cancel
Showing results for 
Search instead for 
Did you mean: 

Struck out on GW letter. What next?

tag
Anonymous
Not applicable

Struck out on GW letter. What next?

I had a revolving credit card account for $5000 that was opened in 04/1999. I got laid off from my job during the time I had the card, and have 5 lates on my credit report for this account between 09/2004 and 02/2005. Since the payment for 01/2005 was on time, my understanding is that all baddies from this account will not be gone until at least Feb of 2012. I wrote the GW letter below to the credit union that issued this card (which was a VISA), and got a call from someone there today. They basically told me that there are strict government regulations that prevent them from changing any information that they reported to the credit agencies unless it was in error. Therefore, they said there is nothing that they can do for me. 

 

Where do I go from here? This is a very small credit union, so I don't think I will have options to escalate my issue there. Being that the credit union is small, was the credit card underwritten by another company that I can contact? I look forward to any advice on this. I was excited to send off this first letter and had high hopes from what I had read here, but was really bummed when I got this call today. Smiley Sad

 

My GW letter to them:

 

Dear Sir or Madam:
I am writing to see if you would be willing to make a "goodwill" adjustment to your reporting to the three credit reporting agencies. The above referenced account was closed by (credit union) for late payments on 10/2003, and the account was late several more times through 02/2005. Since that last late payment, I have paid the account in full, with the final payment being made on 12/2005.

Because I have paid the account in full, I would like you to consider deleting the account from your records and stop reporting to the three credit reporting agencies. At the time of these late payments, I had been laid off from my job for over a year, and had run out of savings from which to pay bills. This was a very difficult time, both financially and emotionally, that I am glad to have  well behind me.

Since my last late payment with (credit union) in 02/05, I have worked hard to rebuild my credit and establish a payment history that demonstrates my financial responsibility. I have done an exemplary job of this, and have maintained excellent payment records with all of my creditors; I have never had a single late payment on any of my other accounts.

I have been living in my home for some time now, and would like to build an addition. The (credit union) account on my credit report is having a negative impact on my FICO score, which I fear may prevent me from being able to secure financing, or greatly increase the cost of doing so. Since this collection account is not a reflection of my current creditworthiness, I am kindly requesting that you delete this account. Please let me know if you require any further information from me that would help in reaching a positive outcome. Thank you very much for your time and consideration.

 

Dear Sir or Madam:

I am writing to see if you would be willing to make a "goodwill" adjustment to your reporting to the three credit reporting agencies. The above referenced account was closed by (credit union) for late payments on 10/2003, and the account was late several more times through 02/2005. Since that last late payment, I have paid the account in full, with the final payment being made on 12/2005.

 

Because I have paid the account in full, I would like you to consider deleting the account from your records and stop reporting to the three credit reporting agencies. At the time of these late payments, I had been laid off from my job for over a year, and had run out of savings from which to pay bills. This was a very difficult time, both financially and emotionally, that I am glad to have well behind me.

 

Since my last late payment with (credit union) in 02/05, I have worked hard to rebuild my credit and establish a payment history that demonstrates my financial responsibility. I have done an exemplary job of this, and have maintained excellent payment records with all of my creditors; I have never had a single late payment on any of my other accounts. 

 

I have been living in my home for some time now, and would like to build an addition. The (credit union) account on my credit report is having a negative impact on my FICO score, which I fear may prevent me from being able to secure financing, or greatly increase the cost of doing so. Since this collection account is not a reflection of my current creditworthiness, I am kindly requesting that you delete this account. Please let me know if you require any further information from me that would help in reaching a positive outcome. Thank you very much for your time and consideration.

 

Message 1 of 8
7 REPLIES 7
DI
Super Contributor

Re: Struck out on GW letter. What next?


@Anonymous wrote:

I had a revolving credit card account for $5000 that was opened in 04/1999. I got laid off from my job during the time I had the card, and have 5 lates on my credit report for this account between 09/2004 and 02/2005. Since the payment for 01/2005 was on time, my understanding is that all baddies from this account will not be gone until at least Feb of 2012. I wrote the GW letter below to the credit union that issued this card (which was a VISA), and got a call from someone there today. They basically told me that there are strict government regulations that prevent them from changing any information that they reported to the credit agencies unless it was in error. Therefore, they said there is nothing that they can do for me. 

 

Where do I go from here? This is a very small credit union, so I don't think I will have options to escalate my issue there. Being that the credit union is small, was the credit card underwritten by another company that I can contact? I look forward to any advice on this. I was excited to send off this first letter and had high hopes from what I had read here, but was really bummed when I got this call today. Smiley Sad

 

My GW letter to them:

 

Dear Sir or Madam:
I am writing to see if you would be willing to make a "goodwill" adjustment to your reporting to the three credit reporting agencies. The above referenced account was closed by (credit union) for late payments on 10/2003, and the account was late several more times through 02/2005. Since that last late payment, I have paid the account in full, with the final payment being made on 12/2005.

