- Freeze the complaint to one issue and one fix20 min
One complaint = one account, one error, one fix. Every later letter and filing repeats the same sentence, so freeze it here. Boilerplate about fairness or long history does not route — a measurable demand does.
- Pick the product and account: mortgage, auto, student loan, checking — with the account number ending.
- Name the error in one clause: fee charged, payment misapplied, balance not corrected, late mark after on-time payment.
- State the fix as something checkable: refund in dollars, corrected balance, deleted late mark, interest reversed.
- Write it as one sentence: “On account [number], [error] happened, with demanded fix [fix].”
- Test it: if it names two errors or two fixes, split it — file the largest-dollar harm first.
To do
Write the product type and the account identifier you will use on every document. Keep the full number off the complaint narrative — last 4 is enough for filing.
Describe only what went wrong and when, in one clause. Leave out other accounts, other fees, and background.
Write the remedy so it can be checked as done or not done: refund amount, correction, deletion, reversal. Distinguish boilerplate (“treat me fairly”) from a real fix (“refund the fee and remove the mark”).
Read the sentence back: one account, one error, one fix. If it has “and also” or two demands, split into two complaints and keep this one for the largest harm.
2 attempts leftAccount, error, and exact fix in one sentence