Goodwill Letters

Your credit report is all good, but you found out you missed one payment or you have a late payment. Well, it doesn’t look good anymore since it affects your credit scores. But what can you do about it? The best solution you can try is to write a goodwill letter to your creditor to have the chance to remove that negative mark in your credit report.

If you are not familiar with it, here are the important things you should know about a goodwill letter and how you can write one if ever you need it.

What is a Goodwill Letter?

A goodwill letter is a useful tool you can use to send a request to your bank or creditor if you want to remove any marks of missed payments and other mistakes in your credit report. This method is also known as goodwill adjustment.

Utilizing goodwill adjustment doesn’t mean the creditor is obliged to consider or grant your request but you are at their mercy. Sending a goodwill letter is not a good idea if your credit history is all messy and you are just looking for a way to boost your credit score.

When Can You Send A Goodwill Letter?

Here are some of the cases when a creditor will most likely grant you a goodwill adjustment.

Missed payment due to emergency or financial hardship

Unexpected circumstances are beyond our control. When you encounter an emergency, like for example you or a family member were brought to a hospital; you face a tragic calamity where your house gets flooded or destroyed by a typhoon, or you lose a job, you will experience some difficulties in managing your finances, especially if you don’t have a back-up solution for it.

If one of these is similar to your case, you should state it clearly in your letter with proof of evidence to show the reason why you couldn’t settle your next payment.

Payment transmission failure

Most payments nowadays are made online since it is more fast and secure. However, technical glitches sometimes occur. Bank servers are suddenly down or there’s a problem with your internet connection that prevents the payment process from pushing through.

These reasons are understandable since technology often fails, and we can’t do anything about it but wait until it works properly again.

Wrong address

This can happen when you move to a new home and you fail to update the bank or the creditor on your new address. Since you won’t be able to receive your billing, you might forget your payment deadline.

Tips on How to Write and Submit a Goodwill Letter

It’s easy to create a good-quality goodwill letter to let your creditor understand your situation. But still, you need to remember some of these points to not exaggerate them and have a chance to receive a goodwill adjustment.

Politeness

Goodwill letters shouldn’t have any negative tone or expressions. Make sure you maintain politeness and sincerity in your letter. Remember, you are writing it so the creditor can understand your situation and consider your request. They are in no obligation to remove any negative marks in your credit report regardless of your situation since it is your responsibility to comply with the payment terms.

Keep It Short

The letter should clearly explain your situation and the reason why you fail to comply. You don’t need to write a novel to show how difficult your situation is. Briefly explain the situation in a way that the person reading it will easily understand and won’t spend too much time reading your letter. Remember, you are not the only ones they are dealing with.

Include Proof or Supporting Evidence/s to Your Case

It’s not enough to just tell your story or situation in the letter, it’s also important to back it up with necessary evidence to support your case. If you claim to use your money to pay for hospital bills, you can provide a copy of it attached to your letter. In this way, they can understand that it’s not your fault why you fail to pay in the first place.

Send It to The Right Person or Department

Credit experts advise you to send the goodwill letter to the customer service department of the bank or the manager of your local bank’s branch and not directly to the billing and finance department so that it can be processed and attended accordingly.

Make a Follow-up

It’s normal to not get a response days after you send your goodwill letter. It’s possible that it was overlooked or piled-up with other pending requests. If you fail to receive any response from your creditor within 30 days or more, it’s better to ask for a follow-up via phone call or email.

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