Rules for Writing Formal Letters

Addresses

1) Your Address
The return address should be written in the top right-hand
corner of the letter.

2) The Address of the person you are writing to

The inside address should be written on the left, starting
below your address.

Date

Different people put the date on different sides of the page. You
can write this on the right or the left on the line after the address
you are writing to. Write the month as a word.

Salutation or greeting:

1) Dear Sir or Madam,

If you do not know the name of the person you are writing
to, use this. It is always advisable to try to find out a name.

2) Dear Mr Jenkins,
If you know the name, use the title (Mr, Mrs, Miss or Ms,
Dr, etc.) and the surname only. If you are writing to a
woman and do not know if she uses Mrs or Miss, you can
use Ms, which is for married and single women.
Opening lines

- to make reference to previous correspondence

- to say how you found the recipient's name/address
- to say why you are writing to the recipient.

10 Good Opening Lines

With reference to your letter of 19 July, I ...

I am writing to enquire about ...

After having seen your advertisement in ... , I would like ...

After having received your address from ... , I ...

I received your address from ... and would like ...

We/I recently wrote to you about ...

Thank you for your letter of 10 May.

Thank you for your letter regarding ...

Thank you for your letter/e-mail about ...

In reply to your letter of 10 May, ...

Ending a letter

1. Closing remark

- to make a reference to a future event

- to repeat an apology
- to offer help

10 Good Closing Remarks:

If you require any further information, feel free to contact me.

I look forward to your reply.

I look forward to hearing from you.

I look forward to seeing you.

Please advise as necessary.

We look forward to a successful working relationship in the future.

Should you need any further information, please do not hesitate to

contact me.

Once again, I apologise for any inconvenience.

We hope that we may continue to rely on your valued custom.

I would appreciate your immediate attention to this matter.

2) Complimentary Closing:

a) When the recipient's name is unknown to you:

Dear Sir ... Yours faithfully

Dear Madam ... Yours faithfully

Dear Sir or Madam ... Yours faithfully

b) When you know the recipient's name:

Dear Mr Hanson ... Yours sincerely

Dear Mrs Hanson ... Yours sincerely

Dear Miss Hanson ... Yours sincerely

Dear Ms Hanson ... Yours sincerely

c) When addressing a good friend or colleague:

Dear Jack ... Best wishes/Best regards

d) Addressing whole departments:

Dear Sirs ... Yours faithfully

3) Your signature
Sign your name, then print it underneath the signature. If you
think the person you are writing to might not know whether you
are male or female, put your title in brackets after your name.
Sample letters
56 Disgruntled Street
Somewhere Unhappy
IAM MAD

Customer Service Manager

That Awful Company
Somewhere Awful
UR BAD

15 June, 2017

Dear Sir/Madam,

I am writing today to complain of the poor service I received from your company on June 12, 2016. I
was visited by a representative of That Awful Company, Mr. Madman, at my home on that day.

Mr. Madman was one hour late for his appointment and offered nothing by way of apology when
he arrived at noon. Your representative did not remove his muddy shoes upon entering my house,
and consequently left a trail of dirt in the hallway. Mr. Madman then proceeded to present a range
of products to me that I had specifically told his assistant by telephone I was not interested in. I
repeatedly tried to ask your representative about the products that were of interest to me, but he
refused to deal with my questions. We ended our meeting after 25 minutes without either of us
having accomplished anything.

I am most annoyed that I wasted a morning (and half a day's vacation) waiting for Mr. Madman to
show up. My impression of That Awful Company has been tarnished, and I am now concerned
about how my existing business is being managed by your firm. Furthermore, Mr. Madman's
inability to remove his muddy shoes has meant that I have had to engage the services, and incur the
expense, of a professional carpet cleaner.

I trust this is not the way That Awful Company wishes to conduct business with valued customers—I
have been with you since the company was founded and have never encountered such treatment
before. I would welcome the opportunity to discuss matters further and to learn of how you
propose to prevent a similar situation from recurring. I look forward to hearing from you.

Yours faithfully,

Signature

Name
Josh Hamilton
Store Manager
G Mart Pvt. Ltd.
863, Main Street,
1423, New York City, New York

August 20, 2017

Dear Mr. Hamilton

I have been a loyal customer of your stores for the past 5 years; I have time and again received
great service at your mart which is one of the main reasons I shop at your store. But to my surprise,
on the date of 23rd August, 2010, I was at the receiving end of some very poor service at your mart.

On the said date, I made the purchase of my weekly groceries, and headed towards the cash
counter to pay for them. The person sitting at the counter, who was wearing the name tag of Jen,
was talking on her cell phone. When I asked her to make the bill, she said she would do it in 5
minutes, and resumed her conversation on the phone. After a good 10 minutes, she started with
her work and did it very slowly. The bill, apparently totalled up to more than I expected, so I asked
her to recheck it. Instead, she talked to me very rudely, and told me that if I did not like the prices, I
could take my business elsewhere.

I was appalled at such behaviour, and have a good mind to take my business elsewhere as
suggested. I hope you would look into the matter, and make sure such an incident is not repeated.
Your company has been known to provide good services, and such events tarnish the company
name, so please address this issue soon.

Thank you for your co-operation.

Sincere Regards,
Timothy Stark

Retrieved from:

http://www.bestsampleresume.com/letters/sample-complaint-letter-for-bad-service.html
http://www.nvtc.ee/e-oppe/Varkki/layout/opening_and_closing_lines.html
https://www.scribendi.com/advice/example_complaint_letter.en.html