Business letter: Making a complaint

1. A book club.

Read this publicity about a book club. Then answer the questions.

Now answer the questions.

2. A letter of complaint.

Drag the sentences in order to complete a letter of complaint addressed to the book club.

3. Sentence completion.

Match the two parts to complete sentences from the letter of complaint.

4. Text completion.

Choose the correct option to complete the letter of complaint from exercise 2.

5. Write.

You decided to join the Books Ahoy! book club and take advantage of their offers. Unfortunately, the experience was not satisfactory. You can choose the reasons why.

For example:

  • You were not able to make your own choice from the four free books.
  • None of the free books were available and you were sent another one.
  • The alarm clock didn’t work.
  • You never got an alarm clock.
  • You received more than one book every month, and the cost and inconvenience of returning them was enormous.
  • You returned books that you had been sent, but you were still charged for them.
  • You never received the 25 per cent discount.
  • None of the books you received suited your reading tastes.

Write a letter of complaint to Books Ahoy!

Include the following information:

  1. Background: for example, when you joined, and why
  2. Problems: list the problems, either in the order they happened, or from most serious to least serious
  3. Consequences: for example, the money you have lost, the inconvenience, the frustration
  4. Expected action: what you want them to do, and what you will do if they don’t agree

Here are some useful expressions:

I am writing to complain about...
I understood from your publicity that...
I was surprised/shocked/annoyed to discover that...
Not only did I not get/receive ... but I never...
Not only was I not able to ... but I couldn’t/didn’t...
What’s more...
I would appreciate it if [+ past tense]
I would be grateful if [+ past tense]
Looking forward to your reply/a speedy solution...

Write about 200 to 250 words. Remember that the style is formal.

Check spelling, grammar and the organisation of your letter carefully.