Sample Goodwill Letter for Deleting Collections Account
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Don Tate
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Published on 04/26/2010
Goodwill letters are you asking the collections agency nicely to stop reporting the collection account to the credit bureaus. And while this may seem like a futile attempt, goodwill letters have proven to be surprisingly effective for getting negative items removed from credit reports.
Sample Letter for Removing Collections Account
Collection accounts on your credit reports are never a good thing. Even a single collection listing can drop your credit score far enough that you will not be able to get approved for the best interest rate on loans which can end up costing you a significant amount of money. That single collection account which may have been for less than a hundred dollars could amount to many thousands of dollars in higher interest rates and higher insurance premiums because of the impact it has on your credit rating. For this reason, before applying for credit, it is a good idea to try getting collections accounts deleted from your credit reports.
If you have only a few paid collections on your credit reports that are of a relatively small value, you'll want to start by sending the reporting collections agencies a goodwill letter. Goodwill letters are essentially you asking the collections agency kindly to stop reporting the collection account to the credit bureaus. And while this may seem like a hopeless attempt, goodwill letters have proven to be surprisingly effective for getting negative items removed from credit reports.
When composing a goodwill letter, your best bet is to humanize yourself and make the person on the receiving end of the letter sympathize with your predicament. A sample goodwill letter to a collections agency might read as follows.
"Dear Sir / Madam,
Last fall I received a parking ticket during the last week of school because I was running late and had to take the first parking spot I could find. In the confusion of finals week, the holiday break, and the start of a new semester, I neglected to pay the fine and it was sent to your agency. As soon as I received notice from you, I paid the amount in full.
My husband and I recently began shopping for our first home and are finding that the negative listing on my credit report is hurting our ability to get approved for some financing. I'm writing to ask if you would kindly remove the collection listing from my credit report.
Best regards,
Jane Doe"
Sometimes that's all it takes: a brief, simple, non-accusatory letter. If the letter does its job, your credit reports look that much better and your credit score can see a sizable improvement. If not, you are out the time it took to write the letter and the cost of first class postage.
One last caveat, however. Make sure you do not try to use this method to remove any unpaid collection accounts. Not only will it not work, but it could make matters much worse for you. This seems like a common sense rule, but it is something people sometimes do not think about, especially if they are enlisting the help of a credit repair service to help fix their credit reports.
If you have only a few paid collections on your credit reports that are of a relatively small value, you'll want to start by sending the reporting collections agencies a goodwill letter. Goodwill letters are essentially you asking the collections agency kindly to stop reporting the collection account to the credit bureaus. And while this may seem like a hopeless attempt, goodwill letters have proven to be surprisingly effective for getting negative items removed from credit reports.
When composing a goodwill letter, your best bet is to humanize yourself and make the person on the receiving end of the letter sympathize with your predicament. A sample goodwill letter to a collections agency might read as follows.
"Dear Sir / Madam,
Last fall I received a parking ticket during the last week of school because I was running late and had to take the first parking spot I could find. In the confusion of finals week, the holiday break, and the start of a new semester, I neglected to pay the fine and it was sent to your agency. As soon as I received notice from you, I paid the amount in full.
My husband and I recently began shopping for our first home and are finding that the negative listing on my credit report is hurting our ability to get approved for some financing. I'm writing to ask if you would kindly remove the collection listing from my credit report.
Best regards,
Jane Doe"
Sometimes that's all it takes: a brief, simple, non-accusatory letter. If the letter does its job, your credit reports look that much better and your credit score can see a sizable improvement. If not, you are out the time it took to write the letter and the cost of first class postage.
One last caveat, however. Make sure you do not try to use this method to remove any unpaid collection accounts. Not only will it not work, but it could make matters much worse for you. This seems like a common sense rule, but it is something people sometimes do not think about, especially if they are enlisting the help of a credit repair service to help fix their credit reports.