Borrowology

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Goodwill letter for a late payment

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This letter goes to the creditor, not to Experian, Equifax, or TransUnion. It asks for a courtesy on an accurate late payment. It cannot force a change. If the late is wrong, use the dispute letter instead. What the letter is, and is not, is in what is a goodwill letter. 


November 3, 2026



Re: Goodwill request — this account

To whom it may concern:

I am writing to ask for a goodwill adjustment on this account. In the month of the late payment a 30-day late payment was reported. That report is accurate. I am not disputing the item under the Fair Credit Reporting Act.

This was an isolated lapse. I have otherwise paid as agreed.

I have paid as agreed since that late payment.

I ask, as a courtesy, that you consider a goodwill adjustment so this late payment is no longer reported to Experian, Equifax, and TransUnion. I understand this is a request. You are not required to agree.

Sincerely,

Before you send it

  • Send this to the creditor that reported the late payment, not to Experian, Equifax, or TransUnion.
  • Use the mailing address on your statement or the issuer’s site. Addresses move.
  • Keep a copy. Certified mail is a record of delivery, not of agreement.
  • If the late payment is wrong — you paid on time — use the dispute letter instead.
  • A charge-off, a collection, or a pattern of lates is not what this letter is for.