1 A LETTER OF COMPLAINT
a Read the letter ofcon1plaint. Then answer
the questions.
1 Who is Chris Mason con1plaining to?
2 What item is he con1plaini ng about? \Vhy?
3 \Vho did he contact first?
4 W hat problen1did he have \vhen he phoned
to corn plain?
5 In 'vhich paragraph does Chris use flattery?
H ;>ow.
b Read it again and con1plete the gaps with a
'vord fron1 the list.
Qeaf delivered forward However in stock
reference service unhelpful Yours
p Useful language: a formal lett er (or email)
You don't know the person'sname
Start: Dear Sir I fv1adam,
Finish: Yours faithfully,
You know the person's name
Start: Dear+ fv1r I fv1s I Mrs Garcia,
Finish: Yours sincerely,
Style
• Don't use contract ions
• Write I look forward to hearing from you. as
the final sentence
• Write your f ull name under your signat ure
Note: a formal email is exactly the same as
a formal letter, except in an email we don't
write the address or date.
c Write a letter (or an en1ail) ofcon1plaint
about something you bought onli11e. Plan
vvhat you're going to write. Use the Useft1l
language to help you.
d Check your letter or email for mistakes
(gran1111ar, vocabulary, punctuation, and
spelling).
~ p.77
Sandra Adan1s
Head ofDepart1nent
John Leavis Customer Service
PO Box 908
Swindon May 19th 2013
1 Dear M sAda1ns,
Last vVednesday, 25 April, I ordered a coffee machine from
your onlinc store (order 2 #CE437184). Before placing
the order I read the conditions carefully, and the item was
3____. Your website says that ite1ns in stock are
4_ _ _ _ in 48 hours.
Tvvo \·veeks passed, and nothing arrived. 5 , I noticed
that pay1nent had been taken fro1n n1y credit card. I phoned
your customer service line, and the person that I spoke to,
:Becky, was rude and 6 . She said that the item was not
in stock, and that she didn't kno"v when they "vould arrive. She
could not explain why the money had been taken from my card.
I have bought many things fi·om you over the years, both from
your l ,ondon shop and the online store, and I have always had
good 7 . I can only imagine that this is a departure
fro1n your usual high sLandards, a nd I am sure you will be able
to resolve the situation in a satisfactory way.
I look 8_ _ _ _ to hearing from you.
9_ _ __ sincerely,
Chris JVIason
Writing