The Montgomery GI Bill is giving me bad credit. wtf?

I just got my free annual credit report, and I saw one adverse listing, from “U.S. DEPT OF VETS AFFAIR.” This is because I receive the Montgomery GI bill. At the beginning of the spring semester I told them I was going to be a full time student, and indeed I was. But at the last possible instant, I decided to drop a class. They told me I owed them 1/4 of the money they had given me up to that point and transferred me to their debt department. So I found myself in this odd situation of being in debt to a government institution that has agreed to put aside a pool of money to help me pay for college. Even as they continue to give me money from this pool, I am in debt to them and slowly paying this off out of that pool. And now I just found that they are reporting this debt as outstanding to the credit bureaus, and this is the only negative mark I have.

I’m not just offended, I’m confused. Why are they doing this, and why is it legal for them to do so? How does this involve credit?

Man, this is just too weird.

I am also having a problem with the GI bill folks at the VA.

I was overpaid by about $1800 and was told I had up to a year to pay it back. Last week I got my quarterly credit review, and they had me as behind in payments at 90 days! What the fuck, indeed!

I have a call in to one of the supervisors there…to see if there is any appeal or reversal of fortune for this. I paid it off with a credit card as soon as I found out, but was told in no uncertain terms by the “nice” “gentleman” that this would not remove the item from my credit report.

More updates as events warrant…