299 is Sexy: Kisdobos' 299 blog

Here's a  template for a complaint letter. Note how the writer avoids writing in an angry, sarcastic, or threatening tone. This makes a lot of sense if you think about it since the person reading your letter probably was not responsible for your problem but may be very helpful in resolving it.  

These are the six basic ingredients of a complaint letter:

1. State what you bought, when and where (including serial numbers where appropriate).  Or, what work you had done, when, where and by whom.  

2. State the problem you have with the product, the work or the service and why you have this problem.  Give as many relevant details as you can.  If it is a long story, it is a good idea to attach a separate schedule of what happened in time order. 

3. Include copies of any relevant documentation (eg. receipts, warranties, letters, guarantees, contracts).  List what you are including.  Don’t send originals – keep those yourself. 

4. State what action you want taken to resolve your complaint, set a precise but reasonable deadline, eg. 10 working days.) 

5. State that if you do not hear from them, you will be taking your complaint to ….  (the relevant complaints agency). 

6. Include details of when and how you may be contacted. 


----Handout created by Kisdobos using guidelines from: http://www.infoplease.com/ipa/A0002121.html and http://www.howtocomplain.com/info/cl-template.shtml 

----Don't complain about your job  



Task 1. Complete the complaint letter below with invented facts.   

Name of Contact Person, if available
Title, if available
Company Name
Consumer Complaint Division, if you have no contact person
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 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 it if you could (state the specific action you want—money back, charge card credit, repair, exchange, etc.). Enclosed are copies of my records (include copies of 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) cc: (reference to whom you are sending a copy of this letter, if anyone)

----Source: Consumer Action Handbook 2001, Federal consumer Information Center, Pueblo, CO, 82009, www.pueblo.gsa.gov

Task 2. Fill in the gaps in the complaint letter below. (See answers and complete letter in Comments.) 

1.       legally entitled to
2.       for recovery of the money
3.       requires
4.       within the next 14 days
5.       for this sum
6.       reimburse me
7.       in breach of contract
8.       to issue a claim
9.       defects
10.   the fact that
11.   at the time of purchase
12.   demonstrates
13.   developed
14.   not of satisfactory quality
15.   to you
16.   look forward to
17.   on March 01, 2006
18.   claim a full refund  


Dear Mr Blockhead! 

Re:Nokia 9120 

1. …………………………… I bought the above mobile phone from your shop. On March 07, seven days after purchase, it 2. …………………………. a serious fault. [Describe fault]. 

Section 14 of the Sale of Goods Act 1979 3. ………………………….. you to supply goods of satisfactory quality. 4. ……………………………… the handset showed 5. ………………….. shortly after purchase 6. …………………………………. there was an inherent defect in the phone 7. ………………………………….., and that it was 8. ………………………………... You are therefore 9. ………………………………………..                                 

In these circumstances I am 10. ………………………….. reject the phone and to 11. …………………………………… of the full purchase price of £120, or a replacement phone from you. I 12. ………………………………………receiving your cheque 13. ………………………… or a replacement phone 14. …………………………………. If you fail to 15. …………………………………. I shall have no alternative but 16. ……………………………….. against you in the county court 17. ……………………………. without further reference 18. ……………………………... 

Yours sincerely,
Kisdobos  



Task 3. Follow-up letter
Use the correct form of the words in brackets. You might have to add some extra grammatical words, e.g. prepositions, articles, auxiliaries, modals, suffixes, etc. (See answers and complete letter in Comments.) 


Dear Mr Blockhead 
Re: Nokia 9120 

I 1. [write] to you on March 11 about the above 2. [defect] mobile phone 3. [buy] from your shop on March 01. Your 4. [reply] March 15 denied 5. [liable] the defective item, 6. [claim] that I 7. [complain] to the manufacturer instead. 

My claim 8. [you] is based on the Sale of Goods Act 1979. Section 14 of the Act requires you 9. [supply] goods of satisfactory quality. Your 10. [fail] supply such goods means that I have a claim against you 11. [breach] contract which is unaffected by any other rights I may have 12. [guarantee] offered by the manufacturer. 

