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Code of Federal Regulations (Last Updated: July 5, 2024) |
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Title 32 - National Defense |
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Subtitle A - Department of Defense |
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Chapter I - Office of the Secretary of Defense |
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SubChapter D - Personnel, Military and Civilian |
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Part 112 - Indebtedness of Military Personnel |
§ 112.5 - Processing of debt complaints.
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§ 112.5 Processing of debt complaints.
(a) Debt complaints meeting the requirements of this part and procedures established by the Under Secretary of Defense for Personnel and Readiness, as required by § 112.7(a)(1) shall receive prompt processing assistance from commanders.
(b) Assistance in indebtedness matters shall not be extended to those creditors:
(1) Who have not made a bona fide effort to collect the debt directly from the military member;
(2) Whose claims are patently false and misleading; or
(3) Whose claims are obviously exorbitant.
(c) Some States have enacted laws prohibiting creditors from contacting a debtor's employer about indebtedness or communicating facts on indebtedness to an employer unless certain conditions are met. The conditions that must be met to remove this prohibition are generally such things as reduction of a debt to judgment or obtaining written permission of the debtor.
(1) At DoD installations in States having such laws, the processing of debt complaints shall not be extended to those creditors who are in violation of the State law. Commanders may advise creditors that this rule has been established because it is the general policy of the Military Services to comply with State law when that law does not infringe upon significant military interests.
(2) The rule in paragraph (c)(1) of this section shall govern even though a creditor is not licensed to do business in the State where the debtor is located. A similar practice shall be started in any State enacting a similar law regarding debt collection.
(3) Pursuant to 15 U.S.C. 1601 note and 1692-1692o (“Fair Debt Collection Practices Act”), contact by a debt collector with third parties, such as commanding officers, for aiding debt collection is prohibited without a court order or the debtor's prior consent given directly to the debt collector. Creditors are generally exempt from this requirement, but only when they collect on their own behalf.