Letters of Reconsideration

A great way to get a bank to give you a second look is through letters of reconsideration.

A lot of times their system may auto-deny you without much of a good reason. This could be because of your age, number of accounts, etc. Each bank has its own standards, but they often overlook good customers because they are acting conservatively. Of course, they don't particularly care unless you take the time to tell them that you are a great customer.

Make sure when you send this letter, or one like it, that you send it via CERTIFIED MAIL. Otherwise they won't pay much attention and you will get lost in the crowd.

Here is a template that you can add or remove details from. Make sure you actually fill it out.

I have been denied for many a line of credit or credit card and after one, two or three (yes I said three!) letters of reconsideration, gotten them to approve me.

Remember, responsible people are lower risk, only responsible people send three letters of reconsideration :D

I provide no guarantees and am not liable for any repercussions that occur as a result of you using my template.

The template:


Name of Bank
Address of Bank

Hello,

I am writing requesting reconsideration of the denial of my recent Bank Name card application (case number XXXXXXX).

It appears I was denied after you pulled my TransUnion report. While the letter I received did not include specific reasons as to why I was denied, I would still like to go over the potentially negative information on my report.

Number of recent credit inquiries

I do have high credit inquiries at this time. Some of these are due to my credit report being run multiple times from the same companies that did so. I am in the process of disputing many of these anyway. Some are for refinances of already existing lines of credit. Aside from that, I am trying to build a solid credit history for myself and have applied for credit a few times only to build a solid history. Every line of credit I have ever received has been paid on time.

Insufficient length of revolving credit history

I am curious as to what length is necessary for your company as I have had revolving credit cards for X years.

Insufficient number of consumer accounts
Again I am curious as to the requirements for this as I have 7 consumer accounts ranging from several hundred dollars to several thousand. The highest being $XXXX and $XXXX.

Insufficient average credit limit on open revolving accounts

Although I do have maybe 1 or 2 cards with limits under $XXXX, the rest are of higher amounts including $XXXX, $XXXX and $XXXX.

You will notice I have no late payments, collection accounts or, general negative items on my report. I have had credit for X years with several open trade lines with perfect payment history. I am still building this history and I wish to have bank name be part of it as it will continue to be pristine. I appreciate you taking the time to reconsider my application. I hope my explanation clears things up so I can be another proud Bank name card holder and customer.



Sincerely,

Your signature in pen
Your name
Your address

Cosigning, don't do it!

Don't cosign loans for your parents and don't let them cosign for you! You shouldn't have to anyway, lenders just want to get more people on the hook!

Even if you aren't paying back a loan that your parents took out and that you cosigned or if they aren't paying one back that you took out and they cosigned. IT STILLS SHOWS UP ON BOTH OF YOUR CREDIT REPORTS.

Even if the main endorser is responsible and makes the payments on time, it still shows the loan balance on the consignors credit. Which effects your debt to income ratio and your overall credit score!

Now that is the best case scenario. The worst case is what happens if the primary on the account is late with a payment? Or if they become delinquent? That also shows up on the consignors credit!

So a word to the wise say no to cosigning.

Credit Card Rate Increases... Fuck!

So I've received credit card rate purchase APR increase notices from:

American Express, Chase, Bank of Nevada, Pentagon Federal Credit Union, WAMU (now owned by Chase), Cabela's Card. All of these rates have increased by at least 5% and simultaneously switched to variable APRs.

All I have to say is, FUCK YOU banks and underwriters of the world. And why not? Fuck the government too! Somehow you have been able to get monies from the government (the government which is paid for by regular people like myself) while simultaneously fucking over your customers with ridiculous and in many cases unjustified (even on a risk basis) changes to your credit relationships. So you weren't happy with the money that you have made historically from encouraging people to swim in debt? You blew all the money you "earned" and didn't put anything aside for when everyone decided to stop paying you the 20% interest because they have no money left? That was poor planning on your part! But wait, who gets caught paying for you being irresponsible? The other customers that are STILL paying you and every person that pays taxes in our country.