European Stars And Stripes (Newspaper) - April 29, 1985, Darmstadt, Hesse                                April 1985 the stars and stripes Page 9 gis warned of financial Pitfalls to avoid it in have a lawyer Check if ouf this is the first of four stories on Law and the tomorrows Story explores separation and divorce among military wednesdays Story focuses on the soldiers and sailors civil Relief act of and thursdays on landlord tenant by Chris Estes staff writer Frankfurt the traps Are every from the insurance Salesman at your door to the dealer who can give you a really great buy on a that if can get you into big trouble if youre an unaware if you sign contracts without Reading if you let overzealous creditors intimidate you with threatening if you buy a financial package without really knowing what you Are Here Are some tips from military Legal experts on How to avoid these Pitfalls Billing errors Russell Wolff of the v corps Legal assistance of fice says one of the big problems service members encounter in Europe is related to credit they obtained and used in the United Many he dont know what to do when theres a Billing or when they Are being charged for services or goods they never the consumer is protected under the fair credit Billing which covers Bill ing errors based on a transaction that never a Bill for goods or services that we rent delivered or a Bill that Hast been correctly Wolff advises Consumers to see a Legal assistance office attorney promptly if they find Billing Consumers do not have an obligation to pay an improper amount he they must notify the creditor in writing within 60 Days that a Billing error has taken Wolff said Consumers  be intimidated by frequently people get such threatening he if you do not respond tomorrow 1 will be taking you into its Wolf said a creditor must respond to a Consumers complaint within 30 an attorney at the Legal assistance office will assist you in drafting a letter to respond to a he Wolff also notes after a customer enters into an instalment contract with a German there is a seven Day period in which the customer can void the layaway plans layaway plans in which the buyer pays in instalments for a product before it is delivered Are another source of heartburn for service members and their Wolff Jeffrey Guilford of the usar eur Legal assistance office warns that buying under a layaway plan can be Dan when you pay before you re you end up with the problem of get Ting your Money Back if the stuff int or if the delivery occurs but its nonconforming or damaged you dont have the leverage of withholding if you decide to cancel the it makes it much More both Guilford and Wolff Point out that payments made to a firm that goes out of business before delivering the order May be impossible to credit Check books another thing that a problem service members have is losing credit cards or Bank Teller cards or having the cards Wolff if the card is stolen or lost and the owner reports it he is not liable for a thiefs abuse of the Wolff soldiers also often lose he you will not be liable for forged Wolff you of inform the Bank at the quickest there May be an Issue if the service member is negligent and never does but a Bank has the Respo Sibili As far As a forged instrument and they will be the ones that will pick up any assumed Cost As a result of forged middleman car dealers one major area in which service members have problems is in buying said John chief of v corps Legal assist Ance problems especially he when service members go to a middleman someone who advertises euro Pean cars but Doest actually own middlemen Are usually found just outside the Gates of a Martensen the service member pays the Middle who goes to the dealer to buy the he if the car Breaks the serv ice member takes it Back to the Middle and he cant fix he Doest have a and Hes not in the business of repairing Martensen said that not All middlemen Are out to bilk the service member there just out to make a if the service member chooses to go to that per son with the full understanding that he Doest do any More than act As an Agency Between the principal and the car that some Martensen work on the layaway if the seller goes out of business while the service member is paying off a the service member prob ably loses his financial packages Wolff also has words of caution for service members who Are interested in buying financial packages individual retirement Mutual funds and annuity a Many such packages arc sold As part of an insurance which a person May Purchase under the mistaken notion that buying the insurance is necessary to buy the Wolff advises buyers 10 question the Salesman until they Are sure that they Are thoroughly familiar with the package they Are considering and then take the pack age to a Legal assistance germans briefed on by Dan Wollam Stuttgart Bureau chief Germany More than German firefighters and police officers gathered at Wharton Barracks saturday and sunday to see a presenta Tion on How to fight a fire in a Pershing ii missile in convinced if we get out the not but All the juror will Calm said Raymond commander of the 56th Field arty the juror Haddock spoke of began in january after the first stage of a Pershing ii missile killing three sol Diers assigned to the the incident led to left Wing German political parties calling for a halt to per Shing training in the military restricted its pending the findings of an investigation into the cause of the but training continued on Dummy brigade spokesman Michael grif Fon said the unit had planned to begin briefing German firefighters on Pershing missiles about five months before the Acci they scheduled the first briefing for february in Schwa Ebisch about 30 firefighters were to Griffon but the Accident in january heightened interest in the Griffon said almost 300 fire fighters from the Schwa Ebisch Gemuend area showed up for that the next month a group of about 60 fire chiefs representing the 34 counties in the German state of bade Wuerttemberg and its Independent cities received the same Griffon this the who rep resented towns from  heard explanations of the missiles five the configuration of a Pershing Convoy and the firefighting equipment on the Haddock also gave a detailed explanation of the january after the the firefighters were bused to Camp red a mile from to see a Pershing ii and the array of extinguishers that accompany a Pershing the Bottom line Given to the firefighters on battling a fire on a Pershing missile motor was the two stages of the Pershing motor carry their own oxygen Supply since they Fly outside the once a Pershing missile motor starts its going to Griffon although tests on the Pershing motors have shown they wont catch fire once on they will Burn in less than one minute at More than degrees Fahr Griffon in a Pershing i the forerunner of the Pershing caught fire while being moved through that fire started on the transporter truck after a fuel line was no injuries of Griffon the results of the investigation into the january fire showed it was caused by a buildup of Static electricity inside the mis the buildup resulted from a Combina Tion of materials with opposite electrical charges rubbing together in combination with cold of the nine soldiers hospitalized from the january seven were released within 10 Griffon one Soldier who suffered a broken Timothy was recently released from the 2 Bouvier who was taken to Brooke army medical Center in is still undergoing treatment for Raymond com Mander of the 56th Field arty general presentation photo by Dan Wollam addresses German firefighters and firefighting equipment As part of a briefing men at Camp red where they viewed on fighting a fire in a Pershing ii