, I'm cranky and downright mad. I feel like crying, screaming, punching, kicking, slapping and screaming some more at whoever is responsible for messing up our financial paperwork for the stupid BAH for the um-teenth time!!!
All I can say, they better pay us back so we can clear our debts that they caused us to go into.


Sorry if this doesn't make much sense but it does feel a lot better to write this. Goodness knows, I can't wait but yet dread for the 1st, payday.
 

princess-pickle

TCS Member
Adult Cat
Joined
May 13, 2007
Messages
196
Purraise
1
Location
Gwent
Oh No! What a horrible situation! You'll manage somehow, I know it sounds unlikely, but every cloud has a silky soft lining!
 
  • Thread Starter Thread Starter
  • #3

stacyd1987

TCS Member
Thread starter
Top Cat
Joined
Jun 15, 2007
Messages
1,883
Purraise
2
Location
Fayetteville, NC
Originally Posted by Princess-Pickle

Oh No! What a horrible situation! You'll manage somehow, I know it sounds unlikely, but every cloud has a silky soft lining!
I know I've posted this situation before when it was starting to unravel but it just seems to be getting worse and worse...
 

carolpetunia

TCS Member
Top Cat
Joined
Oct 25, 2005
Messages
9,669
Purraise
17
Location
Plano, Texas
It wasn't always this way. Apathy toward military families and incompetence in providing for them have run rampant under the current administration, and stories like yours are fairly common in local news media.

If there's anyone in America who deserves better, it's the people who serve in our armed forces -- yet the government is putting the wellbeing, reputations, and credit ratings of these families at risk through gross incompetence. It's a national disgrace.

Living where you do, you could go down and stand in front of the Pentagon with a protest sign, and invite the local TV stations to come interview you there! Short of that... maybe a letter to the editor of the Washington Post would get somebody in power to make a call and get to the bottom of this quagmire.

I'm really sorry this is happening to you.
 

denice

TCS Member
Veteran
Joined
Feb 7, 2006
Messages
18,839
Purraise
13,144
Location
Columbus OH
The pay situation was really bad when I was in from 1976-1984. My ex and I were both in the Army and between us we racked up several months of no pay dues. Just a pay statement saying we had no pay due. Eventually it would get fixed and we would have a double pay but that didn't help when we were trying to get through short one of our pays. I thought they would have gotten their antiquated pay system fixed by now but apparently not.
 

gailc

TCS Member
Top Cat
Joined
May 18, 2004
Messages
11,567
Purraise
13
Location
Wisconsin
Yikes!!
Money seems to be found for the troops but it is not being used for the basics that the military families need. Are their any food pantries you can go to to get some basic supplies??
 

clairebear

TCS Member
Top Cat
Joined
Nov 17, 2006
Messages
1,541
Purraise
1
Location
Manchester, CT
I'm sorry that your going through such a stressfull situation right now. Especially since it's not your fault. Hopefully they'll get on the ball and start paying you on time.
 

theimp98

TCS Member
Top Cat
Joined
May 24, 2006
Messages
11,427
Purraise
2
Location
elyria, ohio
I am sorry, big time screw ups, can happen in any large company.
Mine has fogotten to pay me, for up to 2 months. A couple of times.
i hope your husband's superiors are able to get this sortted out and get you the money you need.

Hmm you could email the white house. Unlike several past administrations,
they do know they have a Army.
 

MoochNNoodles

TCS Member
Veteran
Joined
Apr 30, 2005
Messages
36,646
Purraise
23,468
Location
Where my cats are
That is horrible! Unexcusable if you ask me!

