A More Unique And Creative Late Payment Goodwill Letter Template
Lets bring this up to the next level: This Goodwill letter is a little more creative
Hello:
My name is and I have been a card member since 2014.
Recently on I had an unfortunate family situation that happened to me that was out of my control. My mother who lives in San Diego ran into financial difficulty and needed a loan to help her pay her mortgage.
Because she was in such distress, I flew out to San Diego to help her. I thought I had taken care of a couple of obligations in my hometown, but because I was so worried, a few obligations have had slipped my mind.
I take my credit very seriously and I get anxious and upset if Im even just one day late.
I was hoping that you could please review my account and see if my past payment history reflects my creditworthiness.
My family and I have greatly improved my mothers situation and I would be grateful if you would help me as well in my time of need.
I will absolutely work hard to make my payments in advance in the future and to not let anything like this happen again.
Thank you so much for any clemency that you could give me. As a longtime customer, I would appreciate it.
Thank you,
Sincerely
What Happens After You Send The Goodwill Letter
If you do not get a response within a reasonable amount of time, you can always call customer service to ask about the status of your request.
You can also follow up by sending your original letter again.
What Creditors Consider When Reviewing Goodwill Letters
Final Thoughts
Why Creditors Do Not Want To Help You Fix Your Payment History
Gone are the days when goodwill letters were helpful to achieve any tangible results while dealing with creditors. With frequent advice of disputing late payments coming our way, almost all individuals have tried reaching out to creditors in some way or the other. Many people have wasted their time sending courtesy removal requests to creditors, while others have wasted money with incompetent credit repair companies. The bottom line remains that Goodwill letters do not work today. On the contrary, they make your chances of removing a late payment from your credit report even worse.
Regarding this, Bank of America commented, We are required to report complete and accurate information, and thus, we are not in a position to honor requests for goodwill adjustments.
Thoughts On How To Quickly Remove Mortgage Lates From Your Credit Report
Good tip. I didnt realize they could be removed once they hit your credit report. I guess its worth a shot, nothing to lose.
Even if you have a legitimate mortgage delinquency on your credit report, you can still argue it with the credit bureaus. Simply use the dispute forms on their websites and if the lender doesnt respond to your dispute, they will have to remove the late from your credit report. That should give your credit score a good boost and will relieve you of any issues related to having a mortgage late on your credit report in terms of qualifying for a subsequent mortgage.
This worked for me. I simply disputed the late mortgage payments on my credit report and within about 45 days the delinquencies were removed, no questions asked. I guess the lender or servicer didnt respond to the dispute notice, so I win!
The problem is if the lender reports months later that you were indeed late your screwed. Even if they removed it before.
Louis,
If you were indeed late they have all the right to report it as such. If youre able to get it removed thats a bonus.
Debra,
Have you tried disputing the information on your credit report with the bureaus? Or contacting the mortgage lender directly?
Pinky,
As noted in the article, its sometimes possible to dispute delinquent accounts with the credit bureaus to get the late payment activity removed. But theres no guarantee if the creditor validates the information.
Also Check: How To Get Charged Off Accounts Off Credit Report
Should You Hire A Credit Repair Company To Remove Late Payments
A credit repair company canât do anything for you that you canât do yourself. You have the right to send disputes to the credit bureaus on your own. You can also reach out to creditors to ask for goodwill removals of late payments.
Can you get late payments removed from credit reports? Maybe. Can a credit repair company get late payments removed? The answer is the same. There are no guarantees. If you come across a company that makes unrealistic promises, like the guaranteed deletion of negative credit information, youâre probably dealing with a crook.
These warnings aside, there is nothing illegal about hiring a reputable credit repair company to handle the dispute process for you. Some people prefer to outsource this type of work, or they want professional advice.
Just make sure to choose a company that follows the law and doesnât advise you to do anything shady in an attempt to fix your credit problems. You donât want to fall for a . If youâre unsure where to find an honest credit repair company, the National Association of Credit Services Organizations can give you a list of accredited members in your area.
If you hire a credit repair company, you should expect to pay fees for their services. But beware of any credit repair company that charges up front. This is a violation of federal law . A legitimate credit repair organization will work on your behalf first, and charge you second.
What Is A Goodwill Adjustment
A goodwill adjustment is when a creditor agrees to remove a late payment from your credit report as a show of goodwill. Note: Creditors may reward a request supported by one or more mitigating factors that contributed to the late payment, but are under no obligation to do so.
