Which dates are important?

[Anonymous]

I pulled my Equifax credit report and discovered that there is an account listed with two separate account activity dates.  One states 'Date of First Delinquency and the other 'Date Major Delinquency First Reported'.   Also, there is another account not showing this information but 'Date of Last Payment' and 'Date of Last Activity'.  Which date(s) are used for the CA to remove from report?

[llecs]

OP, I split your post to form a new one here. I had to edit the title, but changed nothing else. If you'd like to change the title, click "Options" and then "Edit Message".

To answer the question, DOFD is the important date. If you pull your CRs directly from the CRAs (or annualcreditreport.com), you'll see DOFD listed for EQ. TU and EX will usually list the drop off date. You can subtract 7 yrs of that date to get a rough DOFD too.

[Anonymous]

Thank you llecs.  On the second question, which date is used for the CA to remove from report:  'Date of Last Payment' or 'Date of Last Activity'?

[llecs]

Neither. DOFD is the basis for the 7-7.5 year CRTP.

[Anonymous]

Thank you again for the info.  I have another question regarding CR dates being reported.  On the TU report I accessed via freecreditreport.com there are accounts listed as "Satisfactory Accounts"  which have date entries in "Date Opened" , "Date Paid" and "Date Closed".  I would like to know how long these will continue to be reported for history purposes. 

[llecs]

If the account is in good standing, then it'll go off the "date closed" date and the clock ticks for the following 10 years before deletion. Sometimes EX will allow the TL to overstay the 10 years (IME anyway). This is actually a good thing since it helps your length of history and AAoA. ETA...and sometimes the OC will opt to delete earlier, which isn't always a good thing. They are allowed to remove early though. The 10-years isn't cast in concrete.

[Anonymous]

Well, this is good.  At least there is a light at the end of the tunnel. 

[Anonymous]

I have a question about DOFD.

If the OC is no longer reporting, but the collection agency is reporting, and has been paid. How do I know when DOFD was? My CA reportings are listed as coming off in 2015 and 2016, But they are all from credit cards and a cell phone service from 2005 when my first delinquency accured.

[llecs]

I'd double check the exact drop off date and subtract 7-7.5 years. EQ will list the drop off date if pulled from the CRA directly. Compare all 3 DOFDs and if one is off, you can always do some research on the OC's end and first it for re-aging.

ETA... a drop off date for a cell should never waiver because there is nothing that can be done to bring that account to a current status. Cell phones never report as a positive. However, IME, I've had COs on CCs and the drop off date changed when it reached a positive status at the end of 7 yrs. Your FICO report will indicate if there's still a red flag or not.

[RobertEG]

There are no requirements under the FCRA that ever mandate deletion of accounts based on age.  The only "deletion" requirements relate to individual derogatory items reported under an account after certain specified times, and they only prevent further inclusion in your CR, not deletion from your credit file.

The "10-year" deletion period for closed accounts is purely an administrative fabrication of the CRAs.  In my opinion, that process improperly impacts the accuracy of the credit reporting system, and is improper.  For one, it causes the consumer to lose the age benefit of old accounts.  But they do it.

You can probably rely on that not occuring much prior to the "10-year period," since doing so might cause the deletion of old derogs that have not yet passed their 7-10 years exclusion periods under FCRA 605(a).  So they are cautious to that extent, thus explaining where the 10-year period derives.  But after they are in the clear as to issues of CR exclusion, the CRAs dont care much about possible adverse affects on consumer credit scores, and make such account deletions purely for their own administrative convenience.  It sucks, I know, but it is the way the CRAs have chosen to play the game.