Complaint letters: a subscription charged twice
You can write a formal complaint that covers all three bullet points and stays firm and polite from the first line to the last.
Your film service has taken this month's payment twice, and you want the money back.
In General Training Task 1, a situation like this comes with three bullet points, and your letter must answer all three. The band descriptors mark tone as well: for band 7 it has to stay consistent and suit the task.
Warm-up
The first line
You are writing to the company about the double payment. Which sentence should come straight after Dear Sir or Madam?
Choose the first sentence.
How it works
You should spend about 20 minutes on this task.
You pay a monthly subscription for an online film and TV service. This month, the company took the payment from your bank account twice.
Write a letter to the customer services manager.
In your letter
- give details of your subscription
- explain what happened with this month's payment
- say what you would like the company to do
Begin your letter as follows:
Dear Sir or Madam,
Write at least 150 words.
Five parts, in order
- 1The greeting
The task gives it to you: Dear Sir or Madam,. Copy it exactly.
- 2Why you are writing
One sentence, such as I am writing to complain about...
- 3One paragraph for each bullet point
Follow the order of the bullets, and give each one real detail: dates, amounts, what you have already done.
- 4A closing line
I look forward to your reply.
- 5The sign-off
Yours faithfully, after Dear Sir or Madam, and Yours sincerely, after a name, as in Dear Ms Grant. Then your full name.
Angry or firm?
You stole my money. Give it back now, or I will tell everyone online what kind of company you are.
I would like the second payment returned within seven days. If I do not hear from you by then, I will contact my bank.
Phrases for a complaint
I was surprised to see that... Unfortunately, ...
I contacted your customer services team on 5 September, but...
Could you please...? I would like you to...
If I do not hear from you by the end of the month, I will...
Watch me do one
I read the three bullets first and give each one a paragraph. Before them goes one sentence that says why I am writing.
Bullet one, details of your subscription: which plan, since when, how much, and an account number. Real details make the letter easy to act on.
Bullet two, what happened: the date, the two payments, how I noticed and what it cost me. I add that I tried the online chat, because the reader will want to know.
Bullet three, what you would like: the second payment back, and a check on my account. Two clear requests, both with would.
Tone: I am annoyed, and I write as a customer who expects the company to put it right. The requests are firm, and there are no insults or exclamation marks.
A model answer
Dear Sir or Madam, I am a subscriber to your film and TV service, and I am writing to complain about a double payment taken from my bank account. I have been on your Standard plan since January last year, and the fee of £10.99 is normally taken on the 3rd of each month. My account number is 4471 2093. Until now, there has never been a problem. On 3 September, however, two payments of £10.99 were taken within a few minutes of each other. I only noticed because my bank sent me a low balance warning, and I had to move money from my savings to cover a bill. I contacted your online chat service twice last week, but I have not yet received a reply. I would be grateful if you could arrange a refund of the second payment as soon as possible. I would also like you to check my account, so that the same thing does not happen next month. I look forward to your reply. Yours faithfully, Mei Ling Chan
- TaskThe purpose, in the first sentence.
- TaskBullet one: the plan, how long, the price and the account number.
- TaskBullet two: what happened, with a date and an amount.
- CoherenceThe effect on the writer follows the facts, so the complaint builds in a clear order.
- GrammarPast simple for what the writer did, present perfect for what has not happened yet.
- GrammarWould like, then a person, then to: a clear request that stays polite.
- VocabularyThe sign-off that goes with Dear Sir or Madam.
Coloured text shows what the examiner is looking for.
Tone is the hardest thing to judge in your own letter. If you want a teacher to read one, Kriti and Christine mark letters in their classes.
Practice with Elita6 questions
Five questions on the letter's parts and its tone, then a whole letter of your own.
The sign-off
The letter began Dear Sir or Madam,. How should it end?
Choose the ending.
Which bullet point?
Which bullet point does this sentence answer?
The second payment left my account empty, and my phone bill could not be paid.
A slip in tone
One sentence in this letter breaks the formal tone. Choose it.
Which sentence contains the error?
A deadline
You want a reply soon. Which sentence asks for one firmly and politely?
Choose the best sentence.
Make it formal
Rewrite this sentence for the letter. Keep the facts and the request, and make it formal, firm and polite.
You took my money twice and I want it back right now.
Set up your learning path at the top of this lesson to get band-specific feedback.
Your own complaint
Write a whole letter for a new situation. Use the five parts, one paragraph per bullet point, and at least 150 words.
You subscribe to a newspaper that is delivered to your home every morning. For the past week, it has arrived late or not at all. Write a letter to the newspaper's customer services manager. In your letter: give details of your subscription; describe the problem with the deliveries; say what you would like the newspaper to do. Begin your letter: Dear Sir or Madam,
0 / 150 words
Set up your learning path at the top of this lesson to get band-specific feedback.
Words to keep
The same amount taken twice. I noticed a double payment on my bank statement.
Remove money from an account, as a company does for a bill. The fee is taken on the 3rd of each month.
Have or provide enough money to pay it. I had to move money from my savings to cover a bill.
Money paid back to you. I asked the company to arrange a refund of the second payment.
A formal way of saying get an answer. I have not yet received a reply to my message.
The formal sign-off after Dear Sir or Madam. End the letter with Yours faithfully, then your full name.
Before you go
Open with one sentence that says why you are writing.
Answer each bullet point in a paragraph of its own, with dates, amounts and what you have already done.
Make your requests with would or could, then read the whole letter once more for tone alone.
Sign off with Yours faithfully after Dear Sir or Madam, then your full name.
Next: That completes Unit 9. Unit 10 is about science, and it opens with conditionals: what happens, or would happen, if something changes.