European Stars And Stripes (Newspaper) - February 8, 1978, Darmstadt, Hesse                                1 to a Corner the often occurs Wilh an a account and it is up to the account liter to try to recover the Money doted the Bank Auto Miahky stops the How when the payoff is my i said he information papers sex n of the open account was our in he did Tut know if anyone Roc us feed with a banker in the Al ii be thought Mason said when i about specifics in the information r that anything i they will have ask first they being his stateside us Cic did Supply an estimate of the rot allotment accounts used to pay Mason said there was no Point of interest in the question and formal of the kids this individual allotment a i be considered a savings account a with this Type the Soldier is pm Misumi Toi information strongly supported the Umel that these allotment accounts i what most americans would think it savings accounts in their Hometown Bui the army finance Center contus my to Forward the checks monthly to these Nesses were forms at the report noted finance Are to Auto men and circumvent Normal safeguards and paper said that sol the cd report did explain How erf be Altot Menis Are m Cess allotments have accepted a and thus have violated the so Story reported the use of to pay off Loans granted to buy and m i mists revealed that gis were paying off clothes we Chad through a credit arrangement by which allotments were sent to an a american express German Branch in bad the account did not belong to any of the service members although their allot ment forms All bore the same account identified As being the individuals own it belonged to trans at lactic a Munich based business which had been ruled off limits in the armed forces disciplinary control the account arrangement in bad Godes Berg has but the firm May have switched to a different Early last secs received a copy of a form supposedly to be used by service personnel wanting to set up an aug tent checking account at the Long Island National the signed form would also authorize the Bank to Transfer Money from the gis account to an unspecified the form also stipulated for the prospective account holders signature i agree that the Bank shall not furnish me with periodic statements of Roy a l without notice to please close my account when allotment payments have been but the account Holder still is according to the to pay a service charge monthly of so when a reporter called the located in Hicksville on Long assistant manager Bert Levasseur said he was unaware of any such underlying us business attitude favouring use of the aug tent system to collect outstanding is a fear hat the indebted  wont pay if faced with milling or delivering regular Lowe ranking service persons Are primary targets for Many sales Pilch is they Are also the customers most commonly led into the allotment system for repayment of debut for Loans and the reason Young service personnel Are generally regarded As bad an Andrews Federal credit Union Man Ager remarked that e7s and below Are customarily asked to repay Loans by he added that it want Manda of and that exceptions Are the explained that use of the savings allotment system for repayment was a Benefit to service personnel who May often be in the Field or May forget to make their monthly he said that it also Lightens his offices customer forgetfulness can also be a Benefit for some Sellers repaid through the allotment payments in some cases May continue Long after the loan or Mer Chandise is paid off because the customer neglects to put through an allotment a warning was distributed via weekly Usa Reuh bulletins in Early january pointing out some of the perils of the noting that Young soldiers Are frequently the victims of allotment manipulations by unscrupulous businesses located in the Vicinity of military install the warning goes on mall order clothing encyclopedia and insurance nod jewelry stores appear to have the highest frequency of Inci dents involving allotment also suspected of allotment abuse Are Dis reputable and appliance dealers Pawn broken and investment Compa the notice pointed out that the Soldier not Only stands to lose accrued interest on Money often believed to be in a savings a but it May also become difficult to recoup overpayment to the it seems at times that while the allot men system was fashioned As it Benefit to encourage service people to save it can be costly to its users even As it delivers an undeniable service to businesses Good and even though there Are signs military authorities acknowledge the system has its the wheels Are turning with painful slowness to Correct the As one finance officer painted there is a fear of trampling on the rights of gis which would appear to include the right to be the Cost of borrowing by Bob hover staff writer 3 anyone who has mastered the third Grade it costs to borrow but talk about How much it costs and certainty gives Way to for the Cost of credit is a enough variables to con with the practice merchants in playing cute Wilh i toe View of some critics it is easier to answer from a Philadelphia Hun it is to gel the facts on inter cent Federal and state Laws pro with All the double4alk a Way out of the interest ale trick is apply the same Crit my to ill annual h the by Pra Vuew require Low Tori merest in terms that they Are making valid the credit seeking Public should know that in terms of apr e a 3 percent monthly charge for a Small loan at a finance company is actually 36 a percent a month revolving charge at a department store is 18 per 0 ant t per Moo finance charge on a used car loan is about 16 finance plan on a new car is about u perhaps the most graphic Way to com pare the loan Plana of competing financial institutions u to set Down Side by Side finance in Sudi identical payback periods should be As total finance charges increase with the duration of the Ray should Consumers look for the should insist on converting into apr to insure comparing finance charges at annual percentage of b and percent w Fin Luar Ralei this Al 11 percent on 36 month and 48month Loans the Borrower pays respectively finance charges of and Al 9 percent the figures Banks in the Al times make special automobile loan offers for limited offers by a Bank in Philadelphia and a Bank in Long illustrate the use of apr in the Philadelphia plan a 36month loan of for finance charges of result in an apr of the Long Island offer of for 36 months at Fig ures out to percent while aft and finance charges we main All loan con even if Money is borrowed at the Best interest under the Best terms credit it o Fortiy tracts should be checked for such extra charges As handling and credit investigation feet and credit life and health which Are automatically provided by some foreign Bank Loans pose additional problems for the american in be cause interest Rales Are computed differently from the finance charges should be carefully even More fluctuating Exchange rates May increase the Cost of titular by where foreign currencies Are gaining against the As is the Case in with German Bank Loans this Means that successive payments while the same in Marks will Cost More be cause the Borrower is buying increasingly More expensive Marks to satisfy the Many americans in Europe saddled Wilh the High Cost of credit blame their burdens on loan companies in the where the maximum apr is 36 but even if Money is borrowed at the Best i Tereh the Best terms credit is a costly proposition for most families a fact that is underscored by credit the difference Between 11 and 20 or 30 permit Money Over a lifetime can add up to Many thousands of february 1978 the stars and stripes Page a7