My son is in Iraq...

[MoonChild2007]

Today I had a woman caller who asked for a cable box as well as upgrading the cable service and the account was not under her name. I tell her four times that i cannot make changes without the account holder's authorization. She then gives me this excuse, "My son is in Iraq". Oh okay, so her son is in another different country and she thinks that she has the right to do anything she wants with SOMEBODY ELSE's bill? How do I know that she isn't just taking advantage of that fact?

She then hung up and that's when she talks to another rep and they ACTUALLY helped her?

[Gravekeeper]

She then gives me this excuse, "My son is in Iraq".

Gah, that's a pretty low move regardless.

[mscrybaby]

If it truly is her sons account and he truly is in Iraq then as the next of kin she has the rights to discuss his bills and change his accounts as needed. There is really a law concerning this so that soldiers do not have to worry about financial troubles while at war.

OT: we have many people email in about being in Iraq or Afganistan but they are not using a military APO/FPO address or military email address to contact us.

[MoonChild2007]

If it truly is her sons account and he truly is in Iraq then as the next of kin she has the rights to discuss his bills and change his accounts as needed

Based on what? Cause our call center has strict policies on privacy.

That would make sense if she was an authorized user which she isn't. Also, just because she is the mother that doesn't mean she has the rights to somebody else's bill. We don't even know what kind of mother-son relationship they have. Also, unless you work at a call center, you wouldn't be how many times I have heard customers complain about PPV events being ordered because thier son, daughter, niece had ordered it. And some of this is without their permission.

No its not her right to discuss his bills and change his accounts. She should just pay the bills and that's it. What if her son visits her and sees his bills like $300.00? Sorry but that's not right. If I was going somewhere and won't be back for awhile, I will NOT allow anybody to pay my bills. I will first pay off my last bill and then disconnect my services. Its under my name, why should somebody be allowed to screw up my account? It's my responsibiity, nobody else's.

[persephone]

I'm not sure about the specifics or if it is a law, but I know that most of the soldiers around here (I live near a Fort where a lot of boys have been deployed) either took the extra few minutes to add authorized users to any accounts they have or, at the very least, the base helped them put together a Power of Attorney, giving so and so (usually a spouse, parent or sibling) rights to speak on their behalf on any financial or legal matters.

I'm not saying her son isn't in Iraq, but there are processes and procedures that are to be followed before you leave the country so your family won't have problems. The army helps out with these preparations and tells soldiers what they need to do. She should have these things ready.

You did the right thing by not talking to her or letting her make any changes without some kind of proof that she is authorized to do anything. You are trying to protect your client and I applaud you for that. Any one can say "Well, so and so is in Iraq". It's just like with a death -- you need PROOF and then you can help. If he was really in Iraq, she would have had to have something in writing (or been added as a user before hand) in order to do anything with his accounts.

Also, though, I can understand why they might not be disconnected. If the utility is in his name but at, say, his parents house or at his house, but his wife and children are still there? You wouldn't disconnect them. Most soldiers do not just leave empty places behind. They leave the bills in the care of someone they trust -- a spouse, a parent, ect. We actually were in charge of the bills for one of our friends when he was overseas, because he didn't trust his roommate to not go late or screw up his credit. So he added my Hubby as an authorized user, gave Hubby access to use his bank account to pay bills, had the bills sent to us for the time he was gone and we made sure they were paid on time.

An odd situation, since we aren't family, but that's the RIGHT way to do it. If there was something wrong, we had user access so that we could get it corrected.

[Belari]

If it truly is her sons account and he truly is in Iraq then as the next of kin she has the rights to discuss his bills and change his accounts as needed. There is really a law concerning this so that soldiers do not have to worry about financial troubles while at war.

OT: we have many people email in about being in Iraq or Afganistan but they are not using a military APO/FPO address or military email address to contact us.

Not true. She would need a Power of Attorney. Even a wife needs Power of Attorney to do any of that.

[Jack Doe]

If it truly is her sons account and he truly is in Iraq then as the next of kin she has the rights to discuss his bills and change his accounts as needed. There is really a law concerning this so that soldiers do not have to worry about financial troubles while at war.

OT: we have many people email in about being in Iraq or Afganistan but they are not using a military APO/FPO address or military email address to contact us.

