Best Next Step?

[Anonymous]

I am trying to get my finances in order so we can buy a house in a couple of years but I am not sure how to proceed.  I have 2 old Cap1 accounts that have a DOLA of Oct 2003.  They are with a CA that shows a DOLA of April 2004, but this particular CA has only held the debt since June 2008.  I am quite confused as to what type of activity "restarts the clock" and what to do next.

Any thoughts?

Thanks

[MarineVietVet]

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@Anonymous wrote:

I am trying to get my finances in order so we can buy a house in a couple of years but I am not sure how to proceed.  I have 2 old Cap1 accounts that have a DOLA of Oct 2003.  They are with a CA that shows a DOLA of April 2004, but this particular CA has only held the debt since June 2008.  I am quite confused as to what type of activity "restarts the clock" and what to do next.

Any thoughts?

Thanks

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Hello and welcome.

These accounts may be close to a removal date.

Here is how and when derogs drop from you CR, and are thus no longer included in FICO scoring.

Monthly delinquencies under an OC account drop at 7 years from their individual date of delinquency. The date of first delinquency (DOFD) has nothing to do with these drop-off dates. They drop from their own individual dates. So look at each prior OC reported monthly derog date, and simply add 7 years.

If the OC subsequently reports their account as a charge off, that is a totally different and additional post to your CR. Their post as a charge-off will remain in your CR for 7.5 years from the DOFD on the OC account, which is the first 30-day delinquency you had on the account, and disregards any later 60/90+ delinquencies that followed. That cannot be reset.

If the OC then refers the account for collection, and a CA posts to your CR, the drop-off date of their collection reporting is the same as that of a CO. It is 7.5 years from the same DOFD on the OC account, and the CA cannot reset this date.

The DOLA means nothing when we're talking about drop off dates. DOFD (Date of First Delinquency) is all that matters and this date cannot be legally changed by anyone. You can pull your free credit reports once a year at annualcreditreport.com. The Experian and Transunion reports will tell how long an account is scheduled to continue reporting. Equifax will show the DOFD. Just add 7.5 years to the DOFD and you will know when the entry should be deleted.

Look up that information and come back and tell us what it says.

There really is no restarting the clock as far as DOFD but any type of activity such as you making a payment or the CA simply updating the account will change the DOLA and make the account appear newer which hurts you. Also just paying a collection will not remove the damage being done.

Anyway let us know what you find out about the DOFD.

From a BK years ago to:
8/09 TU-765 EQ- 783
9/09 EX pulled by lender 802
3/10 EQ- 800

You can do the same thing with hard work

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[Anonymous]

Thank you for your reply.  I guess some of my confusion stems from being unable to determine what the DOFD is.  None of my reports show this date, a date for the CO, nor do they list a drop-off date. There is an "account closed" date though.

I am looking at a 3-in-one from Experian, an individual report on TU and EQ from myfico and an individual report on EQ from EQ themselves.

I paid a medical collection, which has since disappeared from my CR, and a utility collection that is still there but shows it's paid.  My score shot up 60 points!  But now I want to get the rest of this mess cleaned up so my kids can have a backyard. 

TU - 633

EX - 654

EQ - 634

[llecs]

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@Anonymous wrote:

Thank you for your reply.  I guess some of my confusion stems from being unable to determine what the DOFD is.  None of my reports show this date nor do they list a drop-off date. 

I am looking at a 3-in-one from Experian, an individual report on TU and EQ from myfico and an individual report on EQ from EQ themselves.

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If you pulled your report directly from EQ, you sometimes can see, and certainly not always as I looked on my printed CRs from a long time back, but it's usually above the 7-yr history.

Drop off dates are only available on TU and EX reports as pulled directly from the CRA. Third-party reports like myFICO, CCT, and others lack this info. The drop off dates aren't always on them though. YMMV based on the TL.

[MarineVietVet]

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@Anonymous wrote:

Thank you for your reply.  I guess some of my confusion stems from being unable to determine what the DOFD is.  None of my reports show this date, a date for the CO, nor do they list a drop-off date. There is an "account closed" date though.

