I thought I had posted this here earlier, but I can't find it now, so here goes:
1. Decide that you are going to ask to have your unused money on account returned to you.
2. Be willing to accept the idea that you will no longer be eligible for services from the CofS and that you will get charged 3% of the money on account for "handling fees".
3. Find out how much money you have on account at your org. Call the Treas Sec and if you cannot reach that person, call the bookstore officer and tell them you are considering ordering some books off of account and need to know what your current account balance is.
4. Call or email the chaplain at your org and tell them that you are no longer interested in getting services and want the balance of your money on account back immediately. If you are dealing with Flag call or email the KOT, Bob Bolger, who handles these cycles.
5 if they ask you to come in for an interview and an ARCX handling, ask them to cut to the chase and send you a CVB Repayment Routing Form AND a Release and Waiver to sign.
They will send you a packet of information which should include the CVB routing form, a checksheet for you, a staff checksheet for handling the cycle, and a copy of the Release and Waiver form for that org.
6. In some cases, they will send you this package with no other information.
Read steps 7 through 16 of these instructions for a fairly complete handling of the rest of the cycle.
7. Lay out the materials and set aside the CVB routing form and the your checksheet for handling this cycle. Read them later. You will not be following them unless you really want to go back in the org and get worked over and Sec Checked at your own expense.
8. Read the Release and Waiver and make sure you understand it. The standard form has no gotchas in it or gag orders. It is pretty straight forward. Sign it and get it witnessed or notarized depending on the form you are sent. Make sure that your amounts on account are accurate and you may want to list accommos and service accounts separately.
9. Write a short letter reiterating what you said in your first request. Keep it simple because these people are extremely PTS and cannot handle complex communications. DO NOT get into your past upsets and how mean they were. This is not the time to deal with that.
What you want to communicate is that there is no necessity for any handling, you are long past that and only want your money back.
Keep it simple:
I no longer feel that the CofS can deliver what I paid for and want that money back. I have $XXX in my services account and $YYY in my accommodations account.
I want the money returned immediately and there is no reason that I should have to come to the org and do a routing form to get my money back as I didn't have to come there to put it on account.
According to the IRS-CofS agreement, I am entitled to get my money back
and I don't expect to have to get a lawyer to press suit in order to get my own money back.
I have attached a signed and witnessed Release and Waiver Form. Please send this and any other necessary paperwork to the Claims Verification Board immediately.
10. You will probably get a response to your letter promptly as that is a particle they can confront.
When they respond, ask if the forms have been sent to the CVB yet. Read the staff checklist and keep the pressure on them every week.
This may sound extreme, but you must realize these staff members are under extreme pressure and many are double posted so they get dispersed easily and will forget your cycle as soon as the next emergency hits.
11. Ask only ONE question per email. That is as much as most can handle before getting dispersed.
12 Use Tone 40 with high ARC. Do not attack the terminal, just exert continuous good control. When they do something you ask for, give them an ack. They do not get many and they are quite appreciative.
13. Follow the steps on the Staff checklist and query where your cycle is at least once a week.
14. If you start getting nonsensical replies, escalate to a higher terminal and continue keeping the pressure up for data on where your cycle is and why is it taking so long.
15. If you have a working relationship with a lawyer do not hesitate to copy him on important emails. You will probably get a nervous response from a legal terminal in the CofS saying this will delay the cycle. It probably will hasten the cycle.
16. Key milestones in your cycle:
Approval by the Claims Verification Board
Getting your repayment request into the weekly FP so it can be approved.
Getting the check and sharing the good news with the rest of us.
Any questions and suggestions:
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