“Holly understands the sacrifices our men and women in uniform make each day, and her team is doing an excellent job protecting servicemembers and their families from predatory lenders, financial
scams, and other bad actors.” — Sen. Elizabeth Warren (D-Mass.)
TARGETS [CONTINUED FROM PAGE 67]
of complaints from servicemembers — approximately 500 — were on the subject of payday loans. More recently, the CFPB received complaints about Navy Federal Credit Union’s debt-collection practices. In October, it ordered the credit union to pay roughly $23 million to victims.
Unique challenges Still, many servicemembers don’t know help is available. Outreach is a big part of the job. In her five-plus years as assistant director, Petraeus has traveled to more than 130 installa- tions. “I travel to military bases where I meet with servicemembers and their families to talk about personal finance and hear about their experiences,” she says. The goal is to equip military personnel and their families with the knowledge they need to make better- informed financial decisions. A few hurdles remain: “A new soldier is a little bit hesitant to in- form their leadership that they’re in trouble,” Wood says. “They’re afraid of being labeled as bad soldiers.” Even officers with plenty of fi- nancial savvy can have problems. When his new truck turned out to be a lemon, Wood himself filed a complaint with the CFPB. The key, he points out, isn’t knowing the ins and outs of various laws or financial regulations; it’s knowing what re- sources are available.
80 MILITARY OFFICER DECEMBER 2016
Ari, a young servicemember sta- tioned in El Paso, Texas, waded into treacherous financial waters when he was buying a new car. “When the dealership found out that I was a soldier, they promised me they’d put me in a car I could afford,” he later told the CFPB. “There are car dealerships everywhere, and they all have programs tailored toward servicemembers.” Unfortunately, some of those programs take advan- tage of servicemembers. Ari’s father, Harry, filed a com- plaint with the CFPB detailing the problems his son and other ser- vicemembers were having with the Military Installment Loans And Educational Services (MILES) auto loan program. After looking into the matter, with assistance from DoD and the Judge Advocate General Corps of each of the service branch- es, the CFPB ordered U.S. Bank and its partner in the MILES program, Dealers’ Financial Services, to end their deceptive marketing and lend- ing practices targeting active duty military. They also ordered the two companies to return approximately $6.5 million to servicemembers. “The fact that the CFPB took action in the name of servicemembers across the country, it shows us that some- one’s in our corner,” Ari said.
MO
— Christina Wood is a freelance writer based in Florida. Her last feature for
Military Officer was “VA Revamp,” October 2016.
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