Credit
Card Hardship Letter
What is a credit card hardship letter?
Hardship letter is the term for a correspondence written by a cardholder to a credit card company explaining his
situation in an attempt to request for understanding and leniency. A credit card hardship letter
is basically a letter of appeal to the card company to cut the cardholder some slack and perhaps come up with a
better solution in order for the cardholder to pay off his/her credit card debts. Some statements that are usually
expressed in a credit card hardship letter include the promise to pay off a small portion of the debt or the appeal
to get a lower interest rate than the original one assigned to the card.
What must a credit card hardship letter contain? The necessary information that need to be in a credit card
hardship letter include the name of the cardholder, contact information, and the account number. It must also
contain the total amount of debt, the required monthly minimum payment, the interest rate, and all other rates and
fees imposed. Why the cardholder is writing, how long s/he has been in the said situation, and the projected period
the situation will last are the most important parts of a credit card hardship letter. The cardholder should also
not forget to include his/her intention to pay off the debt and the amount that s/he can give every month and why.
The credit card hardship letter should conclude with a plea for assistance or a resolution from the creditor and
the best way for the company to contact the cardholder. This way, they are given the option to make the first
move.
How should a credit card hardship letter be written? In order to receive a response from a credit card company, the
cardholder should remember to not sound too eager. When s/he attempts to make a partial payment, the opening offer
that s/he gives should not go beyond 20% of the amount of debt and should only be within his/her means. The
cardholder should also try to negotiate lower interest rates. Most importantly, the cardholder should sound
professional, polite, confident, and persistent.
However, writing a credit card hardship letter is usually not the smartest move since they will
probably respond with a statement telling the cardholder to call a certain number to discuss his/her options. Most
of the time, it is better to just call the credit card company and tell them your condition
yourself.
Source: Credit Cards For People With Bad Credit Rating
 Print this
page |  Bookmark this page
| 