Is DOFD for collection account the account open date?

[Anonymous]

I have 4 collection accounts (all paid) on my credit report with an account open date of 10/2014. I would think that the DOFD would be when the account was opened. Three of them show a removal date of around 10/2021, but the other shows a removal date of 03/2022. I've tried disputing that date to no avail. In my mind, it's not logical that a collection account was opened before the DOFD. Am I wrong here?

[RobertEG]

DOFD is defined under FCRA 605(c), which specifies that it is the date that the account with the original creditor first became delinquent, and thereafter remained delinquent until occurance of either the reported charge-off or collection.

The CRA is then required to have excluded that collection or charge-off no later than 7 years plus 180 days from that factual date.

However, they usually exclude a bit earlier, at approx 7 years from DOFD, and may additionally choose to exclude a few months more,and thus the statement of their expected exclusion date has variability.

DOFD is not the date that a collection was either opened or was repoted to a CRA.

[blindambition]

DoFD relates to the first month an account went delinquent, and that can change if you brought account current, before going delinquent again. When account opened is irrelevant. If your disputing accurately reporting accounts... Firstly, they'll come back validated, and that may result in score drop.

List accounts, and when they went delinquent, month and year. Someone on forum can further help.

[Anonymous]

For the other accounts, DOFD is the date the account was opened. I don't know the actual date and haven't requested it. The one that is totally wrong has a completely different date. I didn't make any payments on these until around 2017. Hopefully the pictures of the two accounts helps what I'm trying to figure out make more sense. I don't understand how a collection account can be opened on 10/14 and the DOFD is 6 months later. 

Correct

Incorrect.

[Horseshoez]

@Anonymous, you've got the "correct/incorrect" notations backwards, as previously mentioned, the date the account is opened was irrelevant; the DOFD is the earliest date in the chain of missed payments which ultimately leads to either a charge off or a collection.

Think about it this way, I opened my American Express account in 1981 and due to a business failure, had to default on the account in September of 2013, setting the DOFD as 09/2013.  If your version of the DOFD calculation was true, AMEX would never have been able to report my account delinquent as it would already have been 32-years old when I missed my first payment.

[Anonymous]

@Horseshoez I get that an account open date and the DOFD for a credit card, line of credit, etc, could be different. The fact that these are collection accounts is why I don't understand. These weren't a card or loan that went bad. These were just life bills that I ignored and they didn't appear on my report until they went to collections.

If an account is in collections, it's had a delinquency. For the one labeled correct, the account open date and the DOFD shown are exactly the same. In my head, having the date that the account went to collections being the DOFD makes perfect sense. (Even though the bill went late before that to even get to the point of collections, I'm not splitting hairs there.) For the one labeled "incorrect," I don't understand how the account went to collections in October, but the DOFD is in April of the next year. That one was a Verizon bill that I ignored after I closed the account and switched carriers. I settled with them in 2017 and that's the only payment I ever sent them. 

I probably sound like an idiot, but this just doesn't make logical sense to me, so I need someone to break it down Barney style. The payment history says "you currently do not have any payment history in your file," so I'm not sure if it was just showing as late before April and it changed to charged off, which changed a date or something. 

[Anonymous]

I don't see where it says April is the DOFD?  I think it's simply that 2 of the collectors decided they will delete at 7 years, and one decided to delete at 7 years plus 180 days.  The other two could have done this as well.  It will probably come off earlier than it says.

[Anonymous]

@Anonymous I circled it. I don't know why they couldn't manage to fit that line on the first page. Lol. 

[GrandBay]

@Anonymous is it showing on all of your reports or just EQ? 

[Anonymous]

@GrandBay It is showing the same on all three.