How to Write Letters to Credit Companies to Get a Clean Credit Report

According to Fair Isaac Corporation, the company that invented the FICO score, how you pay your bills accounts for 35 percent of your credit score. If you've had late payments on your credit accounts, chances are your score has taken a hit. Under the Fair Credit Reporting Act (FCRA), you have the right to dispute erroneous information on your report and have it removed. The law does not, however, allow for the removal of accurate, negative data. Creditors will, at their discretion, remove negative account information from your credit report if you ask them to. This is known within the industry as a goodwill letter. The creditor is not required to do so, but may remove the negative account information as a gesture of goodwill if the account is paid or in good standing currently. Here are five steps you can take to have credit companies remove negative account information from your report.

Instructions

1

Order a free copy of your credit report. Under the Fair and Accurate Credit Transaction Act (FCRA), consumers are entitled to one free credit report every year from Experian, Equifax and TransUnion. Congress created the website www.annualcreditreport.com where consumers can order one or all of the reports in one place. You may also order your reports by phone, mail or at the individual websites of each credit bureau.

2

Look through your report and locate the "personal information" section. Make sure that your name and social security number are listed correctly and that your report isn't merged with that of another consumer. Bureaus update information on a regular basis, so data may have changed since the last time you viewed your report. Check the "positive accounts" and "negative accounts" sections. Note any credit accounts that have negative data associated with them, such as late payments.

3

Write a goodwill letter to each creditor. Indicate any distinguishing reasons that will give the creditor an incentive to make an adjustment to your account history. If you've been a customer of that creditor for a long time, mention that in your letter. Also mention if there were any mitigating circumstances which caused you to fall behind, such as the loss of a job, physical disability or the death of a spouse or close relative. Also mention other factors that may apply to you and your relationship with this creditor, e.g, you've been a loyal customer or you paid the debt off in a timely manner. As an act of goodwill on your part, remember to thank the creditor at the end of your letter for considering your request. Also keep in mind that the account must be paid or in good standing before a goodwill request can be made. Creditors will not make goodwill adjustments on accounts that are currently delinquent.

4

Send the letter to the creditor via certified mail, return receipt requested. You want to ensure that the letter reaches the recipient, and to ascertain on what date the post office delivered it. You may also call the creditor to ask for this adjustment, but written correspondence may convey your message more clearly.

5

Wait to hear back from the creditor. It could take up to 30 days or longer to receive a response, or it could take two weeks. It all depends on the creditor's methods for responding to goodwill requests from consumers. Remember, they are not required to honor your request, but many do. Depending upon the company, you may receive a letter indicating that the item has been deleted or corrected, or the creditor may simply adjust the account with the credit bureaus directly. If you have credit monitoring, you will usually receive an email when a change occurs to one of your accounts.