writing an effective letter to card issuers to remove 30 day lates

[theGman]

Hi

 

Almost at the finish line. Paid off personal trade lines. Three have 30 day lates. One of these is their mistake and I know what to to do. In two cases, it is actually an oversight on my part in the middle of covid arrangements.

 

What are effective letters to banks? What tone does one take?

 

Sorry, I am sure this has been addressed in the ocean that this forum is. I would greatly appreciate a quick pointer.

[schizcat]

Write an honest letter. Don't type it or use a stock letter. The more sincere and direct you are about the circumstances and your mistake, the better they view it. 

[hdporter]

Agree with @schizcat ; honest request, in your own language, simple and straight forward is best.  I prefer typewritten over handwritten for the sake of legibility and small space; if written in your own voice, I don't think it'll be mistaken as a copied form letter.

 

Letter should briefly state the request, explain the delinquency (pref in 25 words or less), and express appreciation for any consideration that can be extended.  Provide a voice number at which you can be contacted with any questions.

 

The real challenge isn't the letter; it's deciding where to send it to receive the best chance of serious consideration.  A broad internet search can yield insight for optimal contacts for a given issuer; look for "success" narratives in which they provide tips based on their recent experience.

 

If you're dealing with someone other than Bank of America (who takes great pains to state that they don't accept or accede to "goodwill" requests), or someone of that ilk, with a modest 30-day delinquency I might be inclined to reach out to the issuer's standard customer service by phone and ask to speak to a manager for assistance with the request.  It's a little more difficult to brush someone off over the phone than by mail/email.

 

I believe some banks are still willing to assist and may be proactive in offering a goodwill gesture.  If they can't assist, ask them the best contact with whom to escalate the request.  Explain that you value your relationship with the issuer and, because of the extenuating circumstances, would like a full opportunity to impress on the bank that negligence isn't a factor here and any consideration would be very much appreciated.

 

 

 

[theGman]

@shizcat and @hdporter, I googled it a bit. Looks promising. Thank you very much!

Edited July 14, 2021 by theGman

[centex]

As a reminder for all coming along later, most lenders are publicly traded.  This means SEC filings become a great source of contact information, both in terms of names/positions but also potential email or fax contacts...

[Sidewinder]

On 7/14/2021 at 3:13 PM, hdporter said:

Explain that you value your relationship with the issuer 

 

This is what I was going to bring up. You might be lucky enough to speak to someone who understands that good will is a two way street, and that making you happy is potentially a ticket to greater account use, more new accounts, etc.

[schizcat]

12 hours ago, centex said:

As a reminder for all coming along later, most lenders are publicly traded.  This means SEC filings become a great source of contact information, both in terms of names/positions but also potential email or fax contacts...

To this point, try to direct the letter to a specific person instead of a generic to whom it may concern. The old adage you catch more Flys with honey than vinegar applies to goodwill letters. 

[schizcat]

One other point. You are going to have to be a salesman of sorts. I'm betting that a number of people have sent letters in because of covid. You need to make yours convincing and not a random covid "excuse"  

[theGman]

Thank you,@sidewinder@centex @shizcat

Points taken. What about lates on accounts that are already closed? Go after them too? Transunion report does not seem to care about those.


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[schizcat]

On 7/15/2021 at 7:11 PM, theGman said:

Thank you,@sidewinder@centex @shizcat

Points taken. What about lates on accounts that are already closed? Go after them too? Transunion report does not seem to care about those.


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You may have a harder time with those. With no current relationship it means less to them. Especially the big banks.