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Goodwill Success! -- Know your audience

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lavencedora
Frequent Contributor

Goodwill Success! -- Know your audience

I had a $139 paid collection to a city from Sept. 2009. I made a GW effort by letter a couple of months ago, and received a response that simply verified it was paid.

 

After having some GW successes on other paid collections, I tried again a few days ago, this time via email. I said, in short, that I hadn’t been aware of the collection due to inconsistent addresses during the time, it was paid, and I was now applying for a mortgage. I closed with my name and my P.O. Box address. The response came back -- "A bill was sent to your P.O. Box on 2/2012 it was paid on 8/2012. The amount will be marked "paid" and will remain on the credit report until Equifax takes it off."

 

Those happen to be the exact dates we lived in a homeless shelter. I quickly set about arranging for verification from the shelter (an ordeal of its own!) and meanwhile, I was drafting another response to focus on our financial inability to pay during that time, blah, blah. At the same time, I was trying to research the department I was talking to – seeking info on supervisor, org chart, the staff, or whatever. I came across an explicit statement they would delete under circumstances described in their credit policy. The policy focused 100% on the idea that the mail was undeliverable or you paid within 60 days of notification.

 

I revamped my letter to say that I did not have access to the P.O. Box while we lived in the shelter, due to distance, attached the shelter verification, and sent it off.  Within a couple of hours I received an email: "I have processed a "delete" of this account from the credit report, based on your letter. It may take up to 30 days to come off of your report."

 

Moral of the story: 1) Persist, 2) Know your audience. I might have been rejected again if I'd focused on the financial ability to pay as I had planned on. I am glad I did my research & catered my comments to fit within their established rationale! 


Starting Score: TU 490 on 11/2012
Current Score:6/16/15:EQ 714, EX 704, TU 702 (all from myFICO)
New Goal Score: 740+ for all three
Message 1 of 6
5 REPLIES 5
myjourney
Super Contributor

Re: Goodwill Success! -- Know your audience

Congrats on the deletion 

Before you app think...
Have you done your research of the CC?
Does it fit your spending?
Do you have a plan for the bonus w/o going into debt?
Can you afford the AF?
Do you know the cards benefits? Is it worth the HP?
Message 2 of 6
alvon123
Super Contributor

Re: Goodwill Success! -- Know your audience

congrats


Message 3 of 6
Shogun
Moderator Emeritus

Re: Goodwill Success! -- Know your audience

Good work.  Hope everything is going better for you now.

Starting Score: 504
July 2013 score:
EQ FICO 819, TU08 778, EX "806 lender pull 07/26/2013
Goal Score: All Scores 760+, Newest goal 800+
Take the myFICO Fitness Challenge

Current scores after adding $81K in CLs and 2 new cars since July 2013
EQ:809 TU 777 EX 790 Now it's just garden time!

June 2017 update: All scores over 820, just pure gardening now.
Message 4 of 6
growing123
Regular Contributor

Re: Goodwill Success! -- Know your audience

Congrats on the deletion and more importantly, congrats on how far you've come.  Good luck on getting the new house! Smiley Happy

Starting Scores - Mid 500s - 10/2013

EX 706 (FICO 9/15) | EQ 710 (FICO 9/15) | TU 716 (FICO 9/15)

Quicksilver $12.8K | Freedom $1.5k | Discover It $11.5k | VS $1.2k | AMEX BCE $10k | Fidelity AMEX $10k | US Cash+ $9k | Citi DC $6.6k
Message 5 of 6
lavencedora
Frequent Contributor

Re: Goodwill Success! -- Know your audience

Thanks to all! 

 

Shogun--Things are going superb for us now! I have the best, and best paid, job I've ever had. It's secure and we are all doing great. Thanks!

 

Growing123--Thanks about the mortgage. I felt it was a slightly borderline time to apply in terms of my FICO, but I can get a downpayment grant and a MCC if I can squeek in now. Because I had a job gap prior to this, it's not guaranteed that I'll qualify. They are doing a full underwriting now, to see if we can make it work. If not, I will definitely be in position by next year, but by then will probably have incomed out of the assistance. We'll see!


Starting Score: TU 490 on 11/2012
Current Score:6/16/15:EQ 714, EX 704, TU 702 (all from myFICO)
New Goal Score: 740+ for all three
Message 6 of 6
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