How to Write a Complaint

Surely in their life, almost everyone needs to write a letter of complaint at some point in their life. When you are not satisfied with any product or service, you can resolve the issue in a way that benefits both you and the company by writing a polite letter of complaint. Writing a complaint letter is neither complicated nor intimidating – all you need to do is state the problem and politely ask for a solution.

Table of Contents

Write a Letter of Complaint

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Send your letter to customer care. For the best chance of success, send your complaint letter directly to the company’s customer service department. Customer care specializes in dealing with complaints and so your mail can be handled efficiently. ^{[1] X Research Source}

Try to find out the name of the manager or director of customer service and email them directly. You should begin your letter with your Regards or Greetings , Mr., Mrs., Ms. and the name of the manager or director. If you cannot find the name of the customer service manager, simply write Dear Mr or Mrs. ^{[2] X Research Source}
You can find the customer care office address on the company’s website, brochures, or on product packaging or labels. ^{[1] X Research Source}

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Quickly get to the heart of the matter. On the first line of your letter, you need to state why you are writing your complaint and what you are complaining about. Try to include as much relevant evidence as possible, including the date, time, and place where you purchased or received services, along with any relevant codes or serial numbers.

So that the recipient will be able to determine the bottom line of the letter in less than 5 seconds, you should avoid lengthy or rambling introductions.
You can provide more details or explanation of the problem situation in the paragraph after the opening sentence, but the first line of the letter should direct the reader’s attention to your complaint as quickly as possible.
For example, you could start like this: “I am writing to complain about a faulty hair dryer that I purchased from your company in…, city… on…”

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Specify your request. If you want a new product, refund, repair, or some other form of compensation, state this in the second paragraph of your letter. This will help you avoid having to return a preformed reply or other generic response, and also help the problem be resolved in the direction you want.

Try to make comments and opinions as helpful as possible, and at the same time show a desire to continue your relationship with the company. If you ask for a refund or other form of compensation, while informing the company of some plans to solve the problem elsewhere, they will have little incentive to resolve your issue. ^{[1] X Research Source}
If you want the company to deal with a more serious issue, you should also state that in your letter, but show that you also understand this can take a long time.
Don’t threaten that you will take legal action in the first letter. This is a last resort when there is no other way, but first file a complaint and wait for a response from the company.

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Attach relevant documents. This could be an invoice, a warrant, a copy of the check you send, and if possible, include a photo or video. All documents should be sent with your letter.

It should be noted that you are only sending copies , not any original documents. Otherwise important information may be lost or misplaced in case you have to give evidence to other parties.
In addition, you must also make sure that you have clearly and accurately stated what documents are attached in your letter. For example, “Please see a copy of my original receipt, along with a copy of the hair dryer’s warranty and serial number information.”

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Give them a reasonable amount of time to resolve the issue. It is very helpful to give an exact time when you would like the company to resolve the problem because it will give you peace of mind and promote the problem to be resolved faster.

Setting a deadline will also help prevent your letter from getting lost and forgotten, which, if it happens, will only make your relationship with the company more strained and confusing. . ^{[3] X Research Sources}
But you also have to make sure that the time you give is reasonable. Usually one or two weeks is given, but it depends on your requirements.

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Complete your letter politely. Thank the recipient of the letter for your help, and specify when and how they can contact you for better results.

At the end of the letter , please write yours best regards , or best regards . Don’t end your message with some informal phrase like “Hi”. ^{[2] X Research Source}

Use the right Style and Format

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Be polite. You may be very angry, and you may have a right to be angry, but when you are rude, you will only put the recipient on the defensive. Write politely, respect the recipient and avoid threats, sarcasm or anger. Remember that the people reading your letter are not directly responsible for anything that has happened, and they will be much more enthusiastic or willing to work with a polite and kind customer than an angry one. and rude.

Remember that the company to whom you are writing the complaint did not intentionally cause errors or problems. Most companies take customer satisfaction as a criterion.
You’ll be more successful when you see the recipient as someone who wants to help you, not someone with malicious intent.
Don’t write when you’re angry, wait until you’ve calmed down. Or if you want, you can write the letter right away, but wait a day or two to read it again before you send it. In any case, try to use the least controversial approach.

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Write short and concise. Customer care representatives can receive hundreds of letters a day, so it’s important to get to the point quickly, so your readers know exactly what the problem is. when you start reading. If your message is too long or too detailed, readers will tend to just skim the content and they won’t know exactly what the problem is or even the solution you want. ^{[1] X Research Source}

Do not include too many unnecessary or redundant details.
Try to write in just one page, or about 200 words.

