Good Will Letters For Many Negatives...

shane82388 · ‎08-01-2010

So im beginning to understand how goodwill letters work by reading old threads but they pretty much are all phrased or are talking about a solitary bad mark being fixed...Is it still possible to send a goodwill letter if you have many major (90+, 120+, 180+) negative marks on your accounts? How would you word it?

Basically like "hi, i went through a really bad period of time personally and financially and was just wondering if you could take off a bunch of the negatives...? k,thanx! bye!"

I dono why but im not totally sure that will work...? I have 3 accounts total in my life....all with baddies from that certain bad period...one of them is now closed but paid in full. The other two are open but definitely have some baddies...

Any suggestions about how to phrase it for this type of situation or another method to try?

thanks

llecs · ‎08-02-2010

Never hurts to try. Plus I've seen many posts in here of major, major derogs being removed with a GW.

Use the GW template and tailor it to your liking. Keep it short, preferably 1/2 page (people hate to read). Be cordial and friendly and humble. Usually it all started with a 30-day late and include in your letter what happened to cause the chain of events that led to the 120+ day lates, CO, etc. Tell them that you had a life-changing event, or job change or loss, or medical issues, or whatever. In my case, I told them I was in a stupid phase of life that resulted in gross unaccountability to you (meaning to the creditor).

shane82388 · ‎12-02-2010

Well ive tried twice with Capital One and they just send a letter back asking for proof on how they incorrectly reported on my credit report...which is totally not even what my original letter to them was about...it just seems like them side stepping my request and are answering a question with a question essentially. Ignoring me while still "responding".

The other credit card I had is MIA...1st Financial Bank is one of the shadiest companies ive ever encountered though so that no surprise. I couldnt even get a response when I WAS a customer...im not hopeful they will ever respond back now that I'm not.

Am I a fool to keep trying with Capital One? Just keep bludgeoning them with GW letters? Its a pretty small effort to keep trying but i dont want to tick them off or something...

laz98 · ‎12-02-2010

1st Financial Bank as in 1FBUSA? We have a card with them, personally, I think they are fantastic! Sorry you are having trouble with them

llecs · ‎12-02-2010

@shane82388 wrote:
Am I a fool to keep trying with Capital One? Just keep bludgeoning them with GW letters? Its a pretty small effort to keep trying but i dont want to tick them off or something...

No, you're not a fool for trying. What's the alternative action? To do nothing, right? There's nothing to lose here. It only costs a few stamps, some paper and toner. Mental exercise: if I was CapOne and I said that I'd remove all the baddie references for $22, would it be worth it to pay that money for a clean TL? You'd have to weigh that. I'm not saying it'll take this many, but 50 GWs (assuming you don't call, e-mail, or fax) costs $22 in stamps. If it took 100 at $44, wouldn't that still be worth it? Be sure to vary your letters and vary your addresses when sending GWs.

shane82388 · ‎12-03-2010

Yeah, i mean obviously everyones situation is different and their CC terms are different and what not but charging a fee just to make a payment to them is where they cross the line in my opinion lol.

I remember having to pay a $10-or-so fee for the "privilege" of being allowed make my monthly payment to them. This was right from the beginning too, not some kind of penalty fee. My balance would always just be creeping higher and higher from random fees and fluctuating rates and things with them that it just got out of control kinda without me really knowing anything had happened until i got the bill.

Just my experience, probably different for everyone. I only took the deal because it was my first credit card and the only place that was offering me an approval. I'd been turned down everywhere before that due to lack of history.

shane82388 · ‎12-12-2010

So I tried again and this is the response letter I got back this time...

1FBUSA Goodwill Rejection

Any new angles to try? Perhaps asking to specifically only remove the very worst of lates? Or the single worst late? Or...? (120+ or 180+)

[Because the letter in the link provided contained the full name of the bank manager who responded to your requestion, the link had to be removed since the FICO Forums Terms of Service do not permit the posting of the personal information of another individual. If you were to remove the name and signature of the person who sent you the letter, then you may re-post the link. Thank you for your understanding. --- Lel, FICO Forums moderator]

EDIT: OOPS...K, new link has both names removed now. Thanks

shane82388 · ‎12-12-2010

I remember someone saying its illegal for them to report wrong information intentionally, but to not report anything isnt...Is it possible or likely they would just completely remove the account from my credit report?

Anyone ever done this?