The Better Credit Blog

Simply asking a creditor to a remove bad credit entry is probably something not too many people think would render any positive results. You might be even more skeptical if the debt is paid. After all, you have already paid the debt, what reason do they have to dedicate their resources to removing a bad entry from your credit report? Well, they don’t have any reason, but that doesn’t mean it can’t be done.

When I finished college I forgot to turn in my dorm room key. A couple of week later I received a bill in the mail for $70. My response was something like, “Screw you, I have given your institution over 20 grand for a semi-lousy education –most of which I could have learned on my own.” Their response was something like, “Okay, we’re sending this to collections.” Now I don’t know how the debt got paid, because I never paid it (for I vowed never to do so). Perhaps in the chaos of wrapping up everything, my parents paid it?? I cannot be for certain, but still, it showed up as ‘paid’ on my credit report.

Forward 3 years

The entry still showed up as ‘paid collection’ on my credit report and was therefore hurting my credit score 50+ points. Here is how I got it removed: I kindly asked them to remove it out of goodwill using a little known method called ‘writing a goodwill letter’.

If memory serves me correctly, my letter went something like this:
Dear Sir/Madam,
Following college graduation, I accidently forgot to return my dorm room key. The university sent me a bill for $70 which I was unable to pay. I had very little money and was trying to get on my feet, and therefore the $70 dorm room key charge was sent to your collection agency. The collection has since been paid. I am now on my feet and attempting to purchase a home for my family, but am unable to receive decent mortgage rates due to having a collection on my credit report. I am kindly asking that perhaps out of goodwill, your agency would consider removing this collection from my credit report and thus helping me purchase a home.
Best regards,
Ryan Lynch

I didn’t expect this to work, but three weeks later the collection was completely removed from my credit report.

Many people have small paid collection entries on their credit report and probably don’t realize how much these little bastards are hurting their credit score. In all sincerity, you’d be surprised how well goodwill letters work. They work best on small collection accounts, and the key is to make them feel sorry for you.

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