Complaint letters 	

Style and tone: do's and don'ts 

Mark the following (S) should and (N) shouldn't you do when writing a complaint letter:

•	Capitalize words to make clear your anger.
•	Use exclamation marks (!) to emphasize your feelings.
•	Use a polite, formal style throughout the letter.
•	Give full background information including names, times and dates.
•	Emphasize your dissatisfaction by using strong words such as disgusting, stupid and lazy.
•	State what action you want the individual or organization to take.
•	Threaten legal or some other kind of action within a short space of time.
•	Always end with the phrase 'Thank you for your attention'.
•	Aim to have the people who have annoyed you punished.
•	Aim to find a mutually acceptable solution to the problem.

Language: grammar and functions

Which of the following structures and functional areas do you think you should revise before writing your letter? Which part of the letter might you use them?

conditional (if) structures	direct speech	question tags	
past tenses	language for offers	noun phrases	
present tenses	language for requests	adverbials	
reported speech	linkers (however, moreover, therefore etc.)	language for invitations	

Language: collocations / common phrases

Here are some common phrases used in complaint letters.
Choose the best form of each phrase.

1	Dear  Sir / Sirs / Sir or Madam	
2	I write / am writing  to  	complain / complaint  	for / about / of  your delivery service	
3	I could be / am /  will be  / would be  grateful if you  could / would / will  contact me as soon as possible	
4	I am appreciate / would be appreciate / would appreciate it / it would be appreciated  if  you would / could  look into / for / over this matter	
5	I look / am looking forward to hear / hearing from you	
6	Best regards / Yours faithfully / Yours sincerely / Truly yours 	
Correction exercise

Correct the following letter for language and style

Dear Sir

Young Look Beauty Oil

I am writing complaint for the captioned product.

I have ordered two bottles of your company's Young Look Beauty Oil on 14 January 
and told it will take one week for arrival.

One the other hand, it was only arrived last week. Besides, your advertisement 
promised that I will immediately look ten years younger. Moreover, all of my family 
and friends say I now look ten years older.

At last, according to your advertisement, the Young Look Beauty Oil is contain only 
natural product. But when I looked at the ingredients I found it contain many 
chemicals such as sulphuric acid and hydrogen peroxide.

I AM VERY DISSATISFIED WITH YOUR POOR SERVICE!
You must refund my money immediately.

Thank you for your attention

Yours sincerely

J M Wong	

Answers	

Style and tone: do's and don'ts 

•	Capitalize words to make clear your anger.
•	Use exclamation marks (!) to emphasize your feelings.
•	Use a polite, formal style throughout the letter.√
•	Give full background information including names, times and dates. √
•	Emphasize your dissatisfaction by using strong words such as disgusting, stupid and lazy.
•	State what action you want the individual or organization to take. √
•	Threaten legal or some other kind of action within a short space of time.
•	Always end with the phrase 'Thank you for your attention'.
•	Aim to have the people who have annoyed you punished.
•	Aim to find a mutually acceptable solution to the problem. √

Language: grammar and functions

Which of the following structures and functional areas do you think you should revise before writing your letter? Which part of the letter might you use them?

conditional (if) structures	direct speech	question tags	
past tenses	language for offers	noun phrases	
present tenses	language for requests	adverbials	
reported speech	linkers (however, moreover, therefore etc.)	language for invitations	

Language: collocations / common phrases
Choose the correct forms

1	Dear  Sir / Sirs / Sir or Madam	
2	I write / am writing  to  complain / complaint  for / about / of  your delivery service	
3	I could be / am /  will be  / would be  grateful if you  could / would / will  contact me as soon as possible	
4	I am appreciate / would be appreciate / would appreciate it / it would be appreciated  if 
you would / could  look into / for / over this matter	
5	I look / am looking forward to hear / hearing from you	
6	Best regards / Yours faithfully* / Yours sincerely* / Truly yours 	

* This depends on the opening:
Dear Mr / Ms Smith etc. → Yours sincerely
Dear Sir or Madam → Yours faithfully

Dear Sir or Madam

I am writing to complain about the two bottles of Young Look Beauty Oil that I ordered from you / (your North Point branch / website) on 14 January.

I was told they would take one week to arrive but in fact they only arrived last week – five weeks after I ordered them.

Furthermore, your advertisement promised that I would immediately look ten years younger. However, all of my family and friends say I now look ten years older.

Finally, according to your advertisement, the Young Look Beauty Oil contains only natural ingredients, but I found it contains a large number of chemicals such as sulphuric acid and hydrogen peroxide.

I am very dissatisfied with this product and insist that you refund my money immediately.

I look forward to hearing from you. 

Yours faithfully

J M Wong