IELTS general writing task 1 complaint letter

In the beginning of the complaint letter, you need to identify the product, service or situation that you are complaining about.. COMPLAINT LANGUAGE I must complain about … I am not sa

IELTS PREPARATION COURSE

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GENERAL WRITING

WRITING

HANDOUT 4

TASK 1 WRITING

A COMPLAINT LETTER

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HANDOUT 4: WRITING A LETTER OF COMPLAINT

When do you need to write a complaint letter?

Sometimes in business or in your personal life you will receive something in error or you will face a situation that needs corrected Then, you have to write

a letter to complain about it

What will be included in a complaint letter?

INTRODUCTORY PARAGRAPH

• Greet the addressee

• Tell the addressee who you are (if necessary)

• State your reason for writing/ your purpose for writing

BODY PARAGRAPH 1

Explain problems

BODY PARAGRAPH 2

Say what you think the addressee should do

CLOSING PARAGRAPH

• Thank the company for handling your problems

• Refer to future contact

In the beginning of the complaint letter, you need to identify the product, service or situation that you are complaining about It should include

details on the date, the item, the situation, and/or cost, etc

In the second part of your letter, write about the nature of the problem and what happened You should simply describe facts, and avoid name-calling or threatening language

In the final part of your letter, you should keep a friendly tone, and you should request what you would like for the other person or entity to do to resolve the problem or issue You should invite the person to contact you to resolve the complaint

HOW TO WRITE A COMPLAINT LETTER

Start your letter with something positive in order to soften the blow of your complaint and so that the company or entity will be more willing to work with you Mention some of the

positive aspects of the company or organization, such as the overall quality of the products or services, the low prices, the excellent customer service, and so forth

Ex:

Open the next paragraph with a sentence that begins to allude to the problem Then, in the next sentence, state your complaint (Again, if you intend to do more than just complain and want the problem to be solved, it is best to remain professional and courteous Do not sound accusatory or demanding.) After clearly stating your complaint, indicate what you would like

to have done to rectify the situation, if anything You may want to mention, also, the actions you will take if your complaint is not answered or the problem is not solved

Ex:

In the last paragraph, mention that you would like to continue to use the company's products

or services, or to continue to be a customer of the store, or a member of the organization, or a viewer of the TV station Then, suggest why it is in the other party's best interest to grant your request In other words, give them a positive reason to want to resolve the concern As you close your letter, express confidence that your complaint will be taken care of Finally, thank the company or other entity for handling your complaint

Ex:

COMPLAINT LANGUAGE

I must complain about …

I am not satisfied with …

I feel something should be done about …

SAMPLE TEMPLATES

General Letter of Complaint

Dear [Contact Person or Customer Service Manager],

On [date], I [bought, rented, had serviced etc] a [name of product with model number, service performed etc] at [location and other details of the transaction]

I am disappointed because your [product, service, billing etc.] has [not performed as it should, was wrong etc] because [state the problem as you understand it giving as much detail as possible]

To resolve the problem I would appreciate your [state the action you require e.g refund, service performed again etc] Enclosed is a copy/are copies of the [receipt, contract etc]

I look forward to hearing from you and to a resolution of this problem I will wait for [set a time limit] before seeking help from [Trading Standards, consumer group, solicitor etc (details of relevant authorities can be found through our complaints procedures section] Please contact

me at the above address or by phone [give numbers]

Yours sincerely,

[Sign]

Complaint about goods you have bought

Dear [Contact Person or Customer Service Manager],

On [date], I bought a [name of goods purchased, model number etc.] at [location and other details of the transaction]

I am disappointed because your [name of goods purchased etc.] has [not performed as it should, was faulty etc] because [state the problem as you understand it giving as much detail

as possible] Therefore this product is not [of satisfactory quality, fit for the purpose described]

as laid down by the law

To resolve the problem I require you to [state the action you require e.g refund, repair etc.] whilst reserving my right to claim against you Enclosed is a copy/are copies of the [receipt, contract etc]

I look forward to hearing from you and to a resolution of this problem I will wait for [set a time limit] before seeking help from [Trading Standards, consumer group, solicitor etc (details of relevant authorities can be found through our complaints procedures section] Please contact

me at the above address or by phone [give numbers]

