Is is possible to remove a positive trade line from your credit reports?

[Aarvard]

I know people often ask how to remove trade line with blemishes, but can we completely delete trade line with good payment history by closing the account and requesting the lender to remove it from the reports? 

[Anonymous]

Why would you want to if it's reporting well?  It just makes your credit better.  I think the positive accounts stay on your credit file for 10 yrs.

[Aarvard]

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@Anonymous wrote:

Why would you want to if it's reporting well?  It just makes your credit better.  I think the positive accounts stay on your credit file for 10 yrs.

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Just hypothetically 
But I do think about closing my lousy QS card. I'm gonna downgrade my recently approved Venture to QS before AF hits.

[Anonymous]

You can only remove things from your report that are erroneous. Obviously mostly people want to find ways of labelling negative information erroneous so they can remove it. But I think the same rule would apply to a positive tradeline -- you could remove it only if you could show that it was erroneous information.

I do have a real life example, but from Canada. About 15 years ago some identity thief attempted to take out a bunch of loans using my information. Luckily, a hawk eyed lender spotted something suspicious on a loan, looked me up, and called to ask if it was me -- which it wasn't. So that app got cancelled, and with that tip-off, I checked my credit record and managed to stop everything that was in flight before the identity thief got a dime. 

However, for some number of years after that there was a bogus visa card reporting on my credit record. I had stopped the card getting shipped out to the thief, and the account was closed, but for whatever reason it just kept on showing on my credit report. It wasn't hurting me, becuase it was reporting as paid as agreed -- but it was also bogus. 

After numerous tries to get the CC company to remove it, I filed disputes with the bureaus saying that wasn't my card. After that it came off my report. It WAS a fraudulent card, but it was also "positive information" that I disputed.

I assume the same thing would work here if something similar happened.

[takeshi74]

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@Aarvard wrote:

Just hypothetically

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You might want to read up on scoring and how closed accounts factor in before running with that hypothesis.

[Aarvard]

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@takeshi74 wrote:

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@Aarvard wrote:

Just hypothetically

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You might want to read up on scoring and how closed accounts factor in before running with that hypothesis.

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Closing this account will not have any effect on my scores as its age is way below my AAoA. 

[Aarvard]

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@Anonymous wrote:

You can only remove things from your report that are erroneous. Obviously mostly people want to find ways of labelling negative information erroneous so they can remove it. But I think the same rule would apply to a positive tradeline -- you could remove it only if you could show that it was erroneous information.

I do have a real life example, but from Canada. About 15 years ago some identity thief attempted to take out a bunch of loans using my information. Luckily, a hawk eyed lender spotted something suspicious on a loan, looked me up, and called to ask if it was me -- which it wasn't. So that app got cancelled, and with that tip-off, I checked my credit record and managed to stop everything that was in flight before the identity thief got a dime. 

However, for some number of years after that there was a bogus visa card reporting on my credit record. I had stopped the card getting shipped out to the thief, and the account was closed, but for whatever reason it just kept on showing on my credit report. It wasn't hurting me, becuase it was reporting as paid as agreed -- but it was also bogus. 

After numerous tries to get the CC company to remove it, I filed disputes with the bureaus saying that wasn't my card. After that it came off my report. It WAS a fraudulent card, but it was also "positive information" that I disputed.

I assume the same thing would work here if something similar happened.

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Well then I think it's no dice for me 

[Anonymous]

A goodwill letter could do it. I'd wager some OCs would treat the TL like any other, assuming account is already paid in full, and delete it just the same.

I can see some legit reasons, such as one not wanting it to be seen during a hand-review and/or ashamed to have had a particular card in the past. Won't mention card product names here, but you know the ones with the $89 app fee just to apply, large annual fees, interest from date of purchase, etc. Another reason would be to delete one's past shopping cart trick adventures to get store cards they'd later like to forget ever having.

[jbsea]

I may have had such a card with a $89 fee.... I could not think of a reason why anyoen would want to delete a good TL but that would be a good one.