Before I found this board, I disputed duplicate med. collections on EX on 6/2, no knowledge of this account. Then found the boards and decided I should send them a verification letter. Probably helped them by putting both account numbers in the letter and saying it appears that you are reporting on the same account twice by changing the first part of the account number. (I am still learning) Sent that letter CRRR on 6/16, I got the green card back. The update came from EX today, via e-mail. One of the collections was deleted, the other shows verified and updated. My question when does the date start for my seven years that it will remain on the CR. The date of last service, this was a dental bill, 11/1995, the date of last partial payment to the dentist, or the date that the CA got the account. I thought I read somewhere that it is the date of service, since that is when they expected full payment. Does anyone know where that would be in print. The SOL for Calif. was up a long time ago. This should go off in Nov. this year I would think. Please advise. Thanks.
It should show a date of last activity. If this was in 11/95 it should be dropping off in a few months. Gib
The date of last activity was me getting my teeth fixed in 11/95. I have the bill from then with the amount for the service and the date of service. I did make a payment to the dentist. They sent it to collection in 1/1997, that is the date of last activity showing up on the CR. On 2/1997 the CA sent me a printout of the bill, it showed they received it in 1/1997, and I still have this also. The question is what do I do with this. Is there somewhere in the law that states with the regard to medical collections the date in which the seven years starts is the date of service, my getting my teeth fixed. It is not the last time I made a payment since I made 2 payments to the CA, one 3/97 and 4/97.
The date of last activity would be the date you made the last payment to them. This would also be the legal SOL begin date for any action that they could bring against you for the debt.
Ms. Alaina K. Amason 14155 Shire Oak San Antonio, TX 78247 Dear Ms. Amason: This responds to your letter concerning the time limitations imposed by the Fair Credit Reporting Act ("FCRA") on the reporting of chargeoff accounts by a consumer reporting agency ("CRA," usually a credit bureau). We list your inquiries on this topic below in italics, with our replies immediately following each item. 1. What reporting limits does the FCRA provide with respect to chargeoffs, and how long have they been in effect? Section 605(a)(4), which has been in effect since the FCRA became effective in April 1971, has always prohibited CRAs from reporting chargeoffs that are more than seven years old.(1) Section 623(a)(5), which became law in September 1997, requires a creditor that reports a chargeoff to a CRA to notify the agency (within 90 days of reporting the account) of "the month and year of the commencement of the delinquency that immediately preceded" the chargeoff. Section 605(c)(1) provides that the seven year period begins 180 days from that date. Both provisions were part of the major revision to the FCRA that were enacted in 1996.(2) 2. Is the reporting period extended if (A) the original creditor sells or transfers the account to another creditor, (B) the consumer responds to post-chargeoff collection efforts by making a payment on the debt, or (C) the consumer disputes the account with a CRA? Does it matter whether the 7-year period has expired when any of these events occurs? No. In enacting the new provisions discussed above, Congress intended to establish a date certain -- 180 days after the start of the delinquency that led to the chargeoff -- to begin the obsolescence period. It did so to correct the often lengthy extension of the period that resulted from later events under the original FCRA. Enclosed are two staff opinion letters (Kosmerl, 06/04/99; Johnson, 08/31/98) that discuss the impact of these provisions, and the legislative history relating to their enactment, in more detail. Because the commencement of the seven year period is now described with some precision by the statute, it is our opinion that none of the subsequent events you listed -- sale of the charged off account by the creditor, or a payment on or dispute about the account by the consumer -- changes the allowable period for a CRA to report a chargeoff. 3. Since Sections 623(a)(5) and 605(c)(1) provide new rules for calculating the 7-year period that became effective in 1997, do chargeoff accounts now have different obsolescence periods depending on when the chargeoff occurred? Yes. Section 605(c)(2) states that the section "shall apply only to items of information added to the (CRA) file of a consumer on or after" 455 days after enactment, or December 29, 1997. Therefore, a chargeoff reported to a CRA on or after that date is subject to the new commencement-of-the-delinquency method of calculating the obsolescence period set forth in Sections 623(a)(5) and 605(c)(1). On the other hand, a chargeoff reported to a CRA before December 29, 1997, is not covered by the new provisions, as discussed in one of the enclosed letters (Kosmerl, 06/04/99). If a credit account was reported as a chargeoff before that date, the Commission's view has been that it can be reported for seven years from the date the creditor actually charged it off.(3) The opinions set forth in this informal staff letter are not binding on the Commission. Sincerely yours, Clarke W. Brinckerhoff -------------------------------------------------------------------------------- 1. Section 605(b) provides that there is no time limit applicable to a report made in connection with credit involving a principal amount (or insurance with a face amount) of $150,000 or more, or employment for a salary of $75,000 or more. Prior to September 1997, those amounts were $50,000 and $20,000, respectively. 2. The Consumer Credit Reporting Reform Act of 1996 (Title II, Subchapter D, of Public Law 104-280, signed into law on September 30, 1996), made many other changes to the FCRA. 3. Commentary on the Fair Credit Reporting Act, 16 CFR Part 600 Appendix, comment 605(a)(4)-2. 55 Fed. Reg. 18804, 18818 (May 4, 1990).