Yours sincerely

[Sign]

Complaint about a service provided to you

Dear [Contact Person or Customer Service Manager],

On [date], I [bought, rented, was provided with etc.] a [service performed etc.] at [location and other details of the transaction]

I am disappointed because [the service you provided, your service etc.] was [unsatisfactory, unfinished, defective etc.] because [state the problem as you understand it giving as much detail as possible] This is in breach of our contract as laid down by the law

To resolve the problem I require you to [state the action you require e.g refund, service

performed again, rectified etc.] whilst reserving my right to claim against you Enclosed is a copy/are copies of the [receipt, contract etc]

I look forward to hearing from you and to a resolution of this problem I will wait for [set a time limit] before arranging for the matter to be corrected by a third party at your cost or seeking help from [Trading Standards, consumer group, solicitor etc (details of relevant authorities can be found through our complaints procedures section] Please contact me at the above address or

by phone [give numbers]

Yours sincerely

[Sign]

5 KEY NOTES

• Keep in mind what it is that you hope to accomplish with your letter, and stick

to the point

• Clearly make your complaint to the person(s) involved

• State plainly and directly your reason(s) for making the complaint

• Indicate what the reader can or should do to address your complaint, and specify how long you are willing to wait to have your complaint resolved (Be reasonable.)

• Explain why your suggestion or request for retribution should be granted (if you made one)

PRACTICE EXERCISES Exercise 1:

The air-conditioner in your flat broke three weeks ago and it is the middle of

summer You asked the landlord to repair it and he promised to send someone but no-one has contacted you yet

Write a letter to the landlord complaining about the situation In your letter

• Explain the problem

• Remind the landlord about his promise

• Say what you want him to do

Answer the questions below:

1 Who is the receiver?

2 What level of formality should be used – formal, semi-formal, or informal?

3 What is the purpose of this letter?

Read the first sentence of a letter based on the task above and underline the expression the writer uses to introduce the complaint

Dear Mr Jones,

I am writing to complain about our air-conditioning, which has now been broken for over three weeks

Use the prompts below to write sentences In many cases you will use the infinitive, in others you may need to change the tense of the verb, or add

additional words The first one has been done for you

a I/write/complain/air-conditioning

I’m writing to complain about air-conditioning

b I/expect/you/keep to/agreement

c You/promise/arrange/somebody/come round/fix it

d If/not send/someone/immediately/I/force/withhold/my rent/and/I/contact/the local council/complain

e I/look forward/hear/you/soon

f I/try/call/tell you/air-conditioner/broken/but/you/not know

g One of the reason/I/decide/rent/apartment/because/air-conditioning

Complete this sample letter with sentences a-g above Dear Mr Jones, I am writing to complain about our air-conditioning, which has now been broken for over three weeks I rent Unit 3C in Brown Street from you On the 21 st June, 2 …………

………When I finally got in touch with you, 3 ………

It has been three weeks and nothing has been done about the problem As you are aware, we are now in the middle of July and the temperatures recently have been very hot 4 ………

………

………

I can’t concentrate with such high temperatures and this makes studying extremely difficult As you will recall, the rental agreement states that you would deal with this kind of problem ‘in a prompt and timely manner’ 5 ………

………

6 ………

7 ………

Yours,

Bill Adams

Exercise 2:

Write the first sentence of letter responding to the following first part of a Task 1 question

You are renting a fully-furnished flat and your TV broke a week ago You have phoned the landlady many times and left several messages about the problem but she never contacts you

………

………

………

………

………

………

Exercise 3: Fill in the gaps in the letter using both of the verbs in bracket Dear Sir, I am writing to complain about the service I received in hour hotel at the weekend I arrived at your hotel at lunchtime on Friday and your receptionist 1 told me to take (tell/me/take) a seat while she dealt with some other customers I 2 ……….(not feel like/wait) after a long journey but I sat down away However, after your receptionist 3 ……….(finish/talk) to the other customers she walked away and left no one behind the desk After about ten minutes, I rang the bell, but still no one came I 4 ……… (try/find) someone else to help me, and when I 5 ……….(fail/do) this I went behind the desk and called through the door The receptionist was sitting in the back room at the computer When she 6 ……… (see/me/stand) in the doorway, she apologized and said she 7 ………

