Military life comes with its share of changes, like deployments and permanent change of station (PCS) moves. And these changes may, at times, make it difficult to honor financial and legal commitments that were made prior to joining the military.
The Service Members Civil Relief Act (SCRA) provides “protections for servicemembers in the event that legal or financial transactions adversely affect their rights during military or uniformed service,” according to the Consumer Financial Protection Bureau. The SCRA provides the following protections for servicemembers that could save them money and financial stress:
- Six percent credit cap on pre-service loans and credit protection from lenders when invoking SCRA.
- Legal protections from default judgments in civil cases.
- Special protection again the foreclosure of their homes if they purchased the residence before going into active duty service.
- Protections against repossession of pre-service property, including vehicles.
- Rights to terminate housing and automobile leases signed before entering the service or when PCS orders arrive.
Additionally, SCRA also allows you to terminate your cell phone contract if you move to a location that doesn’t offer coverage with your current provider. It also offers some taxation protection. So, in its essence, the SCRA helps ensure that servicemembers are not penalized legally or monetarily for their military service.
Know your rights under the SCRA. It could save you money on things, such as cell phone plans you can no longer use when deployed or apartment leases you need to break to move for the military.
