Letters of Complaint 1&2 You will hear two people discussing a letter which one of them is going to send. Listen to the cassette and answer the questions below. a) What is the main purpose of the letter? >) What complaints does Cathy make in her letter? ©) What does Cathy want the manufacturer to do? 4) What is Cathy going to do if her letter is ignored? ‘formal eter of complaints written to complain about a problem which has arisen faulty merchandise, rude staf, inaccurate information, etc). should explain the reasons for the complaint, and usually includes a suggestion/request! demand concerning what should be done (e.g. refund, compensation, et). Mild or strong language can be used depending on the writer's feelings and the Seriousness of the complaint, but abusive language must never be used, ©.g.Mlld Complaint: 1am wating to complain about a factual eror in yesterday's newspaper. 1 hope that you wil give this matter your prompt attention. ‘Strong Complai Lam writing to express my strong disapproval concerning the offensive behaviour of Introduction «an employee at your company’s Winchester Road branch. Paragraph 1 | demand a ful, writen apology or | will be forced to take legal action. state reason(s) for writing ‘© The nature of the complaint should be clearly stated in the fist paragraph. Each aspect Of the topic should be presented in a separate paragraph containing a clear topic sentence, Each complaint shouldbe supported by clear jsication, Nain Body Useful Language Paragraphs 2-3* © Tobegin ttre: state complaints) with ne iusticaton ie complaint : {am wing to| Comb! about craw your attention to (he problem of). Paragraphs 4-5 ‘express my disappointment/dissatsfaction with suggest what should be ‘Strong complaint done |/am wting to express my annoyance/extreme dissatisfaction with anger at protest about | egret toffel | must inform you how appalledishocked | was Conclusion © Toend letters: Final Paragraph Mild complaint bbe dealt with/resolved as soon as possible. eoend eee! | hopettust this matter wil receive your immediate attention. Full name Not be treated lightly * The exact number and afi: | fee that you should ./1am entiled to compensa a replacement. al you should. am entitled to compensation’a retund/a replacement Seanoricateenanan ‘Strong complaint depend on the specific | (must insist on ../insist(that)/demand ..,warn you that instructions for each letter- Unless this matter is resolved .../Unless satisfactory compensation is offered writing task. | will have no choice but tol will be forced to take furtherlegal action.Unit 7d Letters of Complaint 2 Read the instructions and the model letter below and find the topic sen- tence of each paragraph, Then, underline any phrases which you feel are too informal for a letter of this kind, as in the example, (The num- bers in circles indicate the lines which contain the informal phrases.) Replace these with the phrases from the list below. a) compensate me for, b) otherwise I will be forced to, e) Iam writing to express my extreme dissatisfaction with, d) I insist that you, e) Despite my objections, f) Having no other alternative, g) I therefore request that you, hh) Contrary to what I had been told You recently hired a car for a part of your holiday. However, there were several problems with the arrangements. Write a letter of complaint to the manager/manageress explaining the problems and requesting com- pensation. ear dang tls bce real upset about the service | received when od one of your cars on 20th July. op ayer ne requested a four-door model. However, is given a smaller two-door version which, apart from being too small or @my needs, was clearly in need of extensive repat: | meaned about (but our employees informed me that it was the only car available on assured me that it was in perfect order. | couldn't do anything els, so! vehicle @ “attough hey suid there werent, there were, In fac, several thins wrong with the car. Despite the fact that | had driven it for eae hour, | was forced to stop when te engine showed sign of overheating Having added two litres of water to the radiator, | was able to era ue, although during the course of my journey a knocking sound from the engine became increasingly persistent and the windscreen wipe kin "EES tsequetjouney was nos unconortbl, Not onl i have the worry of driving a car which was not roadworthy, but | a so had to stop on three occasions to refil the radiator. Finally, | had no choice bu to leave the car at your Oxford branch and continue my journey using sport. eer te your employees acted iresponsibly in issuing @ car whi wes not sfe to dive, ond | belive | am ented to compensation for the interruption to my holiday. So | want you to send me the sum of £200 to cover the cost of my train ticket and to make me feel better after the distress | was forced to suffer as a result of your negligence, ‘oud better give this matter your urgent attention, or else | really © will have to take legal action. Yours faithfully, S. Mallison Mr S. Mallison 102 Linking Words Complaints and justifications can be linked together as follows: | purchased the camcorder only a month ago but the rewind button does not function properly. | purchased the camcorder a month ago. Nevertheless, / However, the rewind button does not function property The rewind button does not function properiy in spite of / despite the fact that I purchased the camcorder only a month ago. Although / Even though | purchased the camcorder only a month ago, the rewind button does not function properly 4 3 Match the complaints and justifica- tions below, then join them using appropriate linking words/phrases, Complaints 1 The goods we ordered have not been received yet. 2 Our wooden floors have become dull 3 The batteries died after a few hours 4 The hotel was an hour's drive from the beach, 5 The film was too long and very boring, 6 The knife became blunt after onl month's 7 The mascara made