In determining whether the debt collector has violated the DOFD reporting requiements, the issue is how they obtained the DOFD they reported, and thus whether their procedure complied with FCRA 623(a)(5).
The source for any reported DOFD is naturally information on the OC account.
Thus, the debt collector is required to take steps to get that date from the OC.
Under section 623(a)(5), if the OC ever reported a DOFD to the CRA, that reporting trumps all else, as it is from the horse's mouth.
Do any of your old CRs include any reporting of DOFD by the OC?
If the OC never reported a DOFD, the debt collector is required to contact the OC and attempt to obtain that date directly from them.
Maybe they did, maybe they didnt. If they did, they are required to report that date, so the source of their reporting is the key.
If good faith efforts to get the DOFD, either from previous reporting by the OC or from direct contact with them, have failed, then they can make their best guess of the DOFD, but in no case can they report a DOFD later than the date they received their collection authority, as the DOFD must precede a charge-off or collection.
Best if you can get any statement from the OC as to the actual DOFD from their perspective. Armed with such a statement, if you can get it, the debt collector should have done the same, and thus apparently did not comply with their statutory requirement to contact and attempt to obtain the DOFD from the OC.
