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Late payments can damage your credit, especially if you stop paying your loans or credit cards for an extended period of time. And while we usually tell you that there are no shortcuts when it comes to repairing your credit, there are a few legitimate actions you can take to improve your score more quickly. Let’s take a look at one of them: writing a goodwill letter.
What is a goodwill letter?
A goodwill letter is a simple way to restore your credit to good standing by requesting that a lender or servicer erase a late payment on your credit report. They can be effectively used for both federal and private loans as well as credit cards and accounts with just about any financial institution.
You typically have the best chance of success with a goodwill letters if you’ve experienced financial hardship due to unexpected circumstances. The letter allows you to take responsibility for your actions and to ask (in a very nice way) if your servicer can empathize with the situation that caused the lateness and erase it from your report.
A goodwill letter can also be helpful when you think a late payment has been recorded in error: for example, if you were in deferment or forbearance and weren’t required to make any payments during the time the late payment was recorded, or if you know you’ve never been late on a payment before.
What makes a convincing goodwill letter?
If you’ve been looking for ways to make sure your goodwill letter will actually work, here are some tips on what you should include:
An appreciative tone
It’s important that the entire tone of your letter read as thankful and conscientious. If you were actually late on your payments, even due to extenuating circumstances, you shouldn’t adopt an angry tone in your letter, since you were in the wrong.
A sense of responsibility
You want to be convincing and honest. Take responsibility for the late payment and explain why it happened. Your lender or creditor needs to be able to sympathize with you. Saying you just forgot isn’t going to win you any points.
A good recent payment history
Besides earning their sympathy, you want to gain your lender’s trust that you’re able to continue to make payments. If they see payments being made on time before and after the period of financial hardship, they might be more willing to give you a break. If you have a habit of making late payments, it’s more difficult to convince them that you’re taking this seriously.
Proof of any errors and relevant documents
If you’re writing about a mistake that occurred, maintain a polite tone and back up the errors you discovered with documentation. You’ll need proof that what you’re saying is true. Unfortunately, credit report errors aren’t uncommon, and there easily could have been a clerical error on the part of your servicer. If you have any written correspondence with them, you’ll want to include it.
Keep in mind that credit bureaus typically have an option set up to note discrepancies and potential errors directly from your report when you access it online, so you may not even need to write a formal letter to dispute an error.
Brevity
The last thing to keep in mind is that a short and simple letter will be more effective. Get straight to the point while telling your story. The people reviewing your letter don’t want to read an essay; the easier you make their lives, the better your chances of a favorable outcome.
Sample goodwill letters
Below is a sample goodwill letter template for a student loan:
To Whom It May Concern,
Thank you for taking the time out of your day to read this letter. I just pulled my credit report, and discovered that a late payment was reported on [date] for my account [loan account number].
During that time, my mother fell terminally ill, and I was the only one left to care for her. As such, I had to leave my job, and my savings went toward her healthcare expenses. I fell on very rough times after she passed away, and was unable to make my student loan payments.
I realize I made a mistake in falling behind, but up until that point, my payment history with you had been spotless. When I was able to gain employment once again, I quickly resumed paying my student loans, making them a priority.
I’m not proud of this negative mark on my record, but it’s the only one I have, and I would be extremely grateful if you could honor this request to remove the lateness from my credit report. It would help me immensely in securing other lines of credit so that I can further improve my credit score.
If the lateness cannot be removed entirely, I would still be appreciative if you could make a goodwill adjustment.
Thank you.
If you’re writing a letter because the lateness noted on your credit report is inaccurate, try this template:
To Whom It May Concern,
Thank you for taking the time to read this letter. I recently pulled my credit report and found that [Loan servicer] reported a late payment regarding my account [loan account number].
I am requesting that this late payment be assessed for accuracy.
I believe this reporting is incorrect because [list the supporting facts you have]. I have included the documentation to prove that I made payments during this time / that my loans were in forbearance/deferment and didn’t require any payments.
Please investigate this matter, and if it is found to be inaccurate, remove the lateness from my credit report.
Thank you.
Make sure you tailor the letter to your own situation; you want to provide as many personal details as possible. You should also include your name, address, and phone number at the top of the letter in case your loan servicer needs to reach you immediately.
What to include with your goodwill letter
Don’t let your efforts go to waste by forgetting to include documentation along with your letter. Here’s a quick checklist of what you should include:
The account number for your loan.
Your name, mailing address, phone number and email address.
Statements showing proof that you paid (if you’re disputing a late payment).
Documentation showing that you’ve paid on time at all other points aside from when you experienced financial hardship.
Identifying documentation so your servicer knows you sent the request.
It’s not necessarily something to “include,” but if you’re mailing anything, you should send it by certified mail so you’ll have proof your letter made it to its destination.
Where to send your goodwill letter
Now that your letter is written, you have to send it! You may be able to do this from your online account with the lender via a secure message, but you may also want to send a copy by mail. Look for the best mailing address on your last billing statement or on your lender or creditor’s “contact us” webpage.
It’s important to note that goodwill letters are not guaranteed to deliver immediate results. It often takes several attempts to correspond with servicers and lenders for them to acknowledge they received a letter from you.
If all else fails, try as many different communication methods as possible: Call, mail, live chat, and email them. Several people who have tried this method report that it’s possible to wear your servicer down with a barrage of requests.
This post was originally published in 2015 and was updated on April 7, 2020 by Lisa Rowan and again on Nov. 14 2024 by Meredith Dietz to meet Lifehacker’s editorial standards. This post originally appeared at Magnify Money.