WRITING – A FORMAL LETTER/EMAIL OF COMPLAINT

A LETTER OR EMAIL OF COMPLAINT

What is it?

A letter of complaint is a formal letter in which you express dissatisfaction about a given
issue (e.g. a faulty product) or service (e.g. staff behaviour, attitude, treatment
received…). Its tone must be mild for complaints about minor problems or strong for
complaints about more serious matters. However, the language you use should never
be rude or insulting.

What’s its format?

SENDER’S ADDRESS
DATE
RECIPIENT’S ADDRESS

SALUTATION TAG (Dear Sir/Madam, Dear Mr/Ms…, To Whom It May Concern,)

OPENING PARAGRAPH
• Complaint (Details of what happened, where and when)
▪ I am writing in connection with…
▪ I am writing to complain about…
▪ I am writing to express my dissatisfaction with…
PARAGRAPH 2
• Main point you are complaining about. Reason.

PARAGRAPH 3
• Any additional complaint. Reason.

CLOSING PARAGRAPH
• What you expect to happen next.
▪ I hope you will replace...
▪ I believe that I am entitled to a refund.
▪ I hope that this matter can be dealt with promptly (or I shall be
forced to take legal action).
▪ I hope that I will not be forced to take further action.

CLOSURE TAG (Yours Faithfully, Yours Sincerely,)

SIGNATURE
FULL NAME
JOB TITLE
TASK 1 – LINKING WORDS

Read the following letter and complete it using appropriate linking words from the list.
but also furthermore not only however
in addition to firstly to make matters worse

Dear Sir/Madam,

I am writing to express my strong dissatisfaction at the

disgraceful treatment I received at the Walford Branch of Stimpson’s
Electronics yesterday afternoon when I tried to purchase a calculator.
(1) ______________, the product I was given was not the model I
had asked for. The new X-401 calculator was demonstrated to me by the
sales assistant, and I agreed to buy it. (2) ______________, on unpacking my
purchase, I saw that I had been given the smaller X-201 model instead.
(3) ______________, this calculator was much cheaper than the
model I requested and paid for. It didn’t have many of the features I needed
and was much more basic than the one I was shown to begin with.
(4) ______________, I was deeply offended by the behaviour of the
sales assistant when I went back to the shop to complain. He was
(5) ______________ impolite, (6) ______________ unhelpful. He refused to
contact the manager when I asked to speak to him about the incident.
As you can imagine, I am extremely upset. I must insist on a full
refund, (7) ______________ a written apology from the local manager, or else
I shall be forced to take further action. I expect to hear from you as soon as
possible.

Yours Faithfully,
Caroline Adams
Caroline Adams

TASK 2 – STRONG OR MILD TONE

Read the following extracts and say which of them are beginnings (B), and which are
endings (E). What tone has the writer used in each?
B /E TONE
1. I am writing to complain about the quality of an appliance I recently
purchased from your company.
2. I demand an immediate replacement or a full refund or I shall be forced to
take the matter further.
3. I would appreciate it if the faulty appliance could either be replaced or
repaired as soon as possible.
4. I am writing to inform you that I was absolutely horrified by the rudeness of
your shop assistants.
TASK 3 – STYLE & TONE
a) Compare the style and tone of the two letters. Which one is not acceptable
and why? (Formality, type of language used, vocabulary…)

Dear Sir/Madam,

I want to tell you how angry and disgusted I am with the holiday
apartment I rented from you on 15th August. I think you’ve got a real cheek
advertising it as “beautiful” because it was the ugliest apartment I’ve ever seen
in my life.
For a start, you lied when you said it was spacious. We were packed
like sardines inside. The rooms were also very dirty. I spent the first day of my
holiday cleaning them.
Next, you said the kitchen was well-equipped. Not at all! Lost of
essential items were missing. After three days, I’d had enough and went home.
I’m sure you can tell I am really angry. You have ruined my summer
by spoiling my holiday. I demand you give me some of my money back and
you should say sorry, too. If you don’t you’ll be in big trouble. Hurry up and
reply to this letter.

Yours Faithfully,
Helen Hunt
Helen Hunt

Dear Sir/Madam,

I am writing to complain about the holiday apartment I rented from

you on 15th August. I believe your advertisement was misleading in a number
of ways.
Firstly, the apartment was by no means spacious. The rooms were
cramped and there was very little storage space. Also, the distance from the
beach was in fact ten times farther than you claimed.
Furthermore, the balcony railing was broken. This was quite
dangerous and could have caused an accident. In addition, it overlooked an
unattractive car park in contrast to the “great view” you advertised. Finally, the
kitchen was poorly equipped and a lot of essential items were missing, such as
plates and saucepans. Consequently, I felt I could not stay any longer and
returned home after three days.
As you can imagine, I am quite disappointed. I feel I am entitled to
a partial refund in addition to an apology for the inconvenience caused. I
look forward to receiving a prompt reply.

Yours Faithfully,
Sandra Folkestone
Sandra Folkestone
 b) The previous letter has a mild tone. Replace the phrases in bold with ones
from below to change the tone of the letter from mild to strong.
a) I am extremely upset
b) I insist that this matter be dealt with promptly
c) To express my extreme dissatisfaction with
d) Extremely hazardous
e) I refused to remain
f) I demand
g) For the annoyance and discomfort I suffered
h) Totally inaccurate

TASK 4 – GIVING REASONS & EXAMPLES

Join the following complaints to their examples / reasons using the linking words in
brackets.

1. The new game took fifteen minutes to load onto my computer. The salesman
said it would load instantly. (even though).
2. I paid for a set of five compact discs. There were only three compact discs in
the box. (in spite of)
3. The advertisement said the tent was waterproof. Rain continually dripped into
the tent. (despite)
4. The bicycle was brand new. The chain came off my bicycle the first time I rode
it. (although)
5. The battery went flat after only two hours. The instructions said it lasted for
sixteen hours. (however)