They made a mistake and now i must pay $$??

hey..

man on top of having a hectic weekend things just keep getting worse...i am in college and i dont know if anyone deals with the VA or their benefits..but i just dont know what i should do in my particular situation...

since i wasnt taking the 'full amount' of units they wrote me a letter saying i wasnt getting the full benefit payment..so i was like whatever with that and expected to get a certain amount..come the day i get paid i end up getting the full..which i was suprised but i figured thats awesome too..so from aug 22-oct 31 i got 837 or something like that..mind you i have to pay for my rent/other crazy bills it doesnt last long.

i get this letter saying how i was overpaid for the period and it is a debt i must repay. but they also say they sent me a letter explaining that they have reduced my benefits..so i dont know how i ended up getting the full amount.

its already a pain in the butt even dealing with all of this mumbo jumbo..but now i have to wait till monday to even find out what i owe. they say i can appeal the decision..and i have a year...of course i'll hopefully find out more info soon. but depending on how much it is to pay back for THEIR mistake i just want to write a letter or i dont know what kind of evidence i can put forth to show why i shouldnt have to pay back. if its not a lot i dont think it would make a huge difference..but if its over 500 bucks..this is just the worst way to end my weekend and start my thanksgiving break. now i have to call my mom and explain this ....situation... i dont know if anyone has any lending advice, has had something like this happen...or just plain doesnt know but offers something..goooooooooooooooosh

They're the government. Not much you're going to do to combat it. If you owe, I expect you will have to repay. If you don't, I suspect they will not continue to give you any benefits at all. Last year I was being overpaid at my job and wasn't even aware of it. I had to pay back every cent when the error was discovered.

ic. thank you! man i love our gov i am going to call or hopefully find out tom. what the payment is...but i will probably just try to write an appeal letter anyway to see how it goes. thank you for letting me know!!!

i just hope they give me..time..to pay it back?? or did you have to pay back everything all at once from your paycheck? or did you make payments....

I was able to make payments. A woman who this happened to the year before me actually made a very tiny payment. Drawback, of course, is that it took her forever to repay. Perhaps they can withhold from your next check instead?

m...that would be possible except i really need it to pay my rent..which is 525..and im going to get just 627 now..i'd be able to make payments..i dont think it would exceed 500 bucks..when i do the math for two months i was just 400 bucks over..but then i got paid for a week in aug..so...and i have a smaaaaall side job where i get like 130-150 twice a month..so i'd rather still get my checks but make payments..otherwise my mom and i will go broke because she also helps me for rent and this dec. she is paying my tuition (only like 400 bucks though) so i am paying almost all my rent this month...thankfully spring sem. i am taking FULL TIME school so this mistake CANT be made! haha.

I've been getting a VA pension, for several years. Usually, any overpayments are deducted directly from subsequent checks. Definitely call them and work out a payment schedule that won't put too big of a crimp in your budget.