Goodwill Hardship Letter Sample with Examples [Word]

A Goodwill Hardship Letter is a letter you write to a creditor, lender, or financial institution requesting that they exercise leniency over a negative credit report entry (ex., late payments or missed payments). This letter intends to explain the events that resulted in the stress that finally resulted in the adverse action and to request the deletion of that action from the credit report as a goodwill effort on the part of the creditor.

This letter works best if the hardship was a one-time, short-term event – like surprise medical bills, losing a job or family emergencies—and the rest of the account history indicates payment on time and responsible credit use. The opening paragraph of the letter will almost always acknowledge the error, own up to it, and mythologize the financial hardship in unimpeachably few, yet genuine terms.

It subsequently apologizes and, if relevant, addresses anything that has been done to prevent it from happening again. The removal of the negative item is necessary to qualify for credit opportunities, such as a loan or mortgage, which could be endangered by the mark. Though creditors are under no obligation to comply with these kinds of requests, a solid goodwill hardship letter can often carry the day, particularly if you have established a background of responsible credit use.

This letter signifies responsibility and intent to keep an amicable financial standing. Entrepreneurs who reach out ahead of time might discover their lenders are willing to bend some rules, resulting in an improved credit profile and a stronger financial position. Generally speaking, a goodwill hardship letter, when used correctly, can be an effective vehicle for credit repair, as it can allow you to soften your creditors enough to understand where you are coming from as a consumer who has faced temporary financial hardship and desperately wants to earn your creditworthiness back.

Related Products:

• Extreme Hardship Letter
• Hardship Letter for Rental Assistance
• Jury Duty Undue Hardship Letter
• Military Hardship Letter 

Sample Goodwill Hardship Letter Template with Examples

Uses:

• Ask for credit reports to take off or change negative items, such as late payments or missed bills.
• Records temporary financial distress that may include loss of a job, medical emergencies, or unforeseen events that resulted in delayed payment.
• A request to creditors or lenders to be lenient and have a second chance based on the good payment history in the past.
• Helps borrowers to have an open interaction with the lenders in order to restore the credit without any official dispute or legal suit.
• Assists in credit restoration by informally recognizing the responsibility and seeking goodwill corrections.

Benefits:

• May fix these credit scores by deleting from the credit reports the negative payment history that greatly affects the creditworthiness.
• Helps enjoy a healthy relationship with creditors due to their accountability and readiness to correct their mistakes in the past.
• Offers a free way of possibly repairing the harm brought by individual financial hardships of money.
• Increases the possibility of loan approvals, refinancing, or improved interest rates through improvement of the credit profile.
• Gives borrowers the power to take initiatives to control credit health by maintaining respectful and open communication with the lenders.
• Effective, especially when there was a rare lapse in the late payments and the subsequent consecutive punctual payments.
• Eases creditors to show mercy and be flexible to help borrowers go through hard times.