GMAC Auto Financing Account paid in full, trying to collect a missed payment plus late fees that were waived while serving country in the Navy overseas Greeley Colorado

This whole mess started Febuary 2005, I had been behind on my payments for a few months, due to some errors in my paychecks. I was in the Navy at the time, and while I was in the process of getting caught up, my command found out about my financial situation (my dumb *ss opened my mouth) and forced me to turn my 2003 S-10 to a local dealership.

Now its my understanding that this was a civilian matter not a military one. Being the truck was mine, not government property. Legally they military can't force you to get rid of your personal property, but I could be mistaken. Yes, its my fault for getting behind, but thats not part of the current problem.

Fast forward...August 21, 2006. I chose to buy a new truck, and with the money I had saved up from a deployment to Iraq, I called up GMAC for a 14 day payoff on my S-10 that I was still paying for but did not own due the military BS. I was given a dollar amount, so I got off the phone, transfered the funds into my checking account and called GMAC back and made the payment. A week later I get a letter in the mail stating (sp?) that the account has been payed in full and there is no further financial obligations on the account. The letter is not signed, but the name of the person who wrote it is on it and so is my account number, which to the best of my knowledge makes it an official letter.

About a month later I get a call from GMAC and I'm told that there is a missed payment and I need to pay $292 in 10 days or the account will be overturned. I had just started a new job (got out of the navy september 06) and had yet to recieve my first paycheck. I did not have the funds to cover the payment, so the account was overturned. I no longer owed $292, the bill was for $900, because all the late fees and what not that I had aquired while in Iraq that had been waived, were now tacked on.

I called GMAC today, the reason it took so long was because I had some trouble locating the letter of closure on the account due to some recent moves. The person I talked to today said that the missed payment was from June (I've made every payment on time since March 2006 except for when I was in Iraq) and the 14 day payoff I requested in August was in fact a settlement. That does not make since. How can a 14 day payoff get classified as a settlement.

Any advice or info would be much appriciated.

Colleen
Waukesha, Wisconsin
U.S.A.