Goodwill adjustments can be tricky. This is because creditors must report everything accurately.
Some may argue that removing a late payment that was actually late could be false reporting. However, thats not necessarily the case.
If the creditor decides to believe you when you tell them you sent the check-in plenty of time but must have gotten lost in the mail, they certainly have the right to determine that it wasnt really a late payment as much as it was a mishandled payment.
Some excuses for having a late payment are going to be more convincing than others. However, its always worth a try.
There isnt a true downside other than a small investment of time and/or resources. The upside, however, is significant. A successful removal can add several points to your credit score.
HOW TO REQUEST A GOODWILL ADJUSTMENT
The best way to ask for a goodwill adjustment is to send a goodwill letter to the creditor. The most important thing to remember when writing a goodwill letter is that YOU are ultimately responsible for the late payment.
Take a conciliatory tone, and explain the circumstances with an emotional plea. Let them know youve learned from the situation, and that it wont happen again.
Recommended Reading: How Long Do Medical Collections Stay On Your Credit Report
Improve Your Financial Habits
Avoiding credit mistakes, like late payments or running up high balances on your credit cards, wonât exactly improve your credit scores. But it could help you protect them from additional damage.
In addition to obvious credit mistakes, you should be careful of other lesser-known pitfalls, too. For example, applying for a bunch of new credit in a short period of time might hurt you. You also want to avoid closing unused credit cards in most cases, so that you donât accidentally increase your overall credit utilization level.
Finally, watch out for unpaid medical bills or other types of debts that could potentially find their way onto your credit reports as collection accounts if you ignore them.
About the author
Michelle L. Black is a leading credit expert with over 17 years of experience in the credit industry. Sheâs an expert on credit reporting, credit scoring, identity theft, budgeting and debt eradication. See her on and .
About the reviewer
Lauren Bringle is an Accredited Financial Counselor® with Self Financialâ a financial technology company with a mission to help people build credit and savings. See Lauren on and .
Editorial Policy
Our goal at Self is to provide readers with current and unbiased information on credit, financial health, and related topics. This content is based on research and other related articles from trusted sources. All content at Self is written by experienced contributors in the finance industry and reviewed by an accredited person.
Why Late Payments Are Bad For Your Credit Report
Although everyone would want to be able to pay their bills on time, its not always possible. People may encounter different issues. They either dont have the time to do so, or they dont have enough money to pay them, so they end up being late. Unfortunately, this will show up on their and affect it.
When it comes to determining your credit score, your payment history is the main factor that allows it to be calculated. This is why its always recommended to pay for everything on time. Depending on factors like your credit history and score, how bad the late payment was, and how long ago it happened, it can seriously harm your credit score.
Your credit score shows your reliability with credit. When you want to borrow money, your score will be calculated by the potential lender to see if you meet the criteria to get a loan. Your credit history comes into play here. There are companies that dont ignore late payments when calculating credit scores, because late payments could be a good sign that the borrower would be too risky. As a result, you may not be able to obtain financing from these companies.
Also Check: How To Maintain A Good Credit Score
Apply For Smaller Amounts
Some lenders can even sanction personal loans to poor credit score holders if the amount is small. In case you manage to avail one, make sure you dont fail to pay them regularly. This will help you improve your credit score, strengthen your creditworthiness, and make way for loans with higher amounts.
Can You Offset The Impact Of A Late Payment
You may not be able to remove a late payment from your credit report before its seven-year expiration date. But you try to improve your credit in other ways in the meantime. Taking credit-positive steps like responsibly using a might counterbalance the impact that a late payment has on your score.
Here are five potential ways to improve your credit.
You May Like: Does Student Debt Affect Credit Score
How To Remove Late Payments From Credit Report
You can also refer to the best personal loans, best instalment loans, no credit check loans& best emergency loans.
However, at times, due to unavoidable circumstances, you can miss your payments, which can lower your credit score, spoiling all of your previous efforts. Naturally, you may find it unjust and want to find ways to help you maintain a good credit score even after a few late payments.
When Should I Write A Goodwill Letter
We are going to go over when the perfect time is to send a goodwill letter to get successful results
Some Real-Life Situations Wher you have the Best Chance for Success
As we have discussed, a goodwill letter isnt guaranteed to always work but here are some real-life situations, where your chances are better that they would work and that would fully warrant you to write one.
One of the secrets of writing a successful goodwill letter is that it is believable, chances look like that it really did happen, and/or it was a one-time accident, fluke, or coincidence beyond your control.
