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Ask them for the statements around the time both you and them think that the DOFD occurred. A series of statements will prove DOFD and you can cross-reference that with the OC's (and CA's if reporting) DOFD.
Are you attempting to determine, from OC account records, what the DOFD actually was, or are you attempting to determine what they reported to the CRA?
If checking the accuracy of the debt collector reporting of DOFD, the first thing to look for is whether the OC ever reported a DOFD.
Does your credit report show their reported DOFD?
Does your report show that they also actually reported the last date of default as the DOFD?
That could only be the case if the last date of default was also the first default after the OC account was brought current.
If the OC reported a charge-off, they were required to have reported the DOFD on their account to the CRA within 90 days after reporting of the CO.
Once an OC has reported the DOFD on their account, the debt collector is compelled to report that same DOFD to the CRA. FCRA 623(a)(5).
Does your credit report show the reporting of a DOFD by the OC?
Look on your CRs for a specific date called "Date of First Delinquency". That's the only date that matters per reporting. There are other dates like "Date Opened", "Date of First Major Delinquency", "Date Reported", "Date of Last Activity" and others that don't matter. Make sure you aren't looking at one of those dates as the basis for DOFD. In fact, pull your reports from annualcreditreport.com if you havent done so. EQ lists DOFD, and TU and EX list a drop off date and you can subtract 7 yrs to get a rough DOFD.