Yes, you can potentially use Section 604 of the Fair Credit Reporting Act (FCRA) to remove late payments from your credit report. Here are some tips:

– Section 604(e) states that information can be removed from your credit report if it is inaccurate, unverifiable, or no longer can be legally reported.

– Late payments may fall into one of these categories if you can prove the payments were made on time, the creditor cannot validate them, or they are now past the reporting time limits.

– To dispute under Section 604, send letters to each credit bureau (Equifax, Experian, TransUnion) specifically stating you are disputing under the FCRA Section 604.

– Explain which late payments you are disputing and request that the credit bureaus conduct a “reasonable investigation” as required by Section 611 of the FCRA.

– Provide any evidence you have that supports the payments were made on time, such as canceled checks, bank statements, letters from the creditor, etc.

– If the credit bureaus simply repeat information from the creditor without doing an independent investigation, they may be violating Section 604.

– Remind them they are required under the FCRA to correct or remove inaccurate, unverifiable or obsolete information.

– If late payments are verified as accurate, request the credit bureaus add a statement to your report contesting the status of those late payments.

In summary, the FCRA requires credit bureaus to thoroughly investigate disputes and correct inaccurate credit report information. Citing Section 604 may help get unverifiable late payments removed.