Letter of Complaint

Colegio For Life

Para la vida
Labranza/Temuco

English Class
Miss Karen Weisser
4th Year highschool
Objective: To write an effective letter using
persuading techniques .
Guess the name!
Have you ever bought something
from the internet?
• Does it fulfil your expectations ?
 But what if you do not get what
you wanted…
• What do you
normally do ?
A complaint letter is written to
complain about the wrong doings, bad
state of affairs, errors, etc., to the
authorities.
• Effective complaint letters (and any other way
of complaining) should be:

• Concise
• Authoritative
• Factual
• Constructive
• Friendly
 Write concise letters

• Structuring the letter is important. Think in

terms of the acronym AIDA –

• Attention, Interest, Desire,

Action.
Even if you are very angry, it's always important
to make a positive, complimentary comment. It
will make the reader and the organization more
inclined to 'want' to help you
 Complaint letters must include all the facts

• But be brief and concise. Mention just the key

facts, especially dates and reference numbers.
 Write letters with a friendly and complimentary tone

• This is perhaps the most important rule of all

when complaining. Be kind to people and they
will be kind to you. Ask for their help – it's
really so simple – and they will want to help
you.
 complaint letter example - faulty product

Dear Sir/Madam,

I am writing to you in connection with an iPhone device I purchased from you. I

feel I must complain about the item because it was nothing like the one you advertised.

To begin with, it was not in a great condition; the back cover was scratched .
Secondly, you stated that the earphones and the charger were included, but what a
surprise; one of the earphones was missing and the charger was not in the box.
Furthermore, when I tried to use the phone and find out how its applications worked I
discovered that it did not work properly. I could not even get connected to the
Why are they
Internet. complaining?

To make matters worse, the date on the box showed that this iPhone is not new- not
one month old as you claimed in your advertisement. It is actually one of the
company’s last year’s model.

As a regular customer of yours I insist to replace the item at once or the refund of my
money. I hope that steps will be taken to resolve the matter and not be forced to take
further actions.
Awaiting your input on this,

Yours faithfully

Gustav
Complaint letter Structure
 ACTIVITIES:
• Choose one topic and write your complaint
letter.
 Activities: Create your first
complaint email.
You have ordered an exercise machine you had
seen in Antena 3D. However, you are not
satisfied with what you have received. Read
carefully the advertisement and the notes you
have made.
• You have ordered a pair of shoes you had seen
in Paris. However, you are not satisfied with
what you have received. Read carefully the
advertisement and the notes you have made.