Previously I have had some bad debt with credit cards which should all be coming off in 2008. I can't wait! Anyhow due to my job not paying me money I wasn't able to pay my car payments on time so I paid 30 days late about 4 times in the past year. Now my credit score decreased and I'm desperate to raise my fico score because I plan on purchasing a home next year in Octoberish. Does anyone have any advice? I now have a job that pays enough income for me to pay on time.
Your credit history is a history of what happened in the PAST. It is an indicator that helps predict your (future) credit risk to a lender. Generally speaking, negative items such as a late pay will stay on your histories for ~7 years. As they age, they (negatively) affect your score less. From your post, I assume that the derogs being reported ARE accurate - which means they can (and will) stay. Your best bet is to contact the lender and ask them to remove the derogs. Some may, some won't. There's no "magic bullet" to get them removed. You can always dispute them as inaccurate (with each of the CRAs that they are being reported on), but more than likely, they will be confirmed (especially since the loan account is currently active).
Going one step further, if there are inaccuracies in TLs, it can't hurt to dispute them with the CRA. There is always the chance that they don't get verified and get dropped from the CR. If there is actual incorrect information that comes back verified after dispute, you have some leverage based on FCRA violations that could be used to negotiate a removal of the TL. But that's getting ahead of the game.
Oracle's post is well reasoned here and pretty much sums up everything you can do at this point. Be careful in your review of the dates of status, major first delinquency, account history, and account status. Pick these fields to dispute.
Do you still have this auto loan? You want to be careful here, as if you do dispute the 30 day lates, there is a chance of losing the entire tradeline on your credit report. In the long run this will hurt your overall credit score. You would be losing an aged account (minimum of three years I assume), and an "installment" type account, which helps your mix. Your best bet is to try and negotiate a "goodwill" removal of even some of the lates. Some companies will do this, even two removed will be a big help. Also 30 day lates are not considered a "serious" item on your credit reports. Tell them you want to purchase another auto soon, and dangle the carrot of using them to finance again...
