Hardship Requests

Life doesn’t ask permission.

The layoff that came without warning. The diagnosis that changed everything. The phone call in the middle of the night. The paycheck that stopped just when you were the one who needed care.

You kept going, and the bills kept coming anyway: the hospital statement you’re afraid to open, the shutoff notice on the door, the late fees stacking on top of a balance you were already trying to pay.

These are circumstances beyond anyone’s control, and they cause real hardship. It isn’t a failure. It’s life, and it happens to good, responsible people every single day.

Here’s what most people are never told: many hospitals, utilities, landlords, lenders, and schools have programs for exactly this moment. A hardship program. An assistance policy. A payment arrangement. A fee waiver. But you have to ask, in writing, clearly, at the very moment you’re most exhausted and the words are hardest to find.

That’s where we come in. We write you a tailored request with your options laid out. You choose, fill in your details, sign it, and send it in your own name. The organization makes the decision, but you’ll have asked, and asked clearly.

You’ve carried this alone long enough. Let us help you find the words.

What it is

A tailored outline of a letter asking one organization to consider you under its own hardship, assistance, or payment program. We write the options; you choose among them, fill in the blanks, sign it, and send it. It asks for help and nothing else. It doesn’t dispute charges, cite laws, or make demands.

What this is, and isn’t. We don’t provide financial assistance, and we don’t negotiate or settle debts. We prepare the request; the organization decides.

Pricing

How the pricing works. Your first organization is $109, and each additional organization for the same situation is $45, so two are $154 and a Household Bundle of three is $199. A different hardship, or a fourth organization, is booked as a new request.

Credited toward anything else. If you book any other Response Desk™ service within 12 months, what you paid for your request, up to $109, is credited toward it. One credit per order, including bundles.

Included with every request: your Request Kit

• Right office and Program Snapshot: we find the office that actually decides, its application, and the rules it publishes, so your request lands on the right desk.
• Call-First Script: what to say, what to ask, and what to write down, so a short call confirms the address and gets your request noted on your account.
• Follow-Through Kit: the days to call, check in, and send your follow-up, with a one-page log for every date, name, and reference number.
• Letters for the answer: a thank-you outline that puts a yes in writing, and a short outline that asks what would change a no.
• More places to ask: a checklist of the kinds of places people ask for help, so you can spot help you never knew to ask for.
• Document Fast-Track: where to download the papers programs ask for, often in minutes.
• Form Check: when a program has its own application, we check every page, signature, and attachment before you send it. Every number stays your own.

Our Fit Promise

You only pay for a request we can prepare. After you book, we review your checklist and documents before any writing begins. If this service isn’t the right fit, we’ll tell you why in writing, point you to help that fits better, and refund what you paid to your original payment method within 15 business days.

Situations that aren’t a fit include a lawsuit, court date, judgment, garnishment, eviction case, foreclosure, repossession, or bankruptcy; a request that would need to dispute a charge; a mortgage servicer or a collection agency; a credit report; federal student loans; taxes; government benefit overpayments; court fines; a deadline too close for our turnaround; or a case where free help is clearly the better route. The Fit Promise covers our review before writing begins. It doesn’t cover a change of mind after writing begins, or how any organization answers your request.

Deadline Priority

Facing a shutoff date? You go to the front of the line. Send your written shutoff, disconnection, cancellation, insurance-lapse, or due-date notice when you book. If the date is at least 7 days away, you’ll get your Call-First Script the same business day (or the next, if you book after 3 p.m. Central), and your outline, ready for review, within 2 business days of receiving your checklist items, at no extra charge.

It isn’t for a court date, eviction case, foreclosure, garnishment, or repossession; please contact a lawyer or legal aid right away for those. If our schedule can’t take your request on priority, we’ll tell you within 1 business day, before any writing begins, and you can choose standard turnaround or a full refund. It speeds up our work, not the organization’s: you’re still responsible for your deadline.

Know someone who needs help?

Share your referral code. They get $15 off their request, and when they book, you get a $15 credit toward any Response Desk™ service. The credit is issued after their request passes our Fit Review, and only if they agree we can let you know they booked. Credits last 12 months, have no cash value, and are limited to 5 a year.

Renewal reminder (optional)

Many programs approve help for a set period and then ask you to apply again. If you opt in, we’ll email you one reminder before your approval ends. A renewal letter to the same organization and program is $45. You can stop reminders at any time.

Where you can ask

• Medical care: hospitals, clinics, dentists, ambulance services, labs, drug makers’ patient assistance programs, and veterinarians
• Housing: landlords, property managers, mobile home parks, HOAs, county property-tax offices, and rental assistance programs
• Utilities: electric, gas, water, propane, phone, and internet providers, and energy assistance programs
• Banks and lenders: credit cards, banks and credit unions, auto loans, personal loans, buy-now-pay-later plans, and private student loans
• Insurance: auto, home, renters, life, and health insurers
• Schools and childcare: college financial aid and business offices, private schools, childcare centers, and activity programs
• Employers and associations: employee hardship funds, unions, industry relief funds, and licensing boards
• Charities and community help: churches and faith groups, local charities, community action agencies, veterans organizations, and funeral homes
• Other businesses: gyms and memberships, storage units, repair shops, and professional services

Asking a family member or friend for help? That’s a Personal Letter, from $75.

What you can ask for

• Consideration under the organization’s assistance or charity-care program
• A reduced balance, or a self-pay discount
• A payment plan at an amount you can keep
• A waiver of late fees, interest, or penalties
• A pause, deferral, or skipped payment
• A due date that matches when your income arrives
• More time, or a hold while they review your request
• A place in a hardship, low-income, or sliding-scale program
• A grant toward a specific bill
• A new look at your aid or fees based on your current income

What we’ll need from you

• The bill, statement, or notice, with your account number
• Who you’re writing to, and how you’ll send it
• What happened, and when
• Your household size, monthly income, and proof of income
• A simple monthly budget (we provide a worksheet)
• What you’re asking for, and what you can truly pay if you’re asking for a plan
• Any earlier requests and replies, and any due, shutoff, or cancellation dates
• The organization’s application form, if it has one

Clear phone photos of your documents are fine. Everything in your letter must be true and match your documents. Every request is covered by a signed confidentiality agreement, and we never sell or share your information.

Behind on your mortgage?

We don’t write paid mortgage requests, but we made something for you: a free, fillable Mortgage Hardship Request Letter you can download and send to your servicer today, along with free help from a HUD-approved housing counselor. Get the free letter →

Free help is out there, too

• Behind on a mortgage: a HUD-approved housing counselor, at 800-569-4287
• Federal student loans: StudentAid.gov and your loan servicer, at no cost
• Taxes: the Taxpayer Advocate Service, or a Low Income Taxpayer Clinic
• Several debts at once: a nonprofit credit counselor through the NFCC, at 800-388-2227
• Local help with rent, utilities, and other bills: dial 211

What this service doesn’t do

It doesn’t dispute a charge; for a bill that’s wrong, see Overcharge & Refund Disputes. If you aren’t sure you owe it at all, see Debt Verification Request. It doesn’t negotiate or settle debts, remove anything from a credit report, or handle mortgages, taxes, federal student loans, court fines, benefit overpayments, or bankruptcy. If your situation involves a lawsuit, a court date, an eviction case, wage garnishment, or a foreclosure, please contact a lawyer or legal aid right away.

How to get started

Tell us about your bill through our website’s contact form. We’ll reply in writing, and you book and pay online. We don’t take these requests by phone.

We’re a writing service, not a law firm. You complete, approve, sign, and send your letter under your own name, and we never contact the organization for you. No one can promise that an organization will approve a request.