letter of complaint

• Engels
• Middelbare school
• havo
• Leerjaar 1

Welcome back!

Road map

• Would you rather ... 
• Writing a letter of complaint

Lesson goal

At the end of this class you can describe the characteristics, structure, and global content of a letter of complaint. 

Would you rather ...
always criticise & complain or always create new opportunites/ways ? Be prepared to discuss!

Criticise & Complain

Create new opportunities/ways

Letter of complaint

Are you infuriated by your phone company? Enraged by the local supermarket? Incensed by a train company? 

"Don't get mad - get even" is the advice. 

A good complainer is a happy complainer. 

Revenge is truly a dish best served cold - and on paper.

Amelia Hill - 'How to make the perfect complaint'  The Guardian 

What have you complained about (or would you have liked to complain about?)in the past year?

A statement that something is unsatisfactory or unacceptable.

Not content or happy with something.

Sad or displeased because someone or something has failed to fulfil one's hopes or expectations.

Cause trouble or annoyance to (someone) by interrupting or otherwise inconveniencing them.

disappointed 

a complaint

to bother

dissatisfied 

What characterises a formal letter of complaint?

Letter of complaint 

• formal style: no contractions, no abbreviations, use passive.
• Write one paragraph per subtopic.
• Skip a line between paragraphs.
• Make sure you know what you want, ensure it is reasonable and state it plainly.
• Never be rude. Be firm but polite.

Letter of complaint 

• Dear Sir/Madam, or Dear Mr/Ms/Mrs .... 
• Introduction: state why you are writing the letter.

       If you can, start with something positive and then state your problem.

• Body: elaborate on the problem(s) and how you would like to see the     matter resolved.
• Conclusion: I hope that .../ I look forward to ...
• Yours faithfully (when the name of the recipient is unknown)
• Yours sincerely (when the name is known)

Introduction

Body

Conclusion

Describe the problem

Introduce yourself 

State your reason for writing

Re-emphasise what you expect (as a soluton)

Explain how you feel

State something positive followed by 'however'

Propose a solution and 'if not, then ..."

Emphasise what you expect from the other party.

Introduce yourself and state your reason for writing

Describe the problem, explain how you feel, and propose a solution/what you will do if the situation will not improve.

Introduction

Body

Conclusion

Can you describe the characteristics, structure, and global content of a letter of complaint?

😒🙁😐🙂😃

Formal letter outline

1. Your own address without your name, with the country

 

 Marinus Postlaan 1

 8264 PB Kampen

 Netherlands

Open link and read article ---> 

Link writing 

Formal letter outline

2. Date of writing

 

 15 December 2020

 December 15, 2020

 December 15th, 2020

 15th December 2020

All options are correct; the first one is the easiest. Remember to write months with capital letters in English!

Formal letter outline

3. Subject line

  

 subject: complaint about … / application for …

Do not use capital letters, except when you use names

Formal letter outline

4. Salutation

 Dear Mr Jones / Mrs Jones, (if you know who you are writing to)

 Dear Sir/Madam, (if you do not know who you are writing to)

• Use capital letters
  
• Never use a first name.
  
• Do not write ‘Mister/Missus’
  
• Always end with a comma
  

Formal letter outline

5. Three paragraphs

   

More information later on

Formal letter outline

6. Final sentence

  I look forward to hearing from you soon.

This is a sentence you can almost always use.

Formal letter outline

7. Closure

   Yours sincerely, / Yours faithfully,

Formal letter outline

8. Your signature and full name

 

 [signature]

 Renske van Dijk

Formal letter outline

9. If necessary: enclosures 

Encl.: CV 

Encl.: receipt 

Basic rules

You cannot use abbreviated forms in formal letters

•  instead of can’t you use cannot
• instead of haven’t you use have not
  
• etc.
  

Between each new part of your letter you leave a blank line

It is okay to start a letter with “I” in English

Letter of complaint paragraph contents

Paragraph 1: the reason for writing explained in short (I am writing this letter in relation to the complaint I have about ...) 

Paragraph 2: what you have done so far to solve the problem (I have already talked to the store that sold me the item; however, they could not help me any further. / I have already tried to solve the problem myself with the use of the user's manual.) 

Paragraph 3: your expectations; how they can contact you; your hopes (I would like for you to reimburse the repair costs on my account./ You can email me at ... or call me on ... / I hope to hear from you soon. ) 

Practise letter of complaint

Write a letter of complaint. 

Follow the instructions. 

Make sure you use the outline example as given earlier this class. 

See next two slides for assignment --> 

Assignment 

Situatie 

Je hebt tijdens een bezoek aan Londen een mini-notebook gekocht op 23 juli 2020. Reden: veel goedkoper dan in Nederland. 

Klacht: accu zou volgens de handleiding 6,5 uur moeten werken, maar jouw accu is na 2 uur leeg. Je bent ermee naar een computerzaak geweest; conclusie accu stuk. Bovendien: je hebt in de handleiding gelezen dat er bij de prijs een leren tasje inbegrepen is; zat niet in de doos. 
Je besluit een klachtenbrief te schrijven naar:

Morgan Computer, 64 Oxford Street, London WC1A 1AX 

Assignment 

Opdracht

Schrijf een klachtenbrief en verwerk de volgende gegevens:

• Vertel wat je wanneer en waar hebt gekocht. (noem winkel, type, prijs)
• Zeg dat je erg teleurgesteld bent: beschrijf klacht
• Noem conclusie plaatselijke computerzaak. Als het nodig is, kunnen ze contact opnemen met deze winkel.
• Zeg dat je in Nederland woont en dus niet even langs kan komen
• Vraag om nieuwe accu en tasje. Andere mogelijkheden: 1. bedrag van tasje en accu op jouw rekening storten. Geef rekeningnummer. 2. Je stuurt notebook op en je krijgt aankoopbedrag + portokosten terug.
• Zeg dat je een kopie van de kassabaan hebt bijgesloten.
• Nog vragen? Ze kunnen je e-mailen op: 
• Spreek hoop uit dat klacht wordt opgelost. 

What to do? 

Write your letter

Hand me back your paper

= Homework for next class if not finished