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Must be decisive. The letter should be written in an assertive tone with strong grounds to show that you are taking it very seriously, especially with a more serious complaint, like financial complaints. ^{[1] X Research Source}

Show your assertiveness through a number of factors, such as the quality of the languages used, an understanding of the company’s rights and responsibilities, and the professional presentation of your letter. ^{[1] X Research Source}
All of these factors make you trustworthy and will positively influence the response to your letter.

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The letter must be written in a precise and clear format. As mentioned above, the more professional you are in the layout of your letter, the more positive the impact will be on your complaint. Put your name, address, and date of writing in the top right corner, followed by the name or title of the person you want to address, along with the company’s address on the left side, just above the text. content of the letter.

Type your letter, it will be easier to read and look much clearer. If you must handwrite, make sure your letter is clear and legible, with no erasers or ink stains.
Leave a space under the line “Sincerely” or “Dear Letter” to sign. Under your signature, you can type your name for easy reading.
Arrange the content of the letter’s layout in a clear order and evenly spaced, with equal spacing between paragraphs.

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Check spelling and grammar errors. Spelling and grammatical errors can negatively affect your complaint. Be sure to carefully check for spelling errors on your computer before printing, or have someone else read them over before sending them out.

Track Progress

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Wait for the time limit you give. Be patient and don’t take any further action until the deadline you set out in the first letter. If you still receive any response after the deadline has passed, you can call or email to check if the company received the letter.

If you still do not receive any information about your letter or are not satisfied with the company’s resolution, you can send your letter to the higher level relevant people.

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Send messages in a hierarchy. If you are not successful in discussing with the customer service manager, try to find someone in a higher position and send a letter to them. Each time you will send up a level, from Customer Service Representative to Supervisor, Director, Vice President and maybe even to the CEO of the company, and attach your messages. sent the previous cadres. This will give you information about the new representatives of the company and so the matter can be resolved without going through litigation.

It is better to send a letter to the customer service department first, before sending it to the higher-ups instead of sending it directly to the highest-ranking person. Because customer care specializes in dealing with such complaints and any letter sent to the CEO is very likely to be sent back to this department. ^{[1] X Research Source}
When your complaint letter is sent back to customer care from the CEO, the staff of this department may react badly to you because you reported it to their superiors. without going through them. ^{[1] X Research Source}
Remember when sending a letter to the CEO, it must be clear, concise and complete, because they do not know what has happened before.

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If you want to take legal action, see an attorney. The lawyer will know what to do next. Remember that legal action should only be seen as a last resort. When you threaten to take legal action in the letter, it creates a negative tone and can derail any claim. And it can also have an effect on you if they ask you to show proof that you are not a fraud.

Advice

Do not use profanity in the letter. Remember that all you want is compensation or problem solving, if you offend the reader you won’t get there. If you want to use strong language, avoid using passive language and use direct and definitive words. For example, you can use strong words like horror or even disgust , instead of simple words like disappointment .
If you’re writing to complain about a particular person, only talk about their shortcomings and don’t blame or discredit the entire company. If you are complaining about a company policy, do not offend the listener or the policy. Simply state your problem and how you want it solved.
Before you write your letter, take some time to reflect on what happened. Once you’ve come up with the whole thing and know what you want and how to ask the company to handle it, you’ll be ready to write your letter.
Make sure you include your full name, address, e-mail, and phone number (home, work and mobile number if applicable) in the outgoing letter. Also, be sure to request information from the reader so that both you and the reader can keep up with the progress on your complaint.
Filing a written complaint is more impactful than emailing, faxing, or a comment on their blog or website. Most companies prefer to handle formal written complaints.
Re-read your letter and make sure everything is honest, sincere, and verifiable.
Do not send oath letters from witnesses. In fact, if you think you might be going to court, it’s a good idea to keep the witness statements and their names. However, keep in mind that going to court can be very expensive. It is better to try to reach a mutual agreement in an informal way, or at most through an intermediary.
There are several consumer websites where you can raise your complaint as well as check to see if anyone has had a similar situation to you with that company.
Keep copies of all correspondence and the date you mailed it.

Warning

It is illegal to use language that threatens violence, destroys property, or threatens health or safety. Threats can be viewed as harassment and taken as evidence in court, and can result in administrative penalties, possibly even imprisonment. Be tolerant and polite, put threatening thoughts out of your head and even less put them in writing and send them to them!

Steps

Write a Letter of Complaint

Use the right Style and Format

Track Progress

Advice

Warning

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