[DOE Employee's Claim for Reimbursement for Loan Origination Fee]

The Department of Energy (DOE) requested a decision regarding a transferred employee's claim for reimbursement for the loan origination fee he paid in purchasing a residence. DOE advised that it partially reimbursed the claimant based on information regarding the customary charges in the claimant's residential area. The claimant contended that the information DOE used applied to government-guaranteed loans but not to his conventional mortgage. GAO held that, in the absence of established customary charges, the applicable regulations limited reimbursement of this fee to the amount DOE allowed. Accordingly, DOE should not reimburse the claimant for the remainder of the fee.