Actually, no, she doesn't. Next of kin only concerns individuals when graves registration is concerned (should he be wounded or killed.) Otherwise, as part of his pre-deployment paperwork he is supposed to grant power of attorney to an individual who then has the power to make changes to the servicman's affairs. That does not necessarly mean that the mother did not have POA, but if she did, she would have the documentation to go with it and would not be arguing over the phone.

As far as the law is concerned, it's called the Military Personnel Financial Services Protection Act (10 USC 992) and it is NOT, repeat NOT so that soldiers 'do not have to worry about financial troubles while at war.' What MPFSPA does is protect the soldier from actions by creditors which could cause undue hardship for personnel while deployed. These actions would be, for instance, forclosure proceedings on a home or a civil summons regarding a credit card debt or the like. A soldier, sailor, airman, or Marine is still expected to pay all accounts and debts while deployed, and to keep his or her financials in good standing, and it isn't hard to do. Their MPF or equivalent unit will be able to set up allotments or automatic drafts to pay the bills, and the individual with POA should be able to handle the rest.

[DGoddessChardonnay]

If it truly is her sons account and he truly is in Iraq then as the next of kin she has the rights to discuss his bills and change his accounts as needed. There is really a law concerning this so that soldiers do not have to worry about financial troubles while at war.

Shouldn't the son have thought to add his mother onto the account prior to his being deployed so that she could handle things while he was gone with as few problems as possible or at least give the utility/cable/phone/electric companies his APO/FPO address as well?

Just a thought.

[Hyndis]

Shouldn't the son have thought to add his mother onto the account prior to his being deployed so that she could handle things while he was gone with as few problems as possible or at least give the utility/cable/phone/electric companies his APO/FPO address as well?

Just a thought.

Yes, unless the son didn't want his mother to have access to the account for some reason.

Some families are on good relations. Other families are on not so good relations. Perhaps this was a case that while the mother and son were related on a genetic level, they did not get along at all.

[Primer]

About 15 years ago, the then SO named me in his deployment paperwork as being the responsible party here in the states. I don't know exactly how it was worded as I never actually saw the paperwork. I do remember that I was unable to change any of his accounts (changes he requested me to make), I could only gather the info and forward it to him in Qatar for him to take care of.

[Bramblerose]

Today I had a woman caller who asked for a cable box as well as upgrading the cable service and the account was not under her name. I tell her four times that i cannot make changes without the account holder's authorization. She then gives me this excuse, "My son is in Iraq". Oh okay, so her son is in another different country and she thinks that she has the right to do anything she wants with SOMEBODY ELSE's bill? How do I know that she isn't just taking advantage of that fact?

She then hung up and that's when she talks to another rep and they ACTUALLY helped her?

This is complete crap. Having gone thru activation before, if son wanted her to have access, she would have it. In fact, any Guard family gets some kind of reminder approximately every quarter all the stuff that has to be done before s/he leaves, and the big one is names on bills. And then you go over it all again ad nauseum when spin-up is really happening. Yes, you do get a power of attorney, but still, the other stuff should have been done.

I tend to find it all tedious, as nearly everything is in both names or my names (this move I was the one who had time to set stuff up).

[PepperElf]

... it's possible her son is in iraq and that's why he's not there to authorize the upgrade

however... if he filled out a Power of Attorney, the issue would be solved. He can fill out a Special one to just give her legal authority for the cable, or a General to give her total control over his finances. (don't use a general tho unless you really really really really trust the person).

And... sure he's in iraq, but the military does give you every opportunity to fill one out. and even in iraq, unless he's on a specific mission away from the base, he might still be able to do one.

the fact that she doesn't have one from him means... he didn't trust her over it, or he was careless and didn't think ahead.

[Gabrielle Proctor]

It doesn't really matter. Policy is policy. The OP was doing her(?) job.

Even if the person who has power of attourney to change ppl's accounts, that doesn't mean that this woman had that power.

Anyway, that's still low. Disgusting even.

[PepperElf]

very true. i had a two POAs written up for Mom... a General and a Special for my bank account, in case the bank questioned the General.

Even then, they wouldn't let mom add herself to my account since I wasn't there to sign the paperwork.

but with a poa, the lady from the OP would ahve legally been able to at least add additional service i think.