US Bank, MILES Program, US Government US Bank, MILES Program, and the US government, Oh My!! Ripoff Minneapolis Minnesota

I'll try to make this as short as possible even though my allegations and complaints are far reaching. I was enlisted in the US Army during the initial invasion and occupation of Iraq. I left my pregnant wife and daughter at home and went off to fight in that crazy war. I feel like I have paid my dues and have securred my place among as an honorable member of society. When I returned from the war I had a new baby girl and was in need of a new vehicle because the one we had was old and did not fit the four of us. Because I was only 19 at the time, my wife nor I had the best credit and neither one of us was able to secure a auto loan by convential means. One of my NCO's recommended that I apply with the MILES program which is a government affiliated program that helps soldiers get approved for financing. More information can be found by Googling 'MILES Program'

It sounds like an absolutely fabulous program and seems incredibly legit but little did we know we were walking into a firestorm. The MILES program is officially affilliated with US Bank and as a result, the US Government. I'm not sure who spawned who but I am absolutely sure there are kickbacks for everyone involved, except the consumer. When you contact the MILES program they have you go through this nonsense debt counseling session over the phone and then they approve you for the program. What they don't tell you is that all the program is is alternate financing which most banks offer anyways. The default rate then for alternate financing on auto loans (as stippulated by the Federal Reserve) was 18.9% but as I found out later most alt. financing is done at 15%. We bought a car for $13,000 for 60 months which would total about $21,500 if paid off on time. Our payments, a staggering $395 per month (you would be hard pressed to find a Porche payment that high) but this wasn't really a problem because I was making E4 pay with BAS and partial BAH and had no utilities or rent to pay. The payments were taken directly out of my check each month and we never had any problems.

In 2004 I was medically discharged from the military and had to take on this bill and some others with out a garunteed paycheck which I did fine and well. I enrolled in school immediately so that I could collect the GI Bill as income and we were able to survive; at least for a little while. Once in a while I would miss a payment but make it up with a double payment the next month and what not but I stayed on top of it for the most part. I received this loan in 2003 and it is now 2007. Next year should be my last year but I still have about $10k left to pay. I have recently hit a rough patch in my finances and jus haven't been able to pay. I had the loan payed down to about $7k but I recently checked just this month and it is now shy of $10k. How I don't know but I am sure they have some sly way of explaining it. I have tried to refinance with them but they never would becuase of my credit despite that I have a loan with them and at the time I had made payments on time almost 3 years in a row. I even told them that I had an opportunity to have the loan paid off but it would expire soon and I asked them to try and refinance again. I was just testing them and sure enough they strung me along saying I would definitately be able to refinance; that was until the date I stipulated passed and then they all of a sudden couldn't.

So to make a long story short, I have decided to default on the loan and file for bankruptcy. My wife and I are still young and we have a lot of school left ahead of us both, not to mention a mountain of school loans to pay off. I don't really want to turn this into another whine fest about the EVIL US BANK. I do abhore the USBancorp and I think it needs to be shut down. Most banks in the US make there money off of interest, investments, and bonds. US Bank on the other hand makes the majority of their profits of off unsubstantiated fees. I have had a US Bank account and I know this to be the case. They are also the only bank I know of that has a listed balance and a hidden available balance (one you have to go online and click to see). The last straw I had with them was when they decided to turn one overdraft into 8 different overdrafts and then tack on their $7 a day over draft fee. The last time I heard they insist I owe them over $600 but good luck to them in getting that one. Oh and for all of those corporate c@cksuckers who want to chime in with 'this is how you should balance your checkbook', I changed banks after being screwed by them but I have not changed my spending habits. In 2 years with my new bank I have had three overdraft charges. All in all US Bank is not a good bank, nor is any of the other big corporate chains. If you want a good bank that will work hard to keep your business, pick a small community bank. If you are a soldier DO NOT use the MILES Program as they are setting you up to be screwed. I only wish I knew what I know now back when I first got into this mess. God bless.

Defaulted and much happier
Leavenworth, Kansas
U.S.A.