Is there a newbie guide to "Pay for Delete"?

[Anonymous]

I've been searching on here but PFD is still confusing me a little. Here is my situation and I want to attempt a PFD method:

My debt is not in collections. That's the 1st thing about PFD that confuses me, most articles or mention of it always make it seem like you are negotiating with a collection company and it has something to do with them buying the debt for pennies on the dollar or whatever. I have a Bank of America VISA (Alaska Airlines card) and I have had it for over 6 years. Late last year for the first time EVER I was late on my payments. I kept all my other debts in check and my car payment, but I had no choice but to stop paying on this card until I could get back on my feet.

Well I did get back on my feet, but the day I sent them $1600+ to catch up they had already reported a 90 day late and closed the account. My credit report reflects this. I have been paying on time and double the minimum since January this year. The current balance is $10,900 and I send about $550 in each month.

So how does PFD relate to my situation? From what I have read you send a letter negotiating a payoff in order to convince the lender to delete the negative reported lates on the credit report? Is this true and does it work? Would I have to send a letter and offer to pay the debt in full or would they accept half or a 3rd or what? What is a good offer to make for the best chance of them accepting it?

What about time frame? Can they "go back" and have the negative report wiped clean at any time? Am I even on the right track here? Who do I even mail this letter to? I see sample letters than appear to be made out to debt collectors. Most include a paragraph along the lines on "This letter does not admit my acceptance of this debt, blah blah". That sounds a bit odd to me, why would I write them a letter and state I don't accept the responsibility of the debt?

I am a complete newbie on this and just have no idea how to proceed. I would do anything to get this 90 day late off my credit report and I joined this forum in the hopes that someone could help guide me in this unknown territory. Has anyone ever done this before with a big bank? Do you have a success story?

[-Cain-]

Bank of America is supposed to be pretty tough to budge. You may have to goodwill letter them instead. Good luck and others should chime in soon.

[Anonymous]

Goodwill letter? Is there a newbie guide for that

LOL, these are all new terms to me!

[-Cain-]

There should be sample letters here on the board. Search GW letter or GW sample letters.

[-Cain-]

See if anything helps here...

http://ficoforums.myfico.com/t5/forums/searchpage/tab/message?q=GW+letter+critique

[Anonymous]

Thank you, it seems like a goodwill letter is a good start. I will spend time drafting a really good one. I think the best advice from those other threads is not to be confrontational or sound too professional. Normal people read the letter so write a normal and honest letter.

One thing I would love some input on is where and who to mail it to. Do I send it to the address listed on my bill? Is there a way to personalize it better or maybe a good address for Bank of America I wouldn't know about?

[-Cain-]

You will probably have to send several as you work your way up the food chain, from CSR up to VPs and CEOs. You may have to google this info as names and emails cannot be posted on this board. Another option is search for someone who has had success GWing BofA and ask for the contact info they used in a PM(private message).

[Booner72]

The newbie guide from my experience is to print off all the acronyms so you learn the language.  Then read read read and in no time you are a Fico Pro!