Hello,
First post here, but I have been lurking for a while! I figured this info might help someone, so here it goes:
I have been working on building and establishing my credit since about four years ago. I had only a few negative items (a couple medical collections, two 30 day late payments), but had never really had any credit established until 2016 (I'm in my late 20's, and no one impressed upon me the importance of establishing credit growing up). Over the last couple years I paid off and had all medical collections but one removed from my report, and the final negative items on my credit report other than this were two 30 day late payments (both from August, 2018, missed due to being out of work for medical reasons), one on an auto loan, and one on a credit card. Both credit card and auto loan are through Capital One. After reading through some posts on the forums here, I decided last month to give a goodwill adjustment letter a shot.
It worked! I was contacted a few days ago by the office of the CEO and told Captial One would be revising both payments to paid as agreed. These revisions have already showed up on my credit report.
I started the process by calling Capital One cistomer service. After working my way up the chain, I was told by a manager that they did not offer a goodwill program and couldnt help me. So dont get discouraged if you call and they tell you this. I wrote a letter to the CEO (and emailed a copy as well). Some from the "Office of the President" called within a week, and stated they would investigate. A week or so later, and I got the call letter me know that they would be revising my payment history.
A couple things that probably helped my case if you decide to try this:
1. I had no other missed payments and both accounts were current within a day or two of me noticing they were 30 days late.
2. My payment history after this was perfect.
3. Before I tried this, I paid down all credit cards (even the few not with Captial One), and kept utilization low for about 4 months. I still used the cards, but would pay the balance off basically as soon as charges posted. They probably saw this and it most likely weighed in my favor.
4. I gave them a somewhat legitimate reason for my missed payments. I also attached documentation (In this case an FMLA letter from my employer that I got from HR) that showed I wasnt lying about this.
5. I stated in the letter why I would like them removed. I am in the process of buying my first home, so I let them know that.
6. I implied in the letter that they should do this to keep an otherwise good customer happy, and they would continue to have me as a customer. Business is business, after all. Dont forget that your ARE a customer.
This revision looked like it boosted my scores by 20 - 30 points. A copy of the letter is below. I actually used a template I found on this site, and made some revisions. Again, hope this helps someone!
Date
Richard D. Fairbank
Chief Executive Officer
Capital One Finance Corporation
1680 Capital One Dr
McLean, VA 22102-3491
RE: (My Name) – “Goodwill” Adjustment for missed payments
Dear Mr. Fairbank,
I have been a Capital One Auto Finance and Capital One Mastercard customer since (date) and during that time, I have enjoyed my experience greatly. I am writing to request you be willing to make a "goodwill" adjustment to your reporting to the three credit agencies. I have one late payment on an Auto Loan (account # --------------, 30 day past due payment in ------) and one late payment on a Capital One Platinum Mastercard (card # ----------, 30 day past due payment in ------). I have had an exceptional payment history and have not had a single missed payment on any of my Capital One accounts since this time.
Because of my otherwise exceptional payment history over the last --- years, I would like you to please consider removing the negative payments from my credit report. At the time of the late payments, I was out of work due to an unforeseen medical issue, and immediately brought my accounts up to date the following month although I was still out of work for most of --------. I have also attached documentation from my employer proving I was in fact absent due to a legitimate medical issue. I say that not to justify why the payment was late, but rather to show that the late payments are not a good indicator of my actual historical credit worthiness. I hope that Capital One is willing to work with me on erasing these marks from my credit reports.
My wife and I are currently in the process of buying our first home, and these late payments are the only detrimental items currently reflected on my credit report. I have been a very happy customer in the past and hope to continue a long relationship with Capital One. With today’s credit industry so competitive, I know how important it is to maintain good relationships with customers. Capital One has been exceptional in my book so far and I highly recommend it to all my friends and relatives. I hope that you will deeply consider my request and prove once again, why Capital One is heads above the rest. I look forward to your reply.
I may be reached via email at (my email address) or by phone at (my phone #).
Sincerely,
Total Loan Balance: $43k / $65k
Total SL: $78k