Seeking input re: HELOC issues.

[Anonymous]

(First thank you all in this community for the sage advice posted daily, I have been religiously applying this to my rebuild and am grateful for this invaluable resource.  I realize this is a process and have learned more than I could have imagined in the last 6 months reading this forum)

My original HELOC was issued by Metro, which became Commerce, and then First Nat Bank.  My report reflected this account for each entity and the total HELOC balanced was the amount times 3; I disputed the accuracy of these and the result was Metro was deleted and two HELOC (same account #) being reported by First Nat.  Both show that the HELOC was opened on 01/06/06, both reflect the same original charge off amount of $28,982, both are in “charge off” pay status.

What I don’t understand is these accounts have different “date closed” listings of 10/31/12 and 03/04/16 and overlapping monthly reporting information for a period of time (i.e. listing one reports from 12/10 and ends 12/15; and listing two reports from 03/14 to present – so essentially they both report the period of 03/14 to 12/15). The one currently reporting also jumped to $42K from a low of $29K – after remaining the same for 12 months and has been increasing monthly after jumping $10K in 12/16.

The property associated with this HELOC was subject to divorce proceedings and was foreclosed upon, attempts were made to keep the HELOC current while attempting to modify the mortgage which was ultimately not successful. There were 2 period where HELOC was brought current to facilitate the modification (2/12-3/12 and 5/12-6/12), otherwise DOFD was 12/10.

Is there any way to have the payments made in 2012 overlooked to establish the DOFD established as 12/10?  The estimated month to be removed is currently 6/19 for one and 7/19 for the other listing.

How should I proceed regarding the “double listing”? 

Thank you in advance for any and all replies.

[RobertEG]

The definition of what is commonly referred to as the DOFD is provided under FCRA 605(c).

It is defined as the date that the current chain of delinquency commenced (began), and not the date of first delinquency on the account.

Stated differently, if an account that was delinquent is brought back into pays as agreed, good standing before it is charged-off or referred for collection, the DOFD that applies to any subsequent charge-off or collection becomes the date of the later delinquency in the most recent chain of delinquency.

In the posted scenario, if the account became delinquent in 2010 and was returned to a non-delinquency status after that date but before the debt was charged-off, then the DOFD that applies to the charge-off becomes the date of the subsequent date that  the account thereafter again became delinquent.

It is defined by statute, and cannot be ignored.  The credtior is required under FCRA 623(a)(5) to report the correct DOFD, and cannot report an earlier date that does not meet the statutory definition.  That would subject them to civil action for willful violation of the FCRA 623(a)(5).