A.

Dear Sir/Madam,
I wish to complain about the broadband speeds I am receiving from
speedyNet. I have subscribed to your service (20MB/s) since march
and pay £25 per month.

For the last eight weeks I have been suffering from slow speeds in the
evening. The connection speed is almost always less than 2MB/s. This
effectively makes my internet connection useless in the evening, a
peak time for me and my family.

I have called your company’s helping and no-one to whom I have spoken
has been able to improve or rectify the situation. Instead, I have been
told to just switch off my computer and modem, wait five minutes
and then switch it on again. None of this has had any effect on the
problem. 1One woman I spoke to even implied I was lying! I would
estimate I spent at least four hours on the phone to your customer
and technical support departments.

a)
I would appreciate it if you could contact me to advise me when/how
you will resolve this problem. 2Otherwise, I will be passing this matter to
my solicitor for further action.

Yours faithfully,

Marty Green
CC: office of communications (OFCOM)
 B. Dear Sir,
3
I recently came across an ad for the Vanguard 4x4 car in the guardian
(15th June). I attach a photocopy of the advertisement c)
in question.

In particular, d) I would like to take issue with the text of the advertisement
that the Vanguard 4x4 is “a truly environmentally friendly vehicle”.
Furthermore, the advertisement states the car “has low emission
rates”

The implication from these statements is that the Vanguard 4x4 results in
little or no damage to the environment. 4In addition, the vanguard
4x4 is a SUV (sports Utility Vehicle, or 4x4) and therefore in comparison
to a compact car, will frequently consumes significantly more fuel.
The advert fails to make this clear and implies that the Vanguard 4x4
is more environmental friendly in relation to all vehicles.
This advertisement is another example of ‘greenwashing’ – misleading
consumers regarding the environmental credential of the companies.

I would appreciate your investigation of this advertisement and look

forward to reading your reaction.

Yours faithfully,

Fen Starky
 C. Dear Miranda Letts,
on 21st February, we signed a nine-month contract to rent the above
address e) please find enclosed a copy of the contract and terms.

At this time there were some problems in the house that we were assured
would be resolved prior to our moving in. In particular, there was a
leak in the roof, some carpet that needed 5profesional cleaning and
a faulty freezer that needed repair/ replacement.

It is now two months since we moved into the property and none of these
problems have been resolved. Phone calls to your office have been
met with promises to visit the property and undertake necessary work.
However, nothing has been done. 6This is a totally unacceptable
situation – you are horrible people who seem to have no ethics
whatsoever!

If you do not f) put matters right within two weeks (or such another period as
we may agree), I shall obtain quotations from reputable contractors
to make necessary repairs. I shall deduct the cost of these repairs
from future rent payments. 7I am sorry to have to resort to this
measure, but I feel I have no choice.
I shall also be reporting this matter to Camden council.
 Yours sincerely,

Olivia Paxton
Jack Mepstead

Letter A Letter B Letter C

Background has been paying for

broadband since March
2009 - £25/month

Problem Advertisement is misleading

Effect

Solution

Warning Will deduct cost from rent

Help with writing a letter of complaint
1. Look at underlined phrases 1 – 7 in the letters. They all features that
are not useful in letters of complaint in English. Match them to
advice a) – f).
a) avoid apologising – you are not in the wrong, so it is not
necessary: _______________
b) avoid grammar or spelling mistakes: __________, ___________
c) do not threaten legal action unless it is particularly appropriate:
____________
d) avoid rudeness: _____________
e) if you are complaining about someone in particular, be as
specific as possible: __________
f) avoid informal language (phrasal verbs, etc.): ___________
 2. sometimes phrasal verbs are acceptable in formal letters if they
are very common or part of useful phrase. Find one phrasal verbs
used appropriately in each letter.
Letter A _____________________________________________
Letter B ______________________________________________
Letter C ______________________________________________

3. Match phrase a) – F) in bold in the letters to the meanings 1 – 6

1. (the person/thing) being discussed ____________
2. I am putting this letter _____________
3. I want you to _____________
4. I disagree strongly with ___________
5. Resolve the problems ____________
6. A copy of this letter has also bent sent to ____________

Dear Sir/Madam,

On 4th August 1me and three mates went to Antonio’s in bond street,
London, for dinner. I had booked a table at 7:30 p.m. on the internet. I 2am
putting in a copy if this booking. We arrived at the restaurant at 7:25 p.m.
We were told that a table would be ready within 15 3mins and we were
invited to wait in the bar until called.
At 8:15 p.m. I noticed some people who had 4turned up after us being
called to their table. I enquired as to whether our table was ready and was
told that it was not. I asked why some people who had arrived after us had
already been seated. 5The rather rude woman told me that they had
booked a table at 8:00p.m. but had threatened to leave if they were not
seated. Since we had not complained, your restaurant seemed to have
decided we could wait no longer.

As you can imagine, I was rather 6put out by this situation. I immediately
7
canceled my booking, we 8stormed out of the restaurant and, - - - unable
to find a suitable elsewhere, we returned home. 9you ruined our evening –
thanks a lot!
10
I apologise for writing this letter of complaint, but I was extremely
11
disapointed by the service at Antonio’s on this occasion. 12 I want you to
explain what was going on.
13
And you should expect to hear from my solicitor!
14
yours sincerely,

Adam Cornish.