I am looking at a 3-in-one from Experian, an individual report on TU and EQ from myfico and an individual report on EQ from EQ themselves.

I paid a medical collection, which has since disappeared from my CR, and a utility collection that is still there but shows it's paid.  My score shot up 60 points!  But now I want to get the rest of this mess cleaned up so my kids can have a backyard. 

TU - 633

EX - 654

EQ - 634

---

That's very unusual that EQ doesn't have the DOFD. And it's also unusual that you can't find the date of a CO or collection. To be honest I'm not sure what you should do next. Can you copy and paste the entry from your EQ report?

[Anonymous]

---

Hello and welcome.

These accounts may be close to a removal date.

Here is how and when derogs drop from you CR, and are thus no longer included in FICO scoring.

Monthly delinquencies under an OC account drop at 7 years from their individual date of delinquency. The date of first delinquency (DOFD) has nothing to do with these drop-off dates. They drop from their own individual dates. So look at each prior OC reported monthly derog date, and simply add 7 years.

If the OC subsequently reports their account as a charge off, that is a totally different and additional post to your CR. Their post as a charge-off will remain in your CR for 7.5 years from the DOFD on the OC account, which is the first 30-day delinquency you had on the account, and disregards any later 60/90+ delinquencies that followed. That cannot be reset.

If the OC then refers the account for collection, and a CA posts to your CR, the drop-off date of their collection reporting is the same as that of a CO. It is 7.5 years from the same DOFD on the OC account, and the CA cannot reset this date.

The DOLA means nothing when we're talking about drop off dates. DOFD (Date of First Delinquency) is all that matters and this date cannot be legally changed by anyone. You can pull your free credit reports once a year at annualcreditreport.com. The Experian and Transunion reports will tell how long an account is scheduled to continue reporting. Equifax will show the DOFD. Just add 7.5 years to the DOFD and you will know when the entry should be deleted.

Look up that information and come back and tell us what it says.

There really is no restarting the clock as far as DOFD but any type of activity such as you making a payment or the CA simply updating the account will change the DOLA and make the account appear newer which hurts you. Also just paying a collection will not remove the damage being done.

Anyway let us know what you find out about the DOFD.

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Ok I looked at the DOFD on EQ for the CAP1 accounts - they are 4/2004 and 5/2004 but this is according to the CA listing.  Only one of the original Cap1 CO's is listed on my EQ CR and for that one the DOFD is 8/2003.

Not sure what to go by!!

[Anonymous]

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@MarineVietVet wrote:

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@Anonymous wrote:

Thank you for your reply.  I guess some of my confusion stems from being unable to determine what the DOFD is.  None of my reports show this date, a date for the CO, nor do they list a drop-off date. There is an "account closed" date though.

I am looking at a 3-in-one from Experian, an individual report on TU and EQ from myfico and an individual report on EQ from EQ themselves.

I paid a medical collection, which has since disappeared from my CR, and a utility collection that is still there but shows it's paid.  My score shot up 60 points!  But now I want to get the rest of this mess cleaned up so my kids can have a backyard. 

TU - 633

EX - 654

EQ - 634

---

That's very unusual that EQ doesn't have the DOFD. And it's also unusual that you can't find the date of a CO or collection. To be honest I'm not sure what you should do next. Can you copy and paste the entry from your EQ report?

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I was mistaken - see my last post - thanks

[MarineVietVet]

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@Anonymous wrote:

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Ok I looked at the DOFD on EQ for the CAP1 accounts - they are 4/2004 and 5/2004 but this is according to the CA listing.  Only one of the original Cap1 CO's is listed on my EQ CR and for that one the DOFD is 8/2003.

Not sure what to go by!!

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Another option is calling Cap 1 and asking them when your DOFD was. They should still have the account history. Tell them you don't want the date of opening, date of closing, date sold, date assigned, date of last activity or any other date except the date of first delinquency.