Goodwill Letters: How a Late Credit Card Payment Can Be Eliminated With a Goodwill Adjustment Letter

Business

A goodwill letter, or as it is sometimes called, a “goodwill adjustment letter,” is a good and simple solution that you can use to make an official and sincere request to your creditor to remove a negative list of creditors. your credit report to fix bad credit.

This type of letter differs from a letter to dispute late payments or to dispute billing errors. Also, a good will letter has a completely different purpose than a credit dispute letter.

A goodwill letter allows you to accept blame for late credit card payments, while appealing to the creditor for financial leniency.

When sending a goodwill letter, your goal is to touch on important points like:

  • Let them know you’re sorry about the late payment and stay away from threatening and confrontational language. You missed the payment. they didn’t
  • Tell them how much you appreciate their past business and how you hope to remain a long-term customer in the future.
  • Briefly explain the details of what happened that caused the late payment: mention your job loss, personal illness, moving to a new state, and no bank account, you usually pay online, but the internet was down that day due to to freezing weather, local tornado or flood cut the roads to the post office. Don’t make it up. Just state the facts.
  • Reference the positive steps you have taken now to prevent a late payment from happening again in the future. They will want to know that this is a one-time request. They don’t want this to be a regular occurrence.
  • Highlight the fact that you are now up to date on all your bills and point out that you caught up on the late payment right away, even if it was a real financial hardship to do so.
  • Tactfully asking for help. Suggest that your late payment NOT be reported to the credit reporting agencies as a goodwill gesture on your part, since you have been a good customer over the years. Ask them to put themselves in your shoes.
  • Be upfront with your request to have late fees forgiven by removing them from your credit report. Bad credit will do little to improve credit scores. Eliminate late payments and your credit score will go up.

Keep in mind that companies are in business to keep their customers satisfied. If they can help you, they should. If you have been a good customer and are only requesting a one-time goodwill adjustment, most business managers will react favorably because it will be in their best interest to help you keep your credit rating in good standing.

In short, learning how to write a letter of goodwill adjustment could be your best bet for removing a negative listing from your credit report and forging a strong bond with your creditor in the future.

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