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Below is one of many examples of letters I've written to creditors. This one is a letter to AT&T regarding my phone bill. I've found that the best way to get your request granted is to go straight to the top, which is why I always contact the CEO directly or someone in corporate. I never deal with customer service if I can avoid it. Here's the letter I emailed to AT&T that got me a FULL credit on my phone bill for the month of February 2010.

March 1, 2010

AT&T CEO

RE: Phone number/Account number XXXXXXX

Dear Mr. CEO,

My family and I are experiencing short-term financial hardship due to some unexpected dental expenses that were incurred during the month of February for both of our children. Since my husband hasn't had steady work as a painter in almost 3 years, we work extremely hard to live on a strict budget to ensure that our bills are paid. However, when an unexpected expense occurs, it's sometimes difficult to stay within that budget.

We have been loyal customers of AT&T since June 1991. We've also been hounded by Charter Communications for years to bundle our services and switch our phone services over to Charter, but we ultimately prefer to remain with AT&T. Although I admit it's tempting to try the new "Magic Jack" device and drop AT&T altogether to save money, I try to remember the old saying, "If it sounds too good to be true, it probably is." With AT&T, I know that I can get the best customer service at a reasonable price.

Since we have been loyal customers for many years, I’d like to humbly ask for a one-time credit on our phone bill, (of any amount) as a gesture of goodwill and loyalty. If you ran a background check on our payment history, you will find that we've always paid our phone bill in a timely manner and have never fallen delinquent on our account. If this is possible, it would be greatly appreciated and will help us get through this financial crunch. I am certain this is only a temporary condition and we will be able to make our next payment in full with no problem. If you have any questions, please feel free to contact me.

Thank you for your consideration and I’d really appreciate any help you can offer us.

Sincerely,