I trust that this 13. [clarify]  the position and I 14. [expect, receive] your written proposal for 15. [arrange] a refund or a full repair to the handset within the next seven days. 

Yours sincerely,
Kisdobos  



Task 4. Write a complaint letter to the manager of an Austrian ski resort with the following parts: 

1.       Say you just got back from a ski resort, and made a complaint.
2.       Say why their advertisement did not reflect their real level of service.
3.       Say how the Hotel staff was not helpful in solving your problems.
4.       State you have a right to get a compensation for at least two reasons. State the amount of compensation you are claiming.
5.       Give them a deadline. State the consequences of their faling to comply.

(See a model letter in Comments.)      


----Exercises created by Kisdobos using:
http://www.which.co.uk/reports_and_campaigns/consumer_rights/reports/your_rights/Other%20matters/Letters%20of%20complaint/letters_of_complaint_report_657_56864_2.jsp
and http://www.bbc.co.uk/consumer/guides_to/holidays_letter.shtml

Dear All!

Welcome to Kisdobos' 299 site! I'm going to keep this blog throughout the semester for you who are enrolled in the course. Before telling you more about the blog, let me first say a few words about the course itself.



About the course

The course was developed by me, and this is the third semester I am doing it. So far, the ratio of my students passing the 299 exams, oral and written, in the semester of the course, is 100 %.

There are 15 classes throughout the semester, so the course lasts for 15 weeks. Each class is 90 minutes long. The location is at a Budapest café 5 minutes from the university. The course material is a balanced selection of material for oral and written preparation, although much of the oral preparation also serves the purpose of improving your writing skills. The classes offer a practical hands-on approach to perfecting your skills in discussions and argumentative essays with plenty of creative and real-life tasks.

We start writing essays in the last third of the course. The approach we're taking is first we refine separately the set of skills needed to be proficient in argumentative essays and academic-type discussions, and only then are we going to set out to write essays. The number of essays you'll get to write and get back corrected is 4. It is only up to you whether you use all of these opportunities.

Here's the course schedule for Fall 2007:

 

Class 1. Debatable and non-debatable statements

Class 2. Taking a stance

Class 3. Refining thesis statements

_{Class 4. Agreeing and disagreeing}

Class 5. Finding the thesis, supporting arguments, conclusion in a model essay

_{Class 6. Showing both sides of the story}

_{Class 7. Constrasting connectives}

Class 8. Generating your own thesis statements from texts

Class 9. Writing an argumentative essay based on an article

Class 10. Writing introductions

Class 11. Writing conclusions

Class 12. Complaint letters and resulting connectives

Class 13. Application letters

Class 14. Taboo words: using more sophisticated vocabulary

Class 15. Mock exam

About the blog

As a follow-up to each class I'm going to post new entries on the class blog, including the in-class material, as well as dozens of model essays, practice exercises and vocabulary lists. The course blog is an interactive learning platform: my respected colleague, the robot teacher, is going to correct your answers, so you can check yourself clicking on the 'Comments' section of a particular entry. That's where you'll find the complete text of the model essays, too.

The 'Improving your essays' type of entries feature your essays written for the course. I'm going to underline your mistakes, and you can check the corrections in the 'Comments' section.

The new entries always come on the top of the page for the sake of your convenience. This way, the earlier classes can be found at the bottom of the page.


Wishing you the best,
Kisdobos



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About Kisdobos:


Kisdobos is 28 years old, and has just graduated with MA's in English and Teaching from ELTE. He taught Language Practice 1 and 2 at ELTE in two consecutive semesters as a teaching assistant. In 2005-2006 he spent two academic semesters at Trinity College, Connecticut, USA as the grantee of the prestigious Kellner Scholarship. At Trinity he specialized in improvisational acting, which also served as the topic of his MA thesis, and serves to this day as the daily inspiration for his teaching. In the academic breaks and in the summer he was a volunteer for The Common Ground Collective, a grassroots relief organization, in the hurricane-struck city of New Orleans. Now he has his own language teaching enterprise and works as a freelance teacher in Budapest. Among his satisfied clients are elementary school children, university students and company headmen and employees.