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If first mention of past due balance is 6 months after Date of Service, when is DOFD?

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Anonymous
Not applicable

If first mention of past due balance is 6 months after Date of Service, when is DOFD?

On February 1, 2013, I was seen at ABC Hospital.


I have monthly statements from ABC Hospital for May, June, July, August, and September 2013 that report the date of service and a balance of $300.


The May, June, and July statements do not report a due date or make any reference to the $300 balance being past due.


Similarly, the August statement (dated August 1, 2013) does not report a due date or make any reference to the $300 balance being past due, but it does include the following: “We are requesting that you make full payment on your account balance within 10 days of the above date.”


The September statement (dated September 1, 2013) is the first to state the $300 balance is past due. It also advises that if the full payment is not received within 10 days, they will turn my account over to a collection agency.


On December 15, 2013, XYZ Collection Agency sends me a demand letter for $300.


Is the date of first delinquency:

  1. 31 days after February 1, 2013,
  2. 10 days after August 1, 2013,
  3. September 1, 2013, or
  4. Some other date?

 

Is the last possible date the collection agency can report this debt to the credit reporting agencies 7 years or 7.5 years after the date of first delinquency?


Thank you very much.

 

Message 1 of 19
18 REPLIES 18
Remedios
Credit Mentor

Re: If first mention of past due balance is 6 months after Date of Service, when is DOFD?

Countdown starts when statement becomes past due. There would have been " Pay by date" on your first statement. That's when the clock starts, or in theory it should, but medical can be a bit of the gray area. 

It will depend on what provider of medical services reported to the collection agency in terms of when bill became past due. 

 

As far as removal goes, it can stay on your CR for up to 7.5 years but removal is usually done 7 years from DOFD. 

 

A lot of times Free Annual Credit report will have DOFDs, so grab  a copy and see what it says. 

 

 

 

Message 2 of 19
gdale6
Moderator Emeritus

Re: If first mention of past due balance is 6 months after Date of Service, when is DOFD?

Since they never made a due date but then came back with a due date as its due in 10 days, the DoFD is one day past the expiration of that 10 day period and it can be reported a max of 7.5 yrs from this point. A CA can add a collection to your CR at any point during the CRTP period. I would attempt the PFD with them at this late date past DoFD. Welcome to the board!

 

Medical collections are some of the easiest to get removed from your CRs, here are the steps that you should follow to address them:

1. Call the OC and see if insurance can be billed, (or-rebilled), collections ultimately paid by insurance get removed per new rules that came from CRAs settlement with 22 state AGs. If not then
2. see if you qualify for Charity Care, if not then
3.  ask that they recall the collection in exchange for full payment
4. Send the reporting CA a PFD offer
5. Google the HIPAA Process and contact its creator for help, this process cannot be discussed in any forum of myFico.

Message 3 of 19
Anonymous
Not applicable

Re: If first mention of past due balance is 6 months after Date of Service, when is DOFD?


@Remedios wrote:

 

Countdown starts when statement becomes past due. There would have been "Pay by date" on your first statement. That's when the clock starts, or in theory it should, but medical can be a bit of the gray area. 

 

It will depend on what provider of medical services reported to the collection agency in terms of when bill became past due. 

 


You have hit the nail on the head! I do not have the first statement and listed all of the documents I do have. If I understand you correctly, there is no way to determine the Date of First Delinquency from the information I provided. Correct?

 

@Remedios wrote:

 

As far as removal goes, it can stay on your CR for up to 7.5 years but removal is usually done 7 years from DOFD. 

 

A lot of times Free Annual Credit report will have DOFDs, so grab  a copy and see what it says. 

 


XYZ Collection Agency has not yet reported to the CRA's and my plan is to satisfy this debt before they do report it to the CRA's.

 

Here's the rest of the story. . .

 

I have 16 unpaid medical bills with dates of service from 2008 through 2017. I plan to satisfy all of these obligations, however I want to first satisfy those obligations that still have the potential to hit my CR. Believe it or not, none of the 16 unpaid medical bills have been reported to the big three CRA's. I know the DOFD for some of the 16, but not most. I was hoping to use what I learned from this unpaid medical bill, i.e., my most poorly documented unpaid medical bill, to accurately determine the DOFD for those I do not know.

 

Message 4 of 19
Remedios
Credit Mentor

Re: If first mention of past due balance is 6 months after Date of Service, when is DOFD?


@Anonymous wrote:

@Remedios wrote:

 

Countdown starts when statement becomes past due. There would have been "Pay by date" on your first statement. That's when the clock starts, or in theory it should, but medical can be a bit of the gray area. 

