date of last activity

[compassion101]

I am aware that DOFD starts the 7.5 clock on reporting a CA, what is the signifigance of the date of last activity? Is SOL based on this?

[RobertEG]

Dates of last activity come in many flavors.  It depends upon what the last reported activity was, not that it is designated as a DOLA. 

SOL is based on state statute.  Most statute of limitations on commencing legal action on a debt run from the same date as your credit reporting DOFD, but some have reset provisions for certain activities, such as having made a payment on the debt.  A reported DOLA will never reset the CR exclusion period, but may possibly reflect an activity that could affect your SOL.  It varies depending upon your state-specific SOL statute.

[llecs]

IMO, ignore DOLA. Many things can reset DOLA like a payment or even a dispute. Not every state allows SOL to be reset with a payment and a dispute can never reset SOL.

[compassion101]

Thanks llecs and robert, you guys are so helpful and I'm really glad you are willing to give your time here and that I found this board. You guys have a link to states that allow SOL to be reset and under what conditions (i.e. do you need to simply acknowledge the debt, or do you need to make a payment, etc.)?

[llecs]

I used to give one out from bankrate.com (google Bankrate and SOL), but I found inaccuracies. State laws change all the time and some of these sites don't always update. Google SOL for your state but verify by going into your state's statutes. Same applies to what can toll (or reset) SOL.

[RobertEG]

+1

Many of the sites posting SOLs are outdated.  I would not rely on them.

Google on state name, statute of limitations on debt, and pull up the actual state civil code.

Two terms need to be understood in interpreting most codes.... the "date of cause of action" and the type of debt.

Date of cause of action is the date that they could legally have first initiated legal action, which basically requires that you are delinquent under the terms of your account.

Almost always the same as your credit reporting DOFD.

If its a credit card debt, look for the period applicable to open-ended accounts.

Then look for any reset provisions, such as date of last payment or firm offers to pay, that provide for reset of the period for your type of debt.

[nolamike]

Hi all, newbie here.

I have an unusual situation (at least it seems to be) that I need guidance with. I am sorry this will be so long.

Background.

I left the Military in 1989, sold my house Florida in 1988 and closed all my credit accounts in 1990.Everything was paid off. At the time I had an 800+ credit score.

Until from 1990 until early 2010 I was living abroad doing missionary work and all expenses were covered so I had no need for credit and I had no income.As you might imagine living in a Jungle costs very little. My $250 a month stipend was more than enough to cover any expenses I had.

I maintained a legal address in California at a relatives home until 2009. They are now deceased.

Upon returning to the states and normal life the credit issue came up when applying for a job, getting housing, utilities. As I had no credit accounts I was not worried when I was charged deposits for electric etc. It made sense to me.

Recently I decided to purchase a home and settle down here in NOLA. I knew I had to build credit to be able to do that, so I started to search the internet for the best opportunities with a limited income. I should say I do have a checking account that is in good standing.

I decided to open a Capital One secure account to start the process of building credit with the expectation it would take 2 to 3 years to build sufficient credit. I also signed up for their free CreditInform product for Capital One Secure Card holders.

I was immediately stunned by what I saw.

There are several items on my "credit report" that I have no idea where they came from, the report should be blank except for the electric, cable, etc.

On the report there are several entries that I cannot understand

First there is a Federal Tax lien listed for the Fla county I lived in. That lien is on the house I sold in 1988 and according to the county database there is a Federal Lien for 2003 with a date of assessment of 4/10/2006 and a last date of refiling as 05/10/2016 (I printed a copy).

I was out of the country and effectively had no income for any years up to and past that period. 

This account is for 6K.

There is also a California Tax lien for 10K for approximately the same period.

In addition to those there is are two other accounts showing.

One account is for Qwest in Arizonza. I have never lived in AZ or had service of any sort from any company called Qwest in any state. The entry also says that the "orignial creditor" is some company called AFNI, INC.The account is saying it was "opened" on January 2010.

The web searches I have done seem to show that AFNI, INC is a collection agency that scams people and threatens them. I have no knowledge of this account or what it might be. 

should I contact AFNI or Qwest to find out what is going on here?

