Given how critical date functionality is to many users of Oracle, and given how long date function/formatting has been around, I seriously doubt it is a bug. You or someone has hosed the data in the table by allowing improper format to be used, or by not defining the table datatype correctly. What possible breach of security or opportunity for industrial espionage could there be by using the actual column name? Do you think anyone here could possibly care any less about what you name your columns, especially something as generic as date_sold, date_vend, etc? Don't tell me what the actual name is because I don't want you killing me after telling me.