How to Complain in English

When writing a letter of complaint there are some useful tips to consider:
 State what went wrong exactly, when, where, who was involved, what was said or done.
Provide some evidence if possible.
 Explain what you expect from your complaint.
 State a time limit for when you expect a reply.
 Be assertive.
 Make sure you address the complaint to the relevant person.

Answering a letter of complaint.

Let's see now how to answer a complaint letter.

VERY IMPORTANT: Decide, before you write the letter, if the complaint is wholly or partly justified
or not; if so, decide whether you are going to merely apologize, give excuses or offer some kind of
compensation.

If something is not attributable to you, say so, while expressing sympathy (I can understand...). Do
not be rude.

First paragraph: Thank for previous letter and make general apology.
I am sorry to hear that...
I am writing to apologize for all the inconveniences...
caused by...
that arose during your stay/ holiday at...

Second paragraph: Make specific apology and give explanations or reasons for each complaint.
Concerning..., I would like to explain that...
 With reference to..., I must sat that...
Regarding... , I was surprised to hear that... ; we are looking into the matter and hope to
give you an explanation as soon as we find out what happened.
While we understand that... was inconvenient / not to your satisfaction, we