How do you pay your bills when you are in millitary boot camp? I've never received a straight answer?

Question

I'm thinking about the Navy reserves. My recruiters told me that I am not obligated to pay my bills for the 8 weeks, I'm in boot camp as my creditors are required by law not to require me to pay while I'm in boot camp. So, I call my credit union and Wells Fargo, and they tell me that I am required to pay my bills while in boot camp. Well, my #1 fear is being lied to, and my credit score being ruined. After that, I didn't join the service as I thought I was lied to. You can send me to a foreign country, and put me in harms way. However, why do I want to join the service if the most simple question, I couldn't get a straight answer with.

Answer 1

your bank and credit union are correct, you must pay your bills during boot camp. your recruiter is inaccurately refering to the Sailor & Soldier Civil Relief Act or SSCRA for short.
this legislation only applies to people who are involuntarily activated. since you would be joining the reserves voluntarily, you still have to pay your bills, as joining the reserves was by choice. however, if you were to be involuntarily inducted, then you be protected under SSCRA, which also limits the interest rate you can be charged amoung other things.

good luck

Answer 2

You can have a check book in basic training. you will receive mail so long as you notify your creditors of your new address but here is a suggestion. Call your creditors before you go and let them know you are going to military basic training for 2 months. Pay the first month in advance and ask them to wait and not charge you a late fee for the second. You are about to make certain you have a steady income and that makes creditors all bubbly. Let them know that you're joining the military in part so you can pay folks like them what you owe. They may be happy to give you an extension if you fill them in on why.
While you are in basic you will probably be paid in cash so that you can make purchases in the military exchange system. you can also purchase money orders to pay your bills from the same place. You will be given an opportunity to purchase things like clothing and shaving gear at least once a month and you can get the money orders at the same time.

I hope this helps. There is one more suggestion if you can afford it. Over pay your bills before you go by a full months payment. that way you will receive a statement but no money owed for the second month of training.

Answer 3

Your recruiters probably wanted to make your joining as painless as possible. And you do have the right to demand that anything they tell you verbally be included in the contract that you sign.

However, bills that you owe are a legal responsibility that you've acquired BEFORE making the commitment to join the armed forces, therefore, you still have to pay them.

My advice to you would be to find a family member that you trust to pay those for you while you are away. When you complete boot camp, you will be returning home with your entire 2 months (or so) of pay that you've accumulated. This money can be given to the individual that has covered your bills during that time.

Or, if you have enough money in your checking account, ask your family to forward your bills to you at boot camp and you can pay them as you go along, just make sure you keep your account balanced so you know how low your funds are getting without going below the minimum.

Answer 4

There is a document out there that allows a person to have service stopped or deferred and not be penalized for it (ie cell phone contract). But you still have to pay your bills, like loans, etc. What you will want to have if you go into any military branch is a power of attorney. There are different types, the four I would reccommend getting are general, special, health, and durable power of attorneys. That way whoever is your power of attorney can take care of anything that comes up and sign in your place (a person can generally designate up to two people). These can be completed at the JAG office for free. If you don't want to get a poa, there is such a thing as automatic bill pay.

Answer 5

Recruiters in this case are right. Don't go through your bank, though, go through your creditors. I have never had a problem paying things off later or earlier when I was going to be out of the loop for a while. And over 9 years, I was out of the loop fairly regularly. Only once did I get a late charge, and that was refunded to me.

Or you can have your family pay off your bills for you. You have to really trust them however, to give them access to your account.

Answer 6

Come on dont be dumb, just becasue you are in training that dosnt mean you get a free ride on everything, bills are bills and need to get paid. Use billpay and dont worry about anything.

When ever you get deployed then you can use the Sailor & Soldier Civil Relief Act.
this legislation only applies to people who are involuntarily activated.

Answer 7

When I went to boot camp I asked my parents to help. i wrote all of the checks that were nessesary and specifically wrote down what time to mail them. From what I understand you will be required to pay your bills. Also, from boot camp you can write and recieve letters.

Answer 8

You have to have PCS orders to provide your financial institutions and those are legally binding orders and so therefore you would not be required to pay them while you are in boot camp and have no way of paying them at that time.

Answer 9

~yeah, you still have to pay your bills. you can set up auto pay, so that things are deducted automatically. or you can write out checks, for example, 50.00 to cover at least the minimums. address and stamp them, then give them to someone you trust, and tell them what day to send them on. even write on the back of the envelope what day to send it on. but ....by all means, make sure you pay your bills. there is no grace period for someone in boot camp.

Answer 10

If the army says you are not required, then you are not, if you get hassled about it, then you do some research and find where it says you are not obligated and shove it in the creditors faces....It's what my husband did while in ait, except his commanders sent an official notice of exactly what the law was regarding active duty, and they didn't like that too much.