Claim letters

Sample Complaint Letter and E-mail

[Your Address]
[Your City, State, ZIP]
(Your e-mail address, if sending via e-mail)

Date

[Name of Contact Person] (if available)
[Title] (if available)
[Company Name]
[Consumer Complaint Division] (if you have no specific contact)
[Street Address]
[City, State, ZIP Code]

Dear [Contact Person]:

Re: (account number, if applicable)

On [date], I [bought, leased, rented, or had repaired] a [name of the product, with serial or model number, or service performed] at [location, date, and other important details of the transaction].

Unfortunately, your product [or service] has not performed well [or the service was inadequate] because [state the problem]. I am disappointed because[explain the problem: for example, the product does not work properly; the service was not performed correctly; I was billed the wrong amount; something was not disclosed clearly or was misrepresented; etc.].

To resolve the problem, I would appreciate your [state the specific action you want: money refunded, charge card credit, repair, exchange, etc.]. Enclosed are copies (do not send originals) of my records [include receipts, guarantees, warranties, canceled checks, contracts, model and serial numbers, and any other documents].

I look forward to your reply and a resolution to my problem and will wait until[set a time limit] before seeking help from a consumer protection agency or the Better Business Bureau. Please contact me at the above address or by phone at[home and/or office numbers with area code].

Sincerely,

Your name

Enclosure(s)

Claim letters are used to make claims due to unsatisfactory work or products by companies that have contracted another party to complete work. For example, if a company outsources production of a part required for a final product and is unsatisfied with the contractor's work, that company will write a claim letter to demand superior products. As such, claim letters have a very formal and serious tone.

below to model claim letters for use in your own business activities.

The following letters make claims against unsatisfactory work. You can find different types of business letters and the guide to further refine your business English letterwriting skills.

Useful Key Phrases

• As someone who has worked with ...
• we were very disappointed to find / see / have discovered ...
• As our written agreement stipulated, we expected ...
• I think you will agree that a communication problem exists.
• We would like you to ..., or provide us with a refund.

Example Letter

Drivers Co.
3489 Greene Ave.
Olympia, WA 98502
August 17, 2001

Richard Brown, President
Document Makers
Salem, MA 34588

Dear Mr. Brown:

As someone who has worked with your company for over 3 years, we were very disappointed to see the documents you produced for our latest Drivers Co. publicity campaign.

As our written agreement stipulated, we expected full color leaflets with fancy explanatory texts, but instead, we found that black and white photos had been included in the prepared leaflets.

Yours truly,I think you will agree that a communication problem exists.

We would like you to send out a photographer to provide us with the promised color coverage, or provide us with a refund.

(signature here)

Thomas R. Smith,
Director

TRS/lj

For further types of business letters use this guide to different types of business letters to refine your skills for specific business purposes such as making inquiries, adjusting claims, writing cover letters and more