UPPER INT Letter of Complaint

UPPER INTERMEDIATE
MARCH 5
• SOME PEOPLE WILL NEVER BE HAPPY…
One unhappy parent was disappointed after
being charged for her teenage daughter’s
meal, writing: "The restaurant said 'children
eat free' but my 19-year-old daughter still
got charged for her meal." Another wrote:
"My plane journey was a disappointment as
the sky was too cloudy, obstructing my
children’s view of the sea and ruining our
• One tourist blamed relaxed beach etiquette game of eye-spy."
for her husband’s wandering eye,
complaining: "Topless sunbathing on the
beach should be banned. The holiday was
ruined as my husband spent all day looking at
other women." Another moaned: "The beach
had too many fat people. It was gross."
IMAGINE THIS HAPPENED TO YOU..
After Leila Jayne Daly

discovered a worm in her
Sainsbury's lettuce, she
penned the British store a
hilarious open letter on
Facebook
WHAT WOULD YOU DO?

What kind of text is it?
Do you like the letter?
Why ? Why not?
How should a letter of
complaint be written?
• Formal, impersonal style,
• Not so emotional
• No contractions
• Polite phrases
What information should

such a letter include?
•Reason for writing –

description of the problem
•Details of the complaint
•How the issue affected you
•Demand for some form of
compenation
This is the text sent to
Sainsbury by Leila.
Read it and put the
fragments in the
correct order.
First of all,
Not only was there …, but … also ... • Dear Sir or Madam, / To whom it may concern,
On top of that… • I am writing to express my disappointment
As if that was not enough… with/dissatisfaction with the service I received in…
Firstly, your article/advertisement states/claims • I would like to lodge a formal complaint against
that your company for the reasons outlined below:
To begin with, according to your.... . • I feel compelled to write to you in order to describe
However, this is simply not the case, the
_______________ (explanation).
Moreover / Furthermore, the The standard of the… was not up to scratch.
suggestion/statement/claim The… was not up to the expected standard.
The… left a lot to be desired.
It seems only fair that you should… (offer a The… failed to live up to our expectations.
full refund) We were left bitterly disappointed by…
I would appreciate it if you…
I would be grateful if you… I look forward to receiving your reply.
Should these demands not be met, you will I expect to receive a prompt reply to this letter.
be hearing from my lawyers. Yours sincerely, / Yours faithfully
I expect to receive compensation to the
tune of (€2000) for the…
Which phrases are used for: opening the letter / listing problems / complaining /
requesting action / signing off
• Dear Mr Simpkins,
Further to our telephone conversation earlier today,

I am writing in connection with the catering services
which you provided on 12 December for our annual
dinner.
You are aware that over twenty of our guests

suffered food poisoning, caused directly by the food
you provided. Furthermore your staff were
unprofessional and clearly had not been properly
trained for this type of work. The waiters were rude
and slovenly while the kitchen staff were dirty in
appearance and did not wear the correct clothing
stipulated in government regulations relating to
hygiene and public catering.
To make matters worse, I was presented with a bill

which was $1,500 over the agreed price and told to
pay immediately. In the circumstances, I think my
refusal was quite reasonable.
Having taken all of the above into consideration, I

have now spoken with our solicitors and you will be
hearing from them in due course. Yours faithfully,
Yours sincerely,
• Dear Mr Smith, Dear Sir or Madam,
• Yours… , Yours… ,
CHECK LIST
• Step 1: Starting and Greeting ,
• Introduce the problem briefly
• Step 2: Explain your problem in more detail
(Why are you complaining?)
• Step 3: Write about what you have done to resolv
e it (optional)
• Step 4: How would you like to resolve the issue?
• Step 5
: When/how do you want them to respond?
• Step 6: Finish the email
• Padlet links
https://padlet.com/abartosiak2/e9cjbs65g9ngbohd
https://padlet.com/abartosiak2/x2op6ahxcclue13m
https://padlet.com/abartosiak2/3so55pcdht2togqc
• SOME MORE LINKS TO PRACTISE WRITING
LETTERS OF COMPLAINT
https://www.eltbase.com/quiz/019
_11.htm
_01.htm
_05.htm
https://www.eltbase.com/quiz/019_01.htm

UPPER INT Letter of Complaint

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UPPER INT Letter of Complaint

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UPPER INTERMEDIATE

After Leila Jayne Daly

WHAT WOULD YOU DO?

What information should

•Reason for writing –

Further to our telephone conversation earlier today,

You are aware that over twenty of our guests

To make matters worse, I was presented with a bill

Having taken all of the above into consideration, I

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