Request for Reconsideration of Debt Waiver Denial

A request was made for reconsideration of the denial of a military member's claim for waiver of his debt to the United States which resulted from overpayment of retired pay. The member was originally placed on the Temporary Disability Retired List and received the appropriate compensation. However, due to an administrative error, he continued to receive the pay after being removed from the list. On appeal, the member's attorney argued that his client was an innocent bystander, and that since the overpayments resulted from a failure of the Army, at least a partial waiver should be granted. The member also indicated that he believed he was continuing to receive the pay because of a letter he had written appealing the physical evaluation which caused his removal from the list. It was held that the member could not have reasonably relied on the letter as an explanation of the erroneous payments. The member should have been aware of the overpayments and made inquiries into the matter. The fact that they were caused by administrative error did not relieve him from this responsibility. Therefore, since he was not free from fault in the matter, collection action would not be against equity and good conscience. Accordingly, the previous denial of his claim for waiver was sustained.