……… (need/send) an urgent email and 8 ……… (carry on/look) at her screen If this had been the only poor service I received during my stay, I would not 9 ……… (bother/write) this letter However, later that evening, in the dining room, I had another bad experience Your menu only had one vegetarian dish, so I ordered this Imagine my horror when I 10 ………

……… (start/eat) and discovered meat in the dish I 11………

……… (consider/leave) immediately, but instead I explained the situation to the waiter I 12 ………

(expect/him/get) me another vegetarian meal, but instead the simply shrugged his

shoulders, removed the plate and walked away

service and some recompense for the unpleasant time I experienced whilst staying in your

hotel I 14 ……… (advise/you/give)

your staff some customer care training in the immediate future

Yours faithfully,

Geraint Rees

Which phrases does Geraint use to complain?

What are his problems?

What does he want the hotel manager to do?

Which phrases does he use to express his requests?

Exercise 4:

Fill in the gaps in the letter with a preposition

FIVE START HOTELS

« « « « «

Dear Mr Rees,

Thank you for your letter of 21 June I was very disturbed 1 ……… your account

of what happened in our hotel last week, and I am writing to apologise 2 ……… this I can understand that you were shocked 3………… the way the employee spoke to you There can be no excuse 4 ……… such behaviour and I fully understand why you felt the need to complain 5 …… the situation I can provide no explanation 6 ………… the way the receptionist behaved

Our hotel group has a reputation 7 ……… being good 8 ……… looking after our customers, and I am very sorry that your experience 9 ………… our service did not confirm this I intend to deal 10 ……… the staff

member appropriately and I will ensure that she does not repeat this behaviour 11

……… sending her on a retraining course next week I would like to assure

you that the behaviour you encountered is not typical 12 ………… our staff

As the manager, I am responsible 13 ………all of our employees so please accept my apologies again and this voucher worth $50 to spend in any 14 ………

our hotels

Yours sincerely,

Clive Martin

Hotel Manager

Exercise 5:

Read the question below and try to imagine the situation Think about what

additional information you will include Underline the keywords in the question Plan your letter in three paragraphs, with each paragraph addressing one of the points in the question

You recently took a trip with a taxi company The driver behaved in an unacceptable way and you had a lot of problems You complained to the company but no one has replied to your complaint

Write a letter to the taxi company In your letter

• Say why you are writing and how you feel

• Explain what happened

• Tell them what you would like them to do

Brainstorm what will be included in your letter

Write a letter for the task above in 20 minutes You do NOT need to write any addresses Begin your letter as follow: Dear …,

Exercise 6:

You rent a house through an agency The heating system has stopped working You phoned the agency a week ago but it still has not been repaired

Write a letter to the agency Explain the situation and tell them what you want them to do about it

2 State purpose Say why you are writing

3 Give/Request information Give or ask information to support this

4 Request action Say what you want done

Sample answer

Dear Sir/Madam

I am writing to complain about a serious problem in my house, which I rent

through your agency The heating system in my house has completely stopped working

This situation is causing many problems for us during this very cold weather It is affecting my children’s study, my husband’s work, and my own health

I telephoned your agency on Thursday 27th January and spoke to one of your staff about the heating system, I explained the situation to her and she told me that the problem would be fixed in two or three days, but in fact nothing has happened Seven days have now passed and I have not received any communication from your office at all Naturally I am very concerned about this

Could you please send a repairman to fix my heating system as soon as possible?

It is now urgent

Thank you for you attention to this matter

Yours faithfully,

Write the function of each paragraph on the left of it

Find out and highlight/underline any phrases which are useful for you

Exercise 7:

Read the task and the sample answer Cross out any information that you think is not relevant

Your telephone has been cut of It may have been caused by a recent storm

Although you have reported the problem twice, nothing has been done about it Write a letter to the telephone company explaining the situation and asking them

to repair the line as soon as possible

Dear Sir/Madam

I am writing to inform you that our telephone has been out of order for over a week after the recent storm This has been a major problem as I have been

expecting an important call from my sister in Canada who is about to have a baby Now, I don’t know whether the baby has arrived or whether it is a boy or a girl

I have already telephoned your office twice from a neighbour’s phone and both times members of your staff promised to come out and fix the problems within