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Asked for Goodwill Adjustment but Creditor said they can't due to FRCA

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Anonymous
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Asked for Goodwill Adjustment but Creditor said they can't due to FRCA

I sent a letter asking for a goodwill adjustment to my student loan creditor - they really screwed me big because they apparently hold 3 accounts that they report separately so even though it was one late payment they reported it to 3 separate accounts on my credit.  I sent them a letter asking for a goodwill adjustment and they responded:

"We received your request for a courtesy/good-will credit retraction. Under the Fair Credit Reporting Act (FCRA), we are required to report complete and accurate information to the nationwide consumer reporting agencies; therefore, we are unable to honor your request."

I know that creditors can make goodwill adjustments so I would like to respond to them and tell them that they are incorrect.  What is the best way of going about that?  Is there any official documentation anywhere that I can reference?

Message 1 of 6
5 REPLIES 5
Anonymous
Not applicable

Re: Asked for Goodwill Adjustment but Creditor said they can't due to FRCA

I successfully goodwill'd ALL of my late history from ALL of my past due accounts but I wouldn't say there's an easy way to do it.

 

My most difficult account (which actually had 90 day lates over a year) took over a year of writing letters, phone calls, emailing random email addresses I tried out, etc.  One day I received a call from the VP of the bank who said he will correct all of the lates to paid-as-agreed and 45 days or less later my CRs reported the account as perfect payment history.

 

I think I've spent 100s of hours making calls, writing letters (USPS) and emails and probably $100 in stamps to get all my accounts looking beautiful.  Just because someone says no today doesn't mean they'll say no tomorrow.  

Message 2 of 6
Shogun
Moderator Emeritus

Re: Asked for Goodwill Adjustment but Creditor said they can't due to FRCA

Keep sending, that's a standard denial.  Just so you know, it's not true.  The FCRA mandates that all information that is reported must be accurate, nothing mandates that anything "HAS" to be reported at all.  Keep plugging away!

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Message 3 of 6
RobertEG
Legendary Contributor

Re: Asked for Goodwill Adjustment but Creditor said they can't due to FRCA

The actual prohibition from deletion is based on CRA policy, not on any specific prohibition in the FCRA.

 

The FCRA does not mandate reporting.  It mandates that if a party does report, it is a violation if any reporting is knowingly inaccurate.

 

The CRAs are in business to sell credit reports, and the value of those reports depends upon their completeness.

To that end, the CRAs have a real vested business interest in preserving the completeness of credit histories that they sell.

They have a stated policy in both their common credit reporting manual, the "Credit Reporting Resource Guide," and their credit reporting agreements, that furnishers are not to delete accurate reporting based on the consumer having paid the debt.

 

They will often erroneously cite the FCRA as preventing deletion, when in fact it is based on their credit reporting agreements with the CRAs.

However, they need provide no reason to deny any subjective deletion, so any cited basis for denial will not, if contested, lead to any requirement to delete.

Contesting their basis is likely to cause them to dig in their heels rather than grant good will deletion.

Message 4 of 6
Anonymous
Not applicable

Re: Asked for Goodwill Adjustment but Creditor said they can't due to FRCA

Does anyone have a good response to the assertion by the bank that they can only make an adjustment if it was due to an actual error by the bank? I had a late payment with DRB due to an autopay failure, which they assert is my fault, but it is far more complicated than that and they were partially at fault as well. However they say they are not allowed to make the adjustment unless it was a clear cut error on their part. I've looked at the Fair Credit Reporting Act and do not see anything to support their position, but I'm not sure that telling them that will help my case..

Message 5 of 6
Anonymous
Not applicable

Re: Asked for Goodwill Adjustment but Creditor said they can't due to FRCA

Just so you know, this is a policy mandated by the Federal government. This is not simply your loan servicer failing to work with you, they cannot  do goodwill credit retractions for anyone (ever). These loans are both owned and guaranteed by the U.S. Department of Education and they set the rules. In fact, the student loan industry has lobbied Congress to change these rules around courtesy retractions, to no avail. However, if you're referring to a private credit student loan then the rules are much like any other consumer debt. 

Message 6 of 6
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