Hi all. I'm a newbie who's spent the last 2 days reading like crazy: PsychDoc's Credit Repair Primer, the Unofficial FAQs, sample letters, etc. I've also run and compared the 3 CRA reports. I feel ready to tackle my problem. Would you help me by critiquing my strategy and letter? My current score is 640. The reports show 1 collection and 4 late payments during 2002. They are mine and accurate. I have a compelling reason for requesting a "goodwill adjustment" to remove the tradelines from my accounts. Here's the letter I just drafted to one of my creditors, based on Marci's goodwill letter: ****************** Dear (a person, I hope): I am writing a letter about my experience with Discover Card that is a mixture of a grateful "thank you" and a pressing request for a "goodwill adjustment" on my account. I've been a happy customer of yours since 1998. In June 2002, I was diagnosed with breast cancer and underwent surgery. In August, a second opinion revealed that the doctor had botched the surgery and left the cancer inside me. This stunning news was followed by multiple expert consultations in San Francisco and frequent trips to Los Angeles for expert consultations, an experimental diagnostic technique, and 2 additional surgeries at the City of Hope National Cancer Center. These trips required my husband and me to be out of town for as long as 7 days each. I also underwent 38 episodes of radiation in May and June 2003, followed by months of debilitating radiation-induced fatigue. During this time, my husband and I were overwhelmed with attending my frequent doctor visits and treatments, caring for our young daughter, running our household, and keeping my husband's small business going. We also were inundated with medical reports, insurance claims, medical bills and other bills. Can you imagine what a nightmare this was? In the midst of this crisis, our organization suffered and we missed the August 2002 payment. We fully recognize our responsibility for our account and have worked hard to reestablish responsible credit management. We caught up the following month and have made every payment on time since. I'm grateful to report that my treatment was successful and I now have been cancer-free for 4 years. I'm sure you can appreciate how overwhelming this time was for us and how it could have impacted our normally excellent record of bill payment. Given the circumstances and our subsequent excellent payment record, I ask for your compassion. Would you please make a "goodwill adjustment" and remove this tradeline from all 3 credit agencies? I thank you for your time and looking forward to your reply. Sincerely, (my signature) ********************* What do you think? Nancy
