My Goodwill letter

[poppet24]

So - I sent out several goodwill letters to see if they would delete the past due's showing up on the credit report. Today I got not one, but two responses from GE Capital Retail Bank...

The first one said that it was a letter of written confirmation that a request has been sent to the major credit reporting agencies, to delete all derogatory information from your credit bureau file! YAY!

The second one, which about made me fall out of my seat - stated "that in the interest of good customer service, we are crediting your account for late fee's and/or interest charges! Holy Crap!

This just made my night. Thought I would share. Thank you everyone so much for all of your help!!!

[BV80]

Congratulations! As we say in the South, you can catch more flies with honey than with vinegar.

[strive4credit]

Can we get a peek at the letters!? Please!?

[cinnamngrl]

Originally Posted by strive4credit

Can we get a peek at the letters!? Please!?

yes, please. I am a big opponent to goodwill but I must admit great results when i see it.

[poppet24]

Sure thing

Date

My Info

OC Info

RE: Account #

To Whom It May Concern:

My purpose for writing this letter today is twofold; one is to thank [OC Name] for the excellent service you have provided me over the year and the second is a humble request to have my account information amended with regards to a late payment occurring in [Dates].

I bought my [info] and couldn’t be happier with my decision. Was it not for [reason], I’d have a spotless payment history. I understand my obligations with [OC Name] and have worked diligently to amend my relationship with you since that time.
Since then I believe I have learned the essential organizational and financial management principles I desperately needed. Thankfully, responsible credit management is now reflected in my credit records which, excluding the [OC Name and late info] , are excellent. I wish to thank you for renewing your confidence in me and for giving me a second chance at a relationship with you, one that I am determined to keep spotless into the future.

Recently, I have begun my quest for a mortgage, and it has come to my attention that my trade line with [OC Name] may affect my chances of obtaining the very lowest interest rates now available. Since the late payments of record do not reflect my current status with [OC Name], I am requesting that you give me a second chance at a positive credit rating by revising the late payment.

I would like to STRESS that the information currently being reported IS accurate, (I am not disputing anything with [OC Name]). I am simply asking [OC Name] for a courtesy gesture of goodwill in having the credit bureaus remove the [late info] from my report. I do recognize that this request is unique and that it may not be [OC Name] normal policy. Please consider that the Fair Credit Reporting Act does not demand that all accounts be reported, only that any account that is reported be reported accurately. Therefore, a company does have legal discretion and permission to remove/change any account it chooses from the credit report.

I sincerely hope [OC Name] believes in their customers, and I humbly request your consideration. I appreciate your time and look forward to receiving a favorable decision from you soon.

Best Regards,


Name

[strive4credit]

Very nice letter. I think I add too much "butter up" in mine! LOL!

[RockDaddy]

Poppet24,

Might be a good idea to photocopy the offer from the OC and send it along to all 3 of the credit bureaus to ensure it happens, then you have provided an extra layer of protection. It can't hurt hey?

Great letter, congratulations.

[strive4credit]

Heres the letter I sent:

To Citibank:

I have had the honor and pleasure of having The Home Depot credit card with Citibank since 2007. Throughout our business relationship, I have honored my account agreement to the fullest. I appreciate how good your service has been. I have the utmost respect for Citibank as a financial institution and an American company.

During the recent economic downturn I found myself in a financial bind. During the time when my account was active I made diligent attempts to manage all of my bills. While overwhelmed with debt and trying to pay all of my bills on time the stress caused me to fall ill for a short period of time. l temporarily gave the responsibility of paying my bills to a trusted family member. Unfortunately, that person overlooked my June/July 2009 payment. As a result of this oversight one of my payments to you was delayed and subsequently reported to the credit bureaus as 30 days late.

Maintaining a good reputation with financial institutions is critical. In addition, maintaining that good reputation with Citibank is extremely important to me. I am so grateful for the years of positive credit history I have obtained through your company but now that one late notation is causing me great stress. I have since then enrolled in a repayment plan with automatic withdrawals so the possibility of this reoccurring is slim to none.

I am writing this letter to respectfully request your consideration in making an adjustment based on the circumstances that caused this single late payment. I am fully aware of the policies on accurate reporting. However it is up to the discretion of the company to make any adjustments and the credit bureaus advised me that they will report anything they are instructed. I would be eternally appreciative if you would send a request to the credit bureaus to remove this entry. I plead that you may help me and take into consideration how good of a customer I have been and will continue to be.

How you like it?

[strive4credit]

It's not the letter, its who the letter gets to. And it helps if the letter is good. But I understand your "big opponent" stance....don't wanna be a kiss a@@ huh?

Originally Posted by cinnamngrl

yes, please. I am a big opponent to goodwill but I must admit great results when i see it.

[cinnamngrl]

Originally Posted by strive4credit

It's not the letter, its who the letter gets to. And it helps if the letter is good. But I understand your "big opponent" stance....don't wanna be a kiss a@@ huh?

I am against it because I think it is fake. I'm not saying it never works but the large companies that do it have a formula and their motivation is helping themselves not you.

lately, I think it is working because the banks are the ones that need some goodwill. It has come to light, the enormous amount of money they make when people "catch up" on a delinquent account. (fees and penalty interest)

And this letter aside, I have seen several "goodwill" letters posted that were actually very polite 623 requests. The letter would have this detailed explanation of how the delinquency was not their fault and would the bank fix it as a favor. the truth is if you notify them of a mistake and they can't prove otherwise, they are obliged to fix it.

but the op deserves the good result. congrats!

[strive4credit]

Of course we know the banks are out for themselves, but if you can get a score boost so you can have more leverage, why not. Play their game but don't play yourself. Meaning, try to get the negative removed and don't make the same mistake.

I have'nt been on here in a while and I keep seeing this "623" number. I need to search to find out what that is. Is it just a dispute letter that ask for the method of verification?

[cinnamngrl]

it means that after you dispute something on your credit report that is verified, you are entitled to see the records that the CRA used to verify your information. it is in my links too