The other account on there is for something called Arizona Public Service, which a google search says is a power company. The account information says that it was opened in Feb 2006 with a balance date of April 2012 with a Prior Deliqeuncy data of April 2012 and the status is account "closed".

I have never lived in Arizona, rented there, had any accounts there much less a power bill there.

what should I do about this account listing? how do I dispute a negative? the account is not mine!

There are also Addresses listed in multiple cities and states that I have no idea what they are. how do I get rid of those?

Only one of the addresses is correct, the last place I lived here in NOLA, but my current address where I have been for almost a year is not on the list. The bogus addresses include some between my coming back to the States and now and I have lived and worked in this area the entire time since returning.

It looks like my identity was used by someone but I need to know who what and where I should contact to dispute this information and how do I prove a negative?

The charity I worked for is closed down due to death of the person who ran it.

I have no idea how to get my missionary records from their estate if there is one.

I even had trouble getting back into the country because the operator who died had handled all the visa and passport records.Oddly enough getting my a copy of my "original birth certificate" satisfied the Fed government.

who would I file an identify theft report with? AZ, CA, FL, Fed Government? which agencies would I contact? The county police, local sheriff, FBI?

I realize that I need to pull the actual credit reports to fix all this, but I don't want to change anything that might set the clocks running again. I also assume that since the tax lien is from the Fed Gov I am somehow going to have  to go to court to prove that what ever that tax lien from 2003 is, it was not me.

I do not understand how they can lien a property I don't own at the time they filed the lien (or for the period of taxes claimed) in the first place.

Reading all the tons of information online about this I thought the IRS had a 3 year window to collect back taxes? is that true? how does that work?

I have seen the ads for these attorneys who will get the IRS straightened out but they all say 10k or more and I have no idea what that would cost. I cannot afford an expensive attorney and I don't imagine anyone advertising that much is cheap. I can't figure out how they make enough money if they are "cheap" so I am greatly confused.

I have also read a great deal about the do-it-yourself credit repair and sending dispute letters to the credit bureaus. some seem to claim that by doing that eventually the "creditor" will miss one of the deadlines and the bureau wil have to take it off my report. This seems a little bit scammy and ripe for abuse. Is that really what these credit correction companies do? do all three of the majors drop it off at the same time or is this needed for each and every Credit Bureau? I understand there are hundreds of them.

Can anyone offer guidance on what I should do with all this mess? thanks..

[RobertEG]

The 1998 revision of the FCRA was directed at your very issues.... assisting consumers in addressing issues of potential identity theft.

Yes, proving a negative is hard.  In recognition, the FCRA was amended to:

1. Permit the consumer to immediately block such information from their credit report.  FCRA 605B.

2. Require the creditor to produce all business records pertaining to the alleged identityt theft-related information.  FCRA 609(e)

3. Require debt collectors to treat such information in the same manner as if disputed by the consumer.  FCRA 615(g).

To prevent spurious claims to identity theft, the FCRA placed an initial requirement that, in order to invoke these rights, a consumer first place their assertions into the form of a sworn police report, subjecting themselves to criminal actions for knowingly false reporting.

If you are willing to place your assertions that you never authorized the dedt into a police report, then can initiate the identity theft provisions of the FCRA.

The FCRA calls this an "identity theft report."   See FCRA 603(q).

[nolamike]

Robert, thank you for the information, it is great to know that I am not alone in this odd situation.

but back to a couple of my questions.

where do i file that report? AZ, CA, FL, LA (current state) or with Fed gov? or do I have to file with each state based on the information in my report?

Secondly-Identity theft is complicated but police are not.

Generally speaking they are less than willing to file a report on sonething they cannot do anything about, in this case years old ID theft complaint being filed from out of state (if I have to file in the other states) and even less willing in LA to do anything about claims of crime out of state.

Please I understand you cannot speak for anyone or guarantee anything, but common sense and experience tell me that going to NOPD and saying that my credit report says someone used my ID in AZ 6 years ago will get me laughed at (if they even are that polite)..and getting a copy of a NOPD report is a minimum of $25 per page and I have no idea what the other states will charge plus postage and handling.

so what process do I take?

Do I file the police (LA?) report based on the Credit Inform information first? Then get actual credit reports and file a complaint with the report attached?

I will look up that FCRA sections and hope to figure this out.

Thanks

mike