old wireless account reporting wrong?

[Anonymous]

I have an old verizon account that is reporting as follows:

Credit Account Verizon

Status as of  May, 2004  Date opened Sep, 2003  Date of last activity Aug, 2004  Date closed Not reported  Account number Not reported Loan type Not reported  Largest past balance $112  Terms No reported  Account Type Open Account  Account holder Individual  Scheduled payment amount $0 

Descriptions 

• Charged off account
• Amount in high credit is original charge-off amount

This account was closed in 2003 has been in their internal collections dept. since then, but it is reporting as open with a past due balance. That doesn't seem right. If it is a charge off, can it also be an open account? Does it being designated as open have an effect on my score or will it keep it on my report longer?

[MarineVietVet]

The CRTP (Credit Reporting Time Period) is set by federal law and cannot be changed by anyone. None of the dates you posted are important. The only date that matters is the DOFD (Date of First Delinquency) because this is a CO.

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 up to 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 up to 7.5 years from the same DOFD on the OC account, and the CA cannot reset this date.

Find the DOFD and you will know how much longer this derogatory will continue to report. If you don't have your original records call Verizon and see if they will furnish it. If that fails pull your free reports from annualcreditreport.com. Transunion and Experian will tell you how long this account will stay on your record and Equifax will have the DOFD listed. Or some posters have actually called the CRA's to obtain the DOFD.

As for whether this is reporting correctly I agree that it doesn't seem as if an account could be charged off and open at the same time but there are others much more knowledgeable about this than I am and I will defer to them.

From a BK years ago to:
9/09 EX pulled by lender 802
3/10 EQ- 800
4/10 TU -772

You can do the same thing with hard work

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[RobertEG]

You are correct.

An OC acccount that is charged-off can never be an open account.  The CO process first requires account closure.  If you tried to make a charge on that account today. it would be rejected.  Open means available for your use.

A charge-off is a process the OC uses to declare a bad debt as non-collectable.They close the account, and write it off the bad debt.

Once they do this, either with or without reporting to a CRA, they then are able to do an accounting shuffle of the debt from accounts receivable over to declared losses. In their next tax filing, it reduces their tax liability.

But a charge-off does not erase the debt.  Debt is debt, forever, until paid.  They are correct in still reporting the amount of the debt. Open or closed account status is not a reflection on any unpaid debt.  They can still place it for collection, or even bring legal action for recovery.

Being open or closed may be a point of dispute for you,but has no substantive affect on FICO scoring.  FICO scores the fact of initial occurance of delinquency in payment, and not the final resolution of the unpaid debt.   Their scoring remains for 7 1/2 years from the date of your first default on the OC account, regardless of posted account status as open or closed, paid or unpaid..  FCRA 605(c)

[Anonymous]

Thank you! It sounds like even if it is reporting wrong as far as open/closed, it isn't worth getting corrected since it doesn't really  matter...as for the DOFD, I did get my reports at annualcreditreport.com and it looks like they are reporting DOFD as 8/2004, which I am pretty sure is incorrect. It was in 2003, I believe. I will have to pull out my old records and look into getting that changed...