Letter of Complaint - How to Write and Examples

In this article, you will learn how to write letters of Complaint in English with the help of sample opening and closing sentences and sample letters. This article will help you to write FCE Complaint Letters, PET Complaint letters, Complaint letter for ZNO exam and The Unified State Exam (EGE). You can download the examples of letters of Complaint in word and pdf for free.

General information

• Letters of complaint are normally written in a formal style.
• Mild or strong language can be used depending on the feelings of the writer or the seriousness of the complaint, but abusive language must never be used.

Mild Complaint:

• I am writing to complain about a damaged CD I bought at your shop.
• I hope you will deal with this matter / resolve this matter quickly.

Strong Complaint:

• I am writing to express my disgust at the appalling treatment I received while staying at your hotel.
• I insist upon full compensation or I will be forced to take this matter further.

Start a new paragraph for each different aspect of the topic.

You should state the reason for the complaint in the first paragraph.

Any complaints you make should be supported with a justification.

Complaints and justification can be linked together as follows:

• I still haven't received the goods I ordered in spite of /despite the fact that I sent you a cheque three weeks ago.
• Although / Even though I have only used the automatic tin-opener once, it no longer works.
• I have written to you twice but you have not taken any action.
• I have already written to you twice. Nevertheless, / However, you have not taken any action.

Useful Language for Letters of Complaint

How do you start a letter of Complaint?

Opening Remarks:

Mild:

• I am writing to complain about/ regarding/on account of/because of/on the subject of ...
• I am writing to draw your attention to ...
• I am writing to you in connection with ...

Strong:

• I was appalled at
• l want to express my strong dissatisfaction with
• l feel I must protest/complain about…

Closing Remarks:

 Mild:

• I hope/assume you will replace
• l trust the situation will improve
• l hope the matter will be resolved
• l hope we can sort this matter out amicably

 Strong:

• I insist you replace the item at once
• I demand a full refund
• l hope that I will not be forced to take further action

 

Letters of complaint sample 1

Example Letter of Complaint: Complaint about poor service:

Sir/Madam,

I was a customer, along with several friends, at your restaurant last week, and I am writing to complain about the treatment we received.

The manager was extremely rude to us from the moment we entered the restaurant, and we had to wait almost half an hour for a table, although we had booked one.

Having ordered our food, we were kept waiting almost an hour. When it finally arrived it was so badly cooked that we had to send it back. No apology was offered for...

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Letters of complaint sample 2

Example Letter of Complaint: Complain to neighbor:

Dear Mr. Moncton,

I am writing to complain about the two Alsatian dogs that you own.

Although I have repeatedly asked you to prevent the dogs from leaving your garden, you have failed to do so. As a result, my front lawn has been dug up twice over the past three days.

Furthermore, their continual barking is...

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Letters of complaint sample 3

Example Letter of Complaint: Complaint about poor service:

Dear Sir/Madam,

I am writing to express my complete dissatisfaction with the meal I was served last night at the local branch of Benny's, and my anger at the behaviour of the supervisor when I complained.

Firstly, the service was extremely slow. Despite the restaurant’s claim of fast service, I had to wait fifteen minutes to give my order, and a further twenty minutes for the food to be served.

Furthermore, the advertisement describes the food at Benny’s as delicious. However, the chips were raw, the meat was still frozen in the middle...

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Letters of complaint sample 4

Example Letter of Complaint: Complaint about holiday

Dear Sir/Madam,

I am writing to you about the GHL Adventure Breaks holiday I recently went on. Unfortunately, I was very disappointed.

Firstly, I found most of the instructors very unhelpful and there were a lot of people in each group. Also, some of the activities that were mentioned in your advert were not available - sailing, for example, which I was really looking forward to trying.

As for the accommodation, it was quite dirty and not...

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Letters of complaint sample 5

Example Letter of Complaint: Complain About Receiving Damaged Goods:

Dear Mrs. Brosnan,

I am writing to complain about a waterproof jacket l purchased from your shop last week.

Although the jacket was supposed to be completely waterproof, l got soaked the first time l wore it in wet weather. Furthermore, when I tried to take the jacket off, the zip wouldn’t open and when l tried to get it unstuck, the jacket tore.

I sent the jacket back to your shop...

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Letters of complaint sample 6

Example Letter of Complaint: Complain About Receiving Damaged Goods:

Dear Sir/Madam

I am writing to complain about a washing machine which I recently purchased from your company.

When I used the machine for the first time it worked properly and the clothes came out clean and fresh. However, when l used the machine the second time, there seemed to have been a malfunction during the rinse cycle. The clothes still had quite a lot of soap in them when I took them out.

Furthermore, when l tried washing another load...

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Letters of complaint sample 7

Example Letter of Complaint: Complain About Receiving Damaged Goods:

Dear Sir/Madam,

I am writing to express my strong dissatisfaction with the new cooker which was delivered to my home last week.

When I tried to use it for the first time, I soon found out that the rings did not work properly. It took half an hour to boil a small pan of water!

What is more, the clock is slow and so is the timer. Yesterday, I put...

 

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Letters of complaint sample 8

Example Letter of Complaint: Complain About Damaged Goods:

Dear Mr. Jenkins.

I am writing to express my strong dissatisfaction with the burglar alarm which your company installed in my home three weeks ago.

The alarm was installed on June 15th by one of your engineers. However, the next day he had to be called back to make adjustments because there were technical problems. We then went away for a few days, believing that the alarm was working properly. Unfortunately, the house was burgled on...

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Letters of complaint sample 9

Example Letter of Complaint: The client Complain About the hotel:

Dr. Mr. Green,

I want to express my extreme dissatisfaction with the Caribbean holiday I booked with your agency.

I just got back and I have to say it was the worst holiday I have ever had. To begin with I found myself staying in a huge multi-storey hotel although I had been told that I would...

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