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WRITING

a letter of complaint

7A Work In pairs and dlscuss. In what circumstances would you write a Icttcr of complaint or make an official complaint? Have you ever done this? What happened?

8 Read the letter and answer the questions.

1    Who is the letter to?

2    Why is the writer complaining?

3    What does he want to achieve?

15 Mapie Road Hillhead HH12 84L. 5th Fcbruary

Hillhead Local Council

use formal written language

8A Match informel phrases 1-7 with formal phrases in the letter.

I Get in touch soon to let me know thac you've done semething

To put thmgs right, I want you to...

I‘m writing about With best wishes

Thanks for dealing with this problem qu.ckly l'm sending something with this letter l‘ve already discussed the problem

B Work in pairs. Underline all the examples of the pa$sive in the letter. Why Is it used so often?

1662 Parkway

Hillhead. H3 7JT

Dear Sir or Madom,

1    I am writing with regard to the CounciTs rcccnt installation of CCTV cameras in our area.

2    Bricfly, the problem is that despice guarantecs about safeguarding the CCTV images, it is possible for anyonc to view them on their homc Computer because the system is intcrnct-linked and not password-protectcd. As a rcsult, picturcs ćannot be kept sccurc and, in fact. mysclf and my car can be identified in images that were recently posted Online. I regard this as a scrious invasion

of privacy as wcli as a viohcion of the local council promisc to taxpaycr$.

3    I havc already pursucd this matter with the local policc department. who havc adviscd me to concact you immediatcly.

•4 In order co reso!ve this matter I am rcquesring that you rcmove the images where I appear without dclay (specific coordinates are detailed in the cnclosed document), and that you tako aedon to prcvent lurther invasions of privacy in the futurc.This would include ensuring that internet-based CCTV images arc pass-worded and that ccchniques arc used to biur the picturcs so that individuals arc unrccognisable.

A letter of complaint shoukl fol!ov/ 'The Four Cs'. It should be: concise, elear, constructive and considerate. Reread the letter. Does it follow all four of ‘The Four Cs'?

9A Plan a letter of complaint.

1    Read the notes below and choose one of the situations.

2    Decide what you w3nt to achieve in the letter.

3    Make notes on the content of each paragraph. Sltuation 1

Your neighbours / new bcirglar alarm / alarm gone off three times / neighbours away / tried to talk to them / too busy

Write a letter of complaint to your neighbours. Situation 2

Recently you parked car / thought it was legał/ retumed / parking fine / no-parking sign / behind tree

5    Please contact me within ten days of the datę of this letter to confirm chat thesc steps have bcen taken. If you need to contact me by telephone, you may reach mc at [phone].

6    Thank you for your prompt attention to this matter.

Yours faithfully.

St&venJones

Write a letter of complaint to your local council. Situation 3

Recently you joined online DVD storę / huge inerease of spam / email unusablc / storę did not protect contact details Write a letter of complaint to the customor service department of the online storę.

Steven Jones

C Write the number of the paragraph next to the correct topie.

a)    explain what you have done so far 3

b)    give a time frame for action and a way of contacting you

c)    state the overall reason for writing. in one sentcnce

d)    write a polite closing comment

e)    ask for specific action from the person/comp3ny you are writing to 0 g^e additional detali about the reason for writing

B Write the letter (120-180 words).

C Check the grammar, speliing and punctuation of your letter.

D Exchange your letter with another student. Check that he/she has:

•    followed The Four Cs.

•    used paragraphs well.

•    used a formaJ style.