Question. Hi Lisa! I am so glad I came across your articles, so informative and helpful! I have just a quick question on the DOFD. So frustrating it is just a small $85 final bill from Comcast I thought I had paid. I received a collection letter from ERC Two years later. I was going through some medical issues, so just paid it without verifying as I just didn’t want to deal with it! I realize now it was a mistake. They reported it almost a year later to all 3 of the credit bureaus. It does show as paid, but different DOFD’s on them, none which are correct. Comcast did not report it, but luckily due to my records hoarding habit, I found the final bill from Comcast. Can this be used to prove the DOFD, and how long after that due date is considered The correct date? Thank you!
Response. Hmmm, your situation is a little tricky. The various dates being reported may be due to the original creditor (Comcast) never reporting the DOFD to the credit bureaus since they are not reporting on your credit files. If this is the case the collection agency should have obtained the DOFD from the original creditor. In some instances if the collection agency cannot obtain the DOFD from the original creditor, they are allowed to “guestimate” the DOFD as long as they do not choose a date that is later than the date they acquired the debt.
Since you do keep good records (hoarding some things can be beneficial!) you can dispute the DOFD with the credit bureaus. They are required to report factual information and clearly the debt collector is not reporting factual information. The debt collector may be reporting dates they acquired the account in place of the accurate DOFD.
For further information see “Steps to take if an account has been re-aged.”
