A couple, well few years, well 2-5 years ago when I was in cc debt, there were payments to the card holders that were 30 and 60 days late. It wasn't until about 2 yrs ago that i started closing accts (YEA!) and requested my first credit report. No "dings" showed up. I don't know what you guys/girls are talking about.

"you would be amazed at the amount of erroneous
information contained in your credit report. "

You aren't kidding! Errors like accts that you never opened at Profits store or Merchants. Oh, and statements like "account closed at grantors request".
Before applying for a mortgage, you should get a copy of your credit report at different time periods (hopefully for free--but $8 for each isn't that much). Each change that's made by you or the grantor will take 30 days or less (by law), so, if you have letters to write, write them all at once. Wait for confirmation letters (confirmation that something has been done--not confirmation that they recieved your letter) and then get a copy of your credit report again. Check it out again and proceed from there. The c. report will give you addresses of all accts (opened or closed).