If you are facing or have faced any of these below-given circumstances then you have to surely have a good reason to write a goodwill letter:
1. You experienced a technical error while processing the payment: You can say that you tried to pay your bill, but your creditors site was down or the phone line was busy for a very long time.
2. Autopay didnt work: If you set up autopay and the payment didnt hit due to lack of funds in your bank account or due to technical error, that would also warrant a latter. Simply explain to them why your funds were low.
3. You had a family emergency: You could explain that some sort of emergency happened and the payment either slip your mind or you unable to make the payment for some reason.
7. Death in your family: If youve had a death in your family most creditors will be sensitive to your situation.
Other reasons include:
You May Like: How To Raise Your Credit Score 50 Points
Goodwill Adjustment With Phone Call/letter
You can try for a goodwill adjustment on two fronts: by phone and by mail. Some people try just one or the other, while some try both. Occasionally, people report success from calling and sending multiple letters over time, but we cant verify this.
Whether youre on the phone or writing a letter, remember that youre at fault here and asking forgiveness. Your tone should reflect that. Be polite, thankful, and conscientious. Above all, dont get angry or demanding.
Here are some examples to get you started on the phone or with your goodwill letter. If you get a positive response from the lender, try to also get it in writing.
Phone
You can use this script to start the conversation about removing your late payment. Be sure to have your explanation ready for why you were late. If you dont have a perfect payment history, youll have to adjust this slightly to reflect your actual situation.
For credit cards, call the number on the back of your card to speak with the issuer, or check out our listing of backdoor credit card company phone numbers.
Late payment goodwill adjustment sample phone script
Hello, my name is . I recently made a late payment on my account, which was a total accident.
As you can see, my payment history is perfect other than this one mistake. I ended up paying late because . The late payment is also showing up on my credit reports and its done a lot of damage to my credit scores.
That should get the ball rolling in the right direction.
Why A Goodwill Letter May Not Work
Weve heard from some readers who have said their credit card issuers say its illegal for them to remove late payments, or provide other similar reasons.
Its not illegal for a creditor or lender to change any information on your credit reports including late payment history. Credit reporting is a voluntary process. Theres no law that requires a lender or creditor to furnish data to credit bureaus. Theres also no law that requires the credit bureaus to accept the data a lender/creditor provides and include it on your credit reports.
Companies like lenders, creditors, and collection agencies must apply to be data furnishers with the credit bureaus. The application must be approved before a company can have information about their customers included on a credit report. When a company is approved to furnish data to the credit bureaus, the company has to sign agreements with Equifax®, TransUnion®, and Experian. The agreements say what a data furnisher is and isnt allowed to do when it comes to credit reporting.
Often, the credit bureaus will include language in their agreements which says a data furnisher agrees not to change accurate, negative account information. This is commonly the case for debt collectors, for example, who must agree not to delete a paid but accurate collection account simply because theyve received payment from a consumer.
Read Also: What Is The Max Credit Score
How To Dispute Inaccurate Information On Your Credit Report
You can also dispute any inaccurate information on your credit reports with the appropriate credit bureaus. Once a dispute is filed with the bureau, it will reach out to the creditor that supplied the information and ask them to verify it and respond to your claim.
If the creditor makes a change in response to your dispute, it must notify all other consumer reporting agencies to which it reported the information of the change.
Because each bureau handles disputes independently, you should check your report with each to make sure the changes have been made. If they haven’t, contact each of the credit reporting companies that are reporting the information separately to initiate a dispute with them.
Experian has an online portal you can use to submit a dispute, or you can file a dispute by phone, mail or fax if you prefer. Equifax and TransUnion have similar systems and options.
Filing a dispute is free, and you can attach or send copies of supporting documentation to verify your claim. However, some items that appear on your credit report typically aren’t disputable, such as correct legal names and addresses.
Once a credit bureau concludes its investigation, it may verify, update or delete the item in question. Disputes are generally resolved in 30 daysalthough they may be completed even sooner.
How To Dispute Old Late Payments On Closed Accounts With Credit Bureaus:
However, may work with a minor degree of success for one type of late payment:
A very old late payment on an account thats been closed for at least 4 years or longer.
Generally a dispute like this for a very old closed account with lates can yield a 30 % success rate.
They can also be effective for questionable older collection accounts and charge-offs if you utilize the dispute the right strategy.
Read Also: What Credit Score Do You Need For A Macy’s Card