European Stars And Stripes (Newspaper) - March 28, 1986, Darmstadt, Hesse Page 10 the stars and stripes Friday March 28, 1986 army no says yes i want a i a i there s a. To commercial in the United states where these people walk into a Bank to apply for a loan and a big fat Bug eyed Guy behind a desk says you want a i. ? a iof my Well i used to think that was funny until it happened to me. From now on. I be decided i la never apply for a loan again no matter what. And yes the intent of this letter to the editor is to caution All you potential Bor rowers to think twice before wasting your time and Energy groveling in some creditor s office. I walked into the service Federal credit Union in Hopes of obtaining a loan for s6.500 to buy a used car. First i ended up waiting for two and a half hours because i did t know you had to have an appoint ment. That already was a bad Omen Here s How it went my husband and i Are separating i told the smiling lady As i settled into my seat. It s a Friendly separation and i la be moving As soon As i can find another apart ment. Here s a copy of our written and signed agreement. He will stay in the House and keep the furniture and the Bills and i will take my clothes and the you re Active duty yes. Sergeant first Mem. And you need this loan for a used car yes. There s nothing wrong with my old one. I just want to buy a newer of. Do you have any assets Mam assets sure. Let me think. I got half our savings Bonds which amount to 520,000 face value i have two Diamond rings valued at a total of s5,000 and a Silver Tea service set which goes for about ,000, the savings Bonds Don t count. We can t touch those she said. Well i have a Mastercard and an american express Gold card and of yes i own my present car too. I guess that s about any Bills of no. See the agreement Here my husband is taking i watched her scan the Page with raised eyebrows. Finally she muttered Well the thing is As Long As you re living with him we consider you As being responsible for the Bills of i uttered in dismay. My hands were beginning to sweat. This was t going to be As easy As i thought. She pushed my application across the desk and indicated for me to fill in the Blanks i d deliberately left empty. Of we re still paying on the new Toyota i continued trying to sound nonchalant. We owe about s900 on the Mastercard. That s about How much rent Are you paying of i won t be paying that much be cause i m moving yes but As Long As you re still there you have to put it of. any other Bills or Loans you re paying off i shot a nervous glance at the ceiling As if the answer were scrawled up there. Nope. Well my husband pays child write it huh no you Don t understand. I said my husband pays child a am As Long As you re in that House hold it s considered part of your Bills. Sorry a am. All the Bills. That s our poli i ogled the woman As though she d fallen off a turnip truck. I thought this was a credit Union supposedly in the loan Busi Ness. What kind of business did she think they were in Selling Fried Chicken she was t even smiling anymore. All right i said. I guess that s fair. I understand you re Only trying to be careful. And i guess since i own All these Bills you la be so kind As to count my husband s salary As Long As i m living under his roof no because you re moving us. Wait. Now let me get this straight. You won t consider our joint in come because i m moving out yet you re trying to say i m responsible for All the Bills even though i have a signed agreement Here that says 1 Don t have any yes a by now 1 could feel the anger rising within me. I swallowed my Pride and asked her to figure out what All this would come to and give me an idea As to whether or not she thought my loan would be approved. It does t look very promising she told me after an eternity. I leaned Forward placing my sweaty Palms on her desk. What do you mean i growled. The room Felt hot and i could feel people s eyes prying into my Back. They were probably wishing i d get my business resolved and go away so they could get their turns they did t have appointments either the poor slobs. What i mean is that Over 40 percent of your income is used to pay Bills and that Means your loan will probably be disapproved she replied. However Don t let that Stop you from applying. Here take this form to your commanding officer and have him Complete what for until you re an e-8, you la need your commander s signature to apply for a lady i screeched i be been in the army 15 years. I mean i was in the army when my commander was still in like i said if you were e-8 look there s no use in my hanging around Here i said. Ill just go on across the Street to the american express people. I bet they la give me a Man in american express loan department gawked at me and said " you want a i. ? a 1 i went Home got some of my savings Bonds and paid Cash for the car. Name withheld Heidelberg editor s note we received two replies to this letter. The first is from Aubrey l. Demons assistant director of operations Europe service Federal credit Union it is difficult to investigate this complaint since the writer did not provide the office location. Service Federal has 10 Branch offices in West Germany and one in West Berlin. However we will respond to the main Points addressed by the writer. Service Federal credit Union offers appointments for Loans As a Courtesy to our members. However they Are not required. We also serve walk in members on a first come first served basis in addition to those seen by appointment. The credit Union will not accept a writ ten agreement signed by the husband and writer says generals right to use Community funds Well you have finally done it you have printed an article maligning the depart ment of the army that deserves response. I am referring to a recent article concerning the alleged diversion of thousands of dollars in Community relations funds to Host private Par ties for . Army general officers. Having worked for five years As an army resource manager in Europe i can assure the Public that even though they Are Small by comparison Community relations funds Are the most visible and Micro managed of All army accounts. And while department of army guidance concerning these funds May be vague very specific criteria must be met in order to use these dollars. In most cases general officers Are the senior representatives of the . Govern ment in their respective overseas communities. At the other end of the spectrum detachment commanders at Remote Sites throughout Europe play the same role. In that capacity both the general and the Cap Tain Are the Pivotal links in our responsibility to Foster Mutual acceptance