my eyes water 8 My daughter's watch stopped after she swam with it on, Justification The label on the packet claims they are long- lasting }b We were told they would not lose their shine. € They were shipped a month ago, We were told it was within walking distance. € The manufacturer claimsit is hypoallergenic, f The trailer sud it would Keep me on the edge of my seat 8 The package label states that it is water- proof You said it was guaranteed to stay sharp for five year,SS Unit 7d Letters of Complaint 4 Read the instructi structions and model lett ead te aon er, and complete the ol name Hak ienhng the topic of each paragraph. hen an nrodectin pai te letter with the words and phrases below, asin th : Some ofthe words can be used morethan once, apg in the : pani therefore, not only .. but also, while, neverthele i ‘thus, furthermore, as a result, although, since “ You are a regular customer of a local restaurant. The last time you ate al there, however, you felt that th re nt ver, yOu felt that the sta os had cropped sig tly. Writ rite a letter explaining why y you were di be done improve te svaion Pan ona suaaestng what coud pear Mr seward, ca svat regret that 1 feel | must write to express Ty disappointment. at. the quality of food and service | received at your restaurant yesterday everind- fa) meee your foods USUeY of a very high stander’ eit that, on this occasion, the meat left a lot wiatpe desired. The preparation and presentation seemed hurried and careless. (2) neither my guest ror | felt inclined to finish our meal (8) een the service was not what | have cae ta expect from your establishment. Our ware was other inattentive and siow, (4)...1108 only . taking our rer. but also... in bringing the dishes. (8) ew oraet saison for my visit was to entertain a cleft. | wee Somewhat disturbed at the apparent fallin standards. On the basis of my previous experience of your restaurant, | hhad promised my guest an especially memorable dinner, Gand WAS (6) wnmnnrnernenne 1ECDIY embarrassed to be proved entirely wrong. might | suggest that, as the manager, it would be advis able for you to oversee the preparation of food persorr a ea the work ye in running a restaurant is very demand’, 1 (8) evn un. feel that the standard of the food served Is of utmost importance. | would recommend, "that you give this matter your (9) urgent attention. egording the service, | would suggest that you speak ro re waiter concerned to ensure that other Custarrere 2 ene smilarly inconvenienced. This would help, Your oeetaurant. maintain its welrdeserved reputation : | look forward to hearing from you ‘as soon as posse Ble, (10) nnn sew 1 Rope you will take my comments into consideration yours sincerely, BA. Hogan PA Hogan 103Unit 7d Letters of Complaint 5 Read the instructions below and the beginnings and endings from letters of complaint. Then match the beginnings and endings and say whether the language in each pair is mild, strong or abusive. Which level of language would be most appropriate for the situation described? You recently travelled by coach and were very disappointed with the ser- vice provided by the staf, and the delays you encountered, Write a letter to the company to complain and to demand compensation 104 eA NDT ES AI hope that you will look into this situation as a matter of some urgency, and that the service offered by your com- any will improve (Jana (ker 1 | am writing to express my total dissatisfaction with the appal- ling service | experienced on ‘one of your coaches from Cardiff to Coventry on 24th May. B Organise your pititul company efficiently and stop cheating the public by charging outra- ge0us prices for fith-rate ser- vice. 2 | am writing to complain about the poor quality of the service | experienced on one of your coaches from Cardiff to Coventry on 24th May. € | insist that my wife and | re- Ceive a full refund of the price Of our tickets, and must warn you that unless this matter is resolved at once | will not hes- itate to take legal action. 3 | am writing to draw your atten- tion (if you have any, which | doubt) to the fact that the staff who ‘served’ us on your Cardiff o-Coventry coach on 24th May are incompetent, idle fools. 6 Read the following situations, and say whether mild or strong language would be more appropriate for a letter concerning each one. Then, choose tvo situations and write a suitable beginning and ending for a letter of complaint about each. your neighbour's dog barks at night — you can’t sleep 2 the hotel receptionist forgot to place your wake-up call — you over- slept, missed your flight and had to pay for another ticket 3 you found a piece of glass in a packet of frozen food — you nearly ‘wallowed it 4 the TV guide always has inaccuracies concerning dates and times — you can't be sure what programmes will be shown 3 the birthday cake you ordered wasn’t delivered on time — the children were extremely disappointed 6 there was no lifeguard on duty atthe public swimming pool — your child almost drowned 7 Look at the following writing task instructions and then answer the questions below. The questions apply to both tasks. ) You are the manager of a supermarket which is losing customers because employees of the company next door park their cars in the supermarket parking area. Write a letter of com- plaint to the company and suggest what should be done. 5) You have noticed that students at your sson’s school are often left unattend- ced. Write a letter of complaint to the ‘headmaster and ask him to ensure that the situation does not continue. at greeting would you use? © What is the main purpose for writing the letter? © What is the additional purpose? © What paragraph plan would you use? © What useful expressions could you use as opening and closing remarks? © How would you sign the letter? 8 Choose ONE of the writing tasks above, and write a complete para- graph plan with notes. Then write the letter in about 300 words,