Because I have paid the account in full, I would like you to consider deleting the account from your records and stop reporting to the three credit reporting agencies. At the time of these late payments, I had been laid off from my job for over a year, and had run out of savings from which to pay bills. This was a very difficult time, both financially and emotionally, that I am glad to have  well behind me.

 

________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________

 

Never say  'because I have paid the account in full'.  It make it seems like you only paid them in full to get something in return.  I would have said 'since the account is paid in full'..............

 

Other than that your letter is good.  You will have to be persistent with them. Send another GW.

Message 2 of 8
fused
Moderator Emeritus

Re: Struck out on GW letter. What next?

Welcome to the forums, DDutra!

 

Since your questions are about GWing, I'm going to move this thread to the Rebuilding Your Credit forum. Good luck!!

 

--fused, myfico moderator

Message 3 of 8
Anonymous
Not applicable

Re: Struck out on GW letter. What next?


@DI wrote:


Never say  'because I have paid the account in full'.  It make it seems like you only paid them in full to get something in return.  I would have said 'since the account is paid in full'..............

 

Other than that your letter is good.  You will have to be persistent with them. Send another GW.


 

 

I'm figuring that since the credit union is small, another GW letter will end up in the hands of the same person, who will just call me back and tell me the same thing.

Message 4 of 8
Booner72
Senior Contributor

Re: Struck out on GW letter. What next?

I hate these cases where people just say no - I think maybe they think they aren't allowed to do it ?  "We must preserve the continuity of the report" is what I've been told before.  I have a GW into our city for a water bill and they actually called me yest. and said they were bumping it up to see if they could help me.  But I also offered to make a donation to the B&G club, or pay them somehow for their loss.  My letter is here but no one has read it  Smiley Sad.  I'm keeping my fingers crossed for all of us in the GW predicaments.

 

Does anyone have a blurb from the FCRA that we can submit stating that they ARE allowed to delete?

STARTING: 11/24/10 EQ-584 EXP-648 TU04-595
CLOSED FIRST HOME 8/19/11 EQ-630 EXP-691 TU04-653
CURRENT: EQ-701 EXP-??? TU08-720
Message 5 of 8
Anonymous
Not applicable

Re: Struck out on GW letter. What next?


@Booner72 wrote:
 

Does anyone have a blurb from the FCRA that we can submit stating that they ARE allowed to delete?



Something like that would definitely be helpful. This guy said that "strict government regulations" prevented them from changing anything that was not in error. Smiley Indifferent

Message 6 of 8
llecs
Moderator Emeritus

Re: Struck out on GW letter. What next?


@Anonymous wrote:

@Booner72 wrote:
 

Does anyone have a blurb from the FCRA that we can submit stating that they ARE allowed to delete?



Something like that would definitely be helpful. This guy said that "strict government regulations" prevented them from changing anything that was not in error. Smiley Indifferent


It's just an excuse. Unfortunately, IIRC, the FCRA only states that OCs report accurate info and doesn't have anything in there that says they can delete early if they wanted to. If they update a late in their computer as showing current, then they must report it as current, but they won't see it that way. Keep trying.

Message 7 of 8
Anonymous
Not applicable

Re: Struck out on GW letter. What next?

Definitely keep trying! GW letters can take a few tries.

 

I'd suggest reading up on the GW letters sampled on these boards (there are lots) and maybe make yours a little longer/detailed.

 

I'd also switch the order of the letter around--don't open straight with the "request for goodwill" line. It's too easy to reply with a stock-denial letter that way. The first couple paragraphs should be more of an emotional lead-in to how the account fell out of good standing and the issues you were dealing with at the time, how you've worked to rectify the situation, what you've learned, and possibly the damage that the negative report on your credit history is costing you now. (Higher interest rates, larger deposits, car loan/mortgage denial, etc.)

 

I would also suggest researching the creditor on these boards and elsewhere to see if you can reach a higher-up. CEOs and other top execs are best.

 

Use multiple addresses, fax numbers, email addresses.The more people who see your letter, the better the chances that someone might be moved and pass it to where it needs to go.

 

If it's a local organization and you're near their main offices, try walking in and hand-delivering the letter. A receptionist might take pity on you if you're sincere.

 

Definitely don't give up yet. Smiley Happy

Message 8 of 8
Advertiser Disclosure: The offers that appear on this site are from third party advertisers from whom FICO receives compensation.