Hi, welcome to the forums! Yes, when you have valid lates (and other derogatories) on your files, you can GW (goodwill) them, asking the lender to remove them in consideration of your otherwise great record as a customer. Check out "Frequently Requested Threads" at the top of this board. There are two separate threads about GW'ing, one near the top and one near the very bottom.
Your best bet for score improvement is to pay your cards off earlier than you currently do. If you wait until the statement posts and then pay, that amount has already reported to the credit bureaus, and so it looks like you're carrying a lot of debt. Pay your balances down or off about 5 days before they are due to report, and that low figure will be used in calculating your scores, and your util will look a lot better. Don't use them again until the statement drops. After they report, be sure to pay off any remaining balance so that you don't have to pay finance charges. With this system, you can use your card as much as you want without score penalties, because you are controlling what is reported.
If you have a card where you have parked some debt for a 0% balance transfer, I don't think it makes financial sense to pay it off early, unless you are getting ready to apply for credit again. As long as you let fewer than half of your cards report a balance with the others showing a $0 balance, you'll get score improvement even with that one with a high balance. Hope that helps!
Most cards do update to the bureaus on their statement dates (NOT the due dates), and they report the balance that is on that statement. Most statement dates wander around a bit (one month on the 25th, the next on the 23rd, then the 26th, etc.), so that's why it's a good idea to pay them 4 or 5 days before you think they will post. HSBC cards report at the end of the month, and AmEx reports the previous month's balance. Some store cards report whenever they feel like it, so I always PIF mine as soon as they post online, before there is a statement.
* Credit is a wonderful servant, but a terrible master. * Who's the boss --you or your credit?
FICO's: EQ 781 - TU 793 - EX 779 (from PSECU) - Done credit hunting; having fun with credit gardening. - EQ 590 on 5/14/2007