New here and question about a collection account (I know, surprising!)

[Anonymous]

First of all, hello!  I've been lurking for months and finally decided to jump in and get some answers.  I've joined the Score Watch, so I am excited to see how all of this goes.

My first question:  I have an account that's reporting (and pulling my score down) for Verizon from November 2004. My problem is that is says "Date opened" as July 2008.  Obviously, it wasn't opened at that time.  The "date of last activity" is Nov, 2004 (which is accurate).  What should I do about this?  It's not going to fall off when it's supposed to if it stays as is.

Thank you!

[MarineVietVet]

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@Anonymous wrote:

First of all, hello!  I've been lurking for months and finally decided to jump in and get some answers.  I've joined the Score Watch, so I am excited to see how all of this goes.

My first question:  I have an account that's reporting (and pulling my score down) for Verizon from November 2004. My problem is that is says "Date opened" as July 2008.  Obviously, it wasn't opened at that time.  The "date of last activity" is Nov, 2004 (which is accurate).  What should I do about this?  It's not going to fall off when it's supposed to if it stays as is.

Thank you!

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Hi bf0706 and welcome.

Neither of those dates is what you need to know. The DoFD (Date of First Delinquency) is what determines how long a collection (or charge off) can be reported. Collections and CO's can report for up to 7.5 years from the DoFD on the OC (Original Creditor) account that led to the collection or CO.

So you'll need to find out the DoFD. Unfortunately the reports from third party sites often (including myFICO) don't have the most complete information. If you pull your free reports from annualcreditreport.com Experian and Transunion will have the drop off dates. The Equifax report will show the actual DoFD.

From a BK years ago to:
EX - 3/11 pulled by lender- 835, EQ - 2/11-816, TU - 2/11-782

"Some people spend an entire lifetime wondering if they've made a difference. The Marines don't have that problem".

[sisco]

In the case of medical collections in which the OC hired a CA to collect wherein the OC is not listed on a CR but the CA is, how can you figure out the DOFD?

[MarineVietVet]

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@sisco wrote:

In the case of medical collections in which the OC hired a CA to collect wherein the OC is not listed on a CR but the CA is, how can you figure out the DOFD?

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You can call the OC and ask them the date that you first missed a payment and never again got caught up (Which is the long definition of DoFD). Often for medical debts that is the same as date of service.

I would think though (not sure) that the DoFD should still be listed on the full, free EQ report from annualcreditreport.com.

From a BK years ago to:
EX - 3/11 pulled by lender- 835, EQ - 2/11-816, TU - 2/11-782

"Some people spend an entire lifetime wondering if they've made a difference. The Marines don't have that problem".