Writing a hardship letter to one or more of your creditors can help you get through ... However, you may undermine your case if you copy and paste a template you find online.

A goodwill letter ... hardship now. The sooner you send the letter after the oversight, the better. That will show the lender you take your relationship with the lender and your credit obligations ...

Make a call to follow up on your hardship letter if you don't hear from the creditor within one week.