I know more than a few times DH had to go to the finance office and then keep on them to get things done right. Can your DH maybe start calling every other day or so to check the status of things? Or can one of his higherups go to their higherups or something? I know my step-brother is now out of the Army and still trying to get them to pay for his college they were to pay for when he joined! (did the college work before he enlisted, it was part of his enlistment agreement)
 

lunasmom

TCS Member
Top Cat
Joined
Sep 7, 2005
Messages
8,801
Purraise
12
Location
Jersey Shore
That's horrible (still!) Many vibes your way that the government will pay your dues. I'm surprised that if they're signing with area complexes that they just don't pay a lump sum directly to the complex instead of having to worry about individuals.
Then again I guess that's their way of making sure that the apt. managers don't screw them.
 

calico2222

TCS Member
Top Cat
Joined
Dec 9, 2004
Messages
7,731
Purraise
41
Location
Over the river and through the woods...
My job is contracted through to government and we deal with federal employee retirement accounts, so I deal with government workers all day, and from what I can tell the military is the most screwed up agency there is. I really hope you get this straightened out soon. Do you know if you husband has a TSP account? It's offered to the military and it seems like a lot of people sign up for it but have no idea what it is. If he does, he may be able to take out a loan or do a hardship withdrawal on his account. Ask him about it. If you have any questions about that, pm me.

Good vibes going out to you!
 
  • Thread Starter Thread Starter
  • #12

stacyd1987

TCS Member
Thread starter
Top Cat
Joined
Jun 15, 2007
Messages
1,883
Purraise
2
Location
Fayetteville, NC
Originally Posted by CarolPetunia

Living where you do, you could go down and stand in front of the Pentagon with a protest sign, and invite the local TV stations to come interview you there! Short of that... maybe a letter to the editor of the Washington Post would get somebody in power to make a call and get to the bottom of this quagmire.
I'm not that great with words, especially if it was to someone like a newscaster. Besides, I highly doubt other military members would agree to protesting. Things like this tend to be handled internally due to embarrassment for the families financial status.

Originally Posted by GailC

Are their any food pantries you can go to to get some basic supplies??
Not that I know of or have found on Google.

Originally Posted by theimp98

Hmm you could email the white house. Unlike several past administrations, they do know they have a Army.
Isn't the White House e-mailing automated or handled by other people? They probably get so many complaints everyday that they have to ignore the usual ones.

Originally Posted by MoochNNoodles

I know more than a few times DH had to go to the finance office and then keep on them to get things done right. Can your DH maybe start calling every other day or so to check the status of things? Or can one of his higherups go to their higherups or something?
His superiors are already trying to help us out by using their rank with the financial people.
Maybe that'll speed them up a bit. As for checking for a status, they always tell us that the forms have been sent and that they can't tell us anything about them.


Originally Posted by lunasmom

I'm surprised that if they're signing with area complexes that they just don't pay a lump sum directly to the complex instead of having to worry about individuals.
That is a good idea but since every family is there for different amount of times, they can't really do that. Plus, if things come up, then the extra or deficient amount of money is lost.

Originally Posted by calico2222

Do you know if you husband has a TSP account?
I don't think he signed up for that. I didn't sign up for it when I was in the AF because I wanted to pay for my 'free leave' after bootcamp to help out with my recruiter and be with my family. My hubby did the same thing when he left bootcamp and I guess we both forgot about that but for the moment, we need every bit we can get.
 

halfpint

TCS Member
Top Cat
Joined
Dec 6, 2004
Messages
8,565
Purraise
3
Location
Somewhere over the Rainbow
Do you get a BAH for it just a certin amount, My DH did 21 years in the Navy and he only got a certin amount not what we were paying in rent or house payments.
 
  • Thread Starter Thread Starter
  • #14

stacyd1987

TCS Member
Thread starter
Top Cat
Joined
Jun 15, 2007
Messages
1,883
Purraise
2
Location
Fayetteville, NC
Originally Posted by halfpint

Do you get a BAH for it just a certin amount, My DH did 21 years in the Navy and he only got a certin amount not what we were paying in rent or house payments.
Yes, our BAH should be about $1800. We have yet to receive any of it.
 
  • Thread Starter Thread Starter
  • #16

stacyd1987

TCS Member
Thread starter
Top Cat
Joined
Jun 15, 2007
Messages
1,883
Purraise
2
Location
Fayetteville, NC
Originally Posted by halfpint

Wow that really went way up, DH just retired 8 years ago... Pay rates probably went way up to then
It all depends on where you're living too for BAH.
 
Top