Removing Lates/Removing TLs?

[AlmostFixed]

I'm a little confused about 30-day, 60-day lates, etc.

Can a "Late" be removed from a TL, whether you dispute it as never late or send a goodwill letter, or whatever? I've seen various mentions of this topic and am hoping to get some clarification. I have a couple accounts showing some lates. I've disputed 2 of them because I know I was never late (each is showing 2 30-days) and I have one account that I was late and was hoping to send a goodwill letter. If the only solution is for removal of the TL, however, I don't know that it would improve my score. Please advise. Thanks!

[pilgrimfaraway]

Sure, i had a few lates removed. It's not easy to do, because lates are pretty easy to validate if the accounts are relatively recent. I had good luck with goodwill requests, mostly done by phone.

In one case, I had to dispute the tl as not mine, because the oc didn't have any original account documentation. That fixed the lates, but I lost the otherwise good tradeline.

[VonAngel (aka EarthAngel)]

That fixed the lates, but I lost the otherwise good tradeline.

Exactly. It's a lesson that many learn...often times too late. This is why one would need to take into consideration the age of the lates. If they are a couple/several years old, I wouldn't worry about them. The overall age of the TL is what's helping your scores. For more recent (a couple of months, for example) lates, you can try disputing (if it's a current, open account that the OC reports monthly). W/ such a TL, the odds of having it deleted as the result of a dispute is slim to none. HOWEVER, like pilgrim stated, you'll be so much better off trying a goodwill. That way, an actual human w/ some authority can review your situation. If you were never late (& can prove it), you can also go w/ the disputing directly w/ the furnisher route. (View that link @ the top.) But that only applies if you disputed w/ the CRAs already & the dispute was verified.