USAA grabs coronavirus checks from military families (TAP)

The bank, one of the nation’s largest, has told customers it would use the $1,200-per-person payments to offset existing debts.

USAA, the veteran-serving financial institution, took $3,400 in CARES Act payments from the family of a disabled veteran to offset an existing debt, denying the family emergency funds during a time of personal economic stress. Text messages from USAA customers show that this is not an isolated incident. In fact, USAA is using a boilerplate statement to respond to customer complaints about taking their payments.

According to the wife of the veteran, a USAA representative told her in a phone conversation that they “shouldn’t have gotten into debt in the first place,” and refused to give back the $3,400 CARES Act payment.

“I’m out of work and my husband is injured and can’t work,” said Carrie, whose emergency economic payments were taken by USAA. “We don’t know where rent is going to come from now. It was going to help my 18-month-old get her meds. I’m at a loss for words, they don’t care.”

In a statement, USAA spokesperson Matthew Hartwig acknowledged that “a stimulus payment could be reduced when we execute legal garnishment or lien requirements … a reduction can also occur in circumstances when the stimulus payment is deposited into an account with a negative balance.” Hartwig added that USAA is “continuing to examine ways to address such occurrences during this pandemic…”

To read the entire article from The American Prospect, click https://prospect.org/coronavirus/usaa-bank-grabs-stimulus-checks-from-military-families/