I had an overpayment on my VA benefits from last fall when I was in the hospital. I've been meaning to deal with it, but one thing led to another and it got put on the backburner. However, I received another notice in the mail the other day and I'm in a position to now take care of it, so I wanted to call to see how I could do that. My main objective was to figure out what my payment options were, and I was able to do that by the end of the phone call.
I'll note, though, that the virtual assistant they use for the US Dept of Veteran's Affairs debt management center is hard to understand. The voice sounds muddled and I couldn't understand it very well. I had to listen closely and it wasn't very loud, so I do think they could work on that to make the service a bit easier to use.
When I first called, it said, "Welcome to the Department of Veteran's Affairs debt management center. If you're having thoughts of suicide, press 7 now to be connected to the crisis line. Press 9 for self-service options. "I pressed the self-service options because I didn't need the other option, and it was the only alternative. It then gave me a new set of options, "For information regarding online payment options, press 1. For paid debt management center’s address and important reminders about mailing statements, press 2. To obtain a web address for information and debt letters, press 3. For information to send the debt management center a secured email, press 4."
I chose to get the address so I could mail my payment in, and it was very precise in the answer. It not only gave me the full address, but also added "To ensure proper and prompt posting, please include the payment coupon."
I thought I'd get the online option while I was on the phone, so I followed the directory to press star and go back. This time, I opted to obtain a web address by pressing 3. It told me, "To make a payment online with a bank account, debit card, or credit card. Please go to the debt management payment site. It's helpful to have a copy of the letter received from the debt management center when entering the debt information. Please be aware that the website has a daily limit of $24,999.99." While I never actually talked to an agent, I got all of the information I needed from the phone line.