WRITING A LETTER OF COMPLAINT

On normal letters, the first thing we must worry about is who we are writing to. When
writing a letter of complaint this is less important because you obviously do not know
who is going to receive the letter. Therefore, for the greeting and farewell we use the
same structure as a normal letter to a person we don’t know who it is.

The letter of complaint is always about a problem you have experienced with
something you have purchased or a service that has been provided to you and what
you expect the company who offered you this product or service to do so as to redeem
themselves with you.

Making sure the letter is very clear is one of the most important aspects, after all,
ultimately this is just like a story and stories need beginning, middle and end. To help
you better organize the paragraphs and arguments, use LINKERS.
Use the following link for reference:
https://sites.google.com/site/maycaingles2011/writing/linkers-and-connectors

Another very important point is that letters of complaint in English are very polite and
slightly formal. You might be extremely angry about the service provided, but the
person who receives the letter is not necessarily to blame and on top of that, rudeness
doesn’t take us anywhere and it’s not common for letters of complaint in English.

GREETING-----

Dear Sir or Madam (when you do not know who you are writing to)

BODY------

1st paragraph – A succinct and clear explanation of why you need to complain.
2nd paragraph – Explain background information, what made you write this letter to
complain. Share a little bit of the back story.
3rd paragraph – Depending on the length and level of intricacy of the problem or story,
there might be a second or even third paragraph to explain what you need.
4th paragraph – What do you expect the company you are complaining to do for you?
Remember you can always suggest what you need, and they might negotiate it with
you.

FAREWELLS-----

Yours faithfully, (when you do not know who you are writing to)

By Marília Ferrato Moreira

August, 19th, 2021.