 

It will depend on what provider of medical services reported to the collection agency in terms of when bill became past due. 

 


You have hit the nail on the head! I do not have the first statement and listed all of the documents I do have. If I understand you correctly, there is no way to determine the Date of First Delinquency from the information I provided. Correct?

 

@Remedios wrote:

 

As far as removal goes, it can stay on your CR for up to 7.5 years but removal is usually done 7 years from DOFD. 

 

A lot of times Free Annual Credit report will have DOFDs, so grab  a copy and see what it says. 

 


XYZ Collection Agency has not yet reported to the CRA's and my plan is to satisfy this debt before they do report it to the CRA's.

 

Here's the rest of the story. . .

 

I have 16 unpaid medical bills with dates of service from 2008 through 2017. I plan to satisfy all of these obligations, however I want to first satisfy those obligations that still have the potential to hit my CR. Believe it or not, none of the 16 unpaid medical bills have been reported to the big three CRA's. I can know the DOFD for some of the 16, but not most. I was hoping to use what I learned from my most poorly documented unpaid medical bills to accurately determine the DOFD for those I do not know.

 


Correct, no way to tell the exact date. At our practice, if we're to send someone to collections (seldom, if ever) we use the date that's 30 days past due. 

If they are not reporting at all, look at the suggestions above by gdale and see if any will work for you

I'd start with more recent ones, but at the same time, it's kinda like rocking the boat. 

Are all of your medical bills with the same collection agency and if so, which one? 

 

 

Message 5 of 19
Anonymous
Not applicable

Re: If first mention of past due balance is 6 months after Date of Service, when is DOFD?

 

Rhonda,

 

Thank you for your reply and advice.

 


@gdale6 wrote:

 

[SNIP]

 

I would attempt the PFD with them at this late date past DoFD.

 

[SNIP]

 

4. Send the reporting CA a PFD offer.


Do you have any advice for combining a Settlement Offer and a PFD?

 

Thanks, again!

Message 6 of 19
Anonymous
Not applicable

Re: If first mention of past due balance is 6 months after Date of Service, when is DOFD?


@gdale6 wrote:

 

[SNIP]

 

5. Google the HIPAA Process and contact its creator for help, this process cannot be discussed in any forum of myFico.

 


Are you (or anyone else) allowed to tell me why the process cannot be discussed in any forum of myFico?

Message 7 of 19
Anonymous
Not applicable

Re: If first mention of past due balance is 6 months after Date of Service, when is DOFD?


@Remedios wrote:

[SNIP]

 

Correct, no way to tell the exact date. At our practice, if we're to send someone to collections (seldom, if ever) we use the date that's 30 days past due.  Thanks!

 

If they are not reporting at all, look at the suggestions above by gdale and see if any will work for you. Will do.

 

I'd start with more recent ones, but at the same time, it's kinda like rocking the boat. Right, that is why I only contact them when I am ready to send them a check!

 

Are all of your medical bills with the same collection agency and if so, which one? Only one CA held two. (These were two pre-16 unpaid medical bills.) They agreed to delete one outright and we did a PFD on the second.

 


Thanks, again, for your assistance!

Message 8 of 19
Remedios
Credit Mentor

Re: If first mention of past due balance is 6 months after Date of Service, when is DOFD?

You're quite welcome and good luck.  

Message 9 of 19
RobertEG
Legendary Contributor

Re: If first mention of past due balance is 6 months after Date of Service, when is DOFD?

You have a legal contract interpretation issue that can only be definatively resolved by a court.

 

It is, unfortunately, common for medical providers to bill consumers without a prior, clear contract for services that establishes a definitive billing due date, or without stating the billing due date.  Without a mutually established due date, there is no way to determine legally when a payment becomes in default/delinquent.

 

Legally, the date of first delinquency is the day after the billing due date, and the date that a delinquency can be reported to a CRA as a 30-late is not until thirty days after the billing due date.

 

The first statement by a medical providor or debt collector of when they consider the debt to be due can arguably be asserted by them as a billing due date, but if that differs from any prior written or oral agreement between the parties, that statement is not a contract.

 

Yes, it is difficult to establish a date of first delinquency without a billing due date, and only a court can make a legal ruling as to what is the correct interpretation.

In the meantime, you are certainly permitted to challenge any date of delinquency that is asserted by the creditor or debt collector by fiing a dispute with the CRA.  They can, of course, verify their own interpretation, after which you can then file a civil action challenging their verification, and get a legal ruling by a court.

 

 

Message 10 of 19
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