Can a debt collector change dates on your credit report?

They can switch due dates, etc. since they usually put that in the credit agreement, but they cannot report false information. They can switch dates if sold from one lender to another. If you believe the date is wrong you should dispute it. If they are improperly reporting information, it will be taken off.

Keep in mind that some debt buyers who purchase pre-charge off and post charge off accounts may be deemed a first party position. Note there is a different set of rules if collection agencies buy accounts or if they service on behalf of the original creditor. Also, keep in mind to that if you are making payments on a charged off debt and the agency has the capability to report your monthly payments to the credit bureau, then the seven years renews because its the last activity date. However most collection agencies don't think its cost effective to report every time a payment is made for less than the balance or settlement agreement and by law they don't have to. I would suggest that if your account is with a collection agency and you are wanting to pay or make monthly arrangements to first call and find out how they report payments, settlements, balances etc... then you can make and informed decision based on whats best for you and your credit.

The Fair Credit Reporting act and Accurate Credit transaction Act would apply to this question. It would depend on the contract ledger with the original creditor. The original creditor may charge off the account at 180 days due to delinquency. The actual date that the account becomes delinquent is supposed to be reported to the credit reporting agencies within 90 days from the delinquency. The debt collector or collection agency cannot re-age the account to a current date, and report it more recent than it really is. They are to keep the same exact date which the account was charged off as the original creditor. Re-aging causes the FICO score to drop dramatically since the scoring model interprets the re-age as a more recent default. Misreporting the legal status (e.g., an open charge off that was actually discharged in bankruptcy) and also misreporting the "open date" and "date of last activity" on an account are two favorite "illegal tactics"! You could also have multiple listings of the Same Debt: Junk debt buyers ( also known as debt collectors)are often responsible for multiple reporting of the same debt as these change hands among buyers and sellers. Usually, these same debts are reported by the original creditor as well. Thus you could have the same debt reported multiple times! Increase your credit score by properly disputing your credit. Since a debt collector cannot change dates on your credit report, make sure all of the information by the original creditor is correct by ranking them in the order of importance:

Personal data Bankruptcy (included or excluded items, chapter filed, filing date and so forth) Consumer credit counseling (date entered counseled, progress, etc.) Foreclosure (attempts, completed actions, dates, amounts, etc.) Consumer credit counseling loans (debt consolidation loans, amounts, dates, what other debts were included, etc.) Default (dates, amounts, etc.) Repossession, (voluntary or involuntary, amount owed, dates etc.) Court judgments (date, amount, type, reason etc.) Collections (be sure the date shows the delinquent date NOT the date of collection actions) Past due payments (number past due, amount, length of time, and if settled) Late payments (correct dates are critical here, they determine how long the info stays in your reports)