@Anonymous wrote:
Hello everyone, just joined the forums after most of my google requests brought me here anyway. So my concern is this. I recently disputed my oldest card that was showing late payments on equifax after it was closed in 2010. It had been open since 1998. Now let me say this, I am currently in a rebuilding stage on my reports and have a way to go. I am only using CreditKarma to track my progress as of now. The dispute went my way( I think) and they removed the entire account. So on the plus side the late payments are gone, on the down side a old account is gone. According to the weekly CK update my Equifax score dropped -44 points and am well under the 600pt mark on CK. I am asking for thoughts if this was a good dispute in the long run, or more damaging then the report with late payments. Thanks!
Hindsight is always 20/20. That said, you just can't rely on CK's scores -- or the changes they show.
In your case, it was probably a mistake because your late payments were not that far from aging off, and then you would have the positive trade line reporting for several more years.
Most people here cannot stand to see late payments on their reports, and are generally willing to trade a score hit just so they don't have to see them any longer. It's a psychological thing, but not always the most rational decision.
Late payments from five years prior do not do much damage to your scores.
