Using Goodwill Letters in Place of Dispute Letters
Consumers have been trained to believe that a dispute letter is this all-inclusive credit repair fix. The truth of the matter is that depending on your individual situation, this almost certainly isn’t always going to be the best approach. There are numerous ways to remove negative items from your credit report.
What is a Goodwill Letter?
A goodwill letter is letter written directly to one of your creditors to request that they remove a negative item from your account as a gesture of goodwill. These letters are more likely to be looked at and acted upon if your account with that particular creditor is up-to-date and has been for some time. The goodwill letter basically explains to the creditor that you have been with them for some time, you made a mistake for whatever reason, you have been a responsible borrower since that mistake and that you are currently trying to repair your credit.
While there is no guarantee that the creditor will be willing to make those changes and report it the credit bureaus, it certainly does not hurt to ask. The decision is likely to be made depending on how long you’ve been with the creditor, the extent of your infraction and how long it has been since you made your mistake.
Better than a Dispute Letter?
If you simply send a dispute letter to the credit bureaus disputing the validity of a late payment or over-limit transaction, creditors are likely to view this as trying to go behind their backs to have accurate account information removed. If their records are in order, they will certainly report back to the bureaus that the blemish to your credit reports should remain there. After that it is very unlikely that they’ll be willing to entertain looking into your account for a goodwill letter as the often feel slighted by what they feel are underhanded attempts to change your account information.
Whatever your specific situation, there is going to be an appropriate letter to try and adjust the damage to your credit scores. Knowing which course of action is best will go a long way to how quickly your credit is repaired.