respect and cooperation Between american sol Diers and european Host nations. The legitimate official funding of Community relations events enhances the achievement of our goal to interact with our european allies whether they be nato officers and soldiers government officials from All Levels or influential businessmen from the local area. Other than ourselves those individuals Are in the Best positions to directly influence the Quality of life for our soldiers civilians and family members thus positively affecting our state of readiness. I am not naive enough to believe there has been no abuse in the funding of certain functions out of Community relations accounts but i firmly believe those events have been few and far Between. The army audit Agency report alluded to the exclusive nature of invitation Only events. How do they expect our Gen eral officers to Host a reception for local officials and vips i am suggesting that a standup bratwurst and Brotcher open House pen pals i would like to have pen pals. I am 24 years old. Marita Boria 127 Borromeo Street Cebu City Philippines i am 23 years old and would like pen Gelig 21-b Rodriguez Street Cebu City Philippines please place my name in your pen pal list. I am 24years old. Din Flor de los Reyes Molave st., Cabunoc Talisay Cebu City Philippines i am 35 years of age and would love to have my name published in your pen pal Section. My interests Are travelling shows outings parties Reading beaches and shopping. Is. Mary to first Street Guadalupe Heights Village Cebu City 6401, Philippines at the local Haupt Bohnhof is not the Way to entertain influential dignitaries. Having not seen the specific audit report i would venture to guess it does not highlight All the positive benefits that have accrued to the . Army by Pur commanders infrequent use of Community relations funds. As mentioned before the use of those funds has helped Foster a purposeful relationship with our nato allies which is a Small but vital link in our preservation of world peace. As a final comment the use of army Community relations funds is being drastically curtailed throughout Europe next Fis Cal year. Once again we experience a cure which is worse than the disease. I suspect generals and detachment com Manders alike will still Host our nato partners since that is an integral responsibility of their positions however they will be required to use their own Bank accounts. Furthermore our european allies will continue to reciprocate since they View their responsibility in a similar manner. And the press will continue to print stories about the waste fraud and abuse permeating the department of defense while at the same time congratulating themselves for a Job Well done in improving our imperfect world. But those of us who live and work with our nato allies realize that by fostering through whatever Means an understanding of our commonality we Are protecting first amendment rights for us All. All we desire is a fair and impartial printing of both sides of the Story. Ron Florence Pir Masens Germany wife stating that one will accept the responsibility for payment of the other one s Bills in the event of separations. However we will accept a court decree in divorce cases where one has been ordered by the court to accept responsibility for the other s debts. The credit Union does consider the spouse s income provided it is volunteered by the applicant and agreed to by the spouse and the spouse agrees to be a party of the contract. The writer states in her letter that her debt to income ratio was More than 40 percent. Our loan officers Are authorized to approve Loans with a debt to income ratio of up to 30 percent. Loans exceeding 30 percent must be forwarded to the credit committee for review arid action. The form to which the writer is refer ring that was to be signed by her com Mander is the release of information form and its purpose is twofold 1. It provides us with a vehicle that satisfies both department of defense requirements and the privacy act when it becomes necessary to determine the Bor rower s whereabouts should he she retire separate from the service or Transfer at some later Date. 2. Verification of certain information to help us determine one s credit worthiness. The release of information form is required with the initial loan and is valid for three years. It is not required for additional loan advances during a three year period unless deemed necessary by the manager due to a change in a Mem Ber s income debt situation. We regret any inconvenience our Mem Ber May have encountered in seeking serv ice and suggest that she Contact the office manager at the location where she applied for credit should she require additional clarification of our policies. The second reply is from Martha e. Hill manager Public affairs and product promotion american express Community banking facilities thank you for writing and allowing us to explain Community Bank loan policies to you and our other clients. First let us say that we appreciate the sense of humor that you were Able to display throughout what appears to have been a very trying experience for you next time please try the Community ban first. Applying for a loan at the Community Bank is a simple procedure. However the granting of a loan is based on a number of factors namely the applicant s ability to pay previous credit history and the Pur pose of the loan. The Community Bank does not turn Down loan applicants without adequate justification. Eligibility for a loan can Only be determined through examination of an individual s completed application form. If a review of the loan application indicates that the individual May have difficulty repaying the loan then the loan is rejected. If our loan representative did not afford you the Courtesy of a proper review pro Cess please provide us with further details and we will take immediate action to pre clude this Type of incident from recurring. It would be irresponsible for us to Issue Loans to individuals who would be placed under undue hardship trying to meet pay ments above their Means. We Are also under obligation As a con tractor for the . Government to ensure that losses Are kept to a minimum. To that end we have a comprehensive loan review process. This reduces the Community Bank s exposure to bad Loans and ultimately reduces the Cost of operating the Bank to . Taxpayers. Should you have further questions re Garding our loan policy i suggest that you Contact our Branch manager who will be glad to explain these policies to you i greater detail. Editor s note there is a Rule which says in order to get a loan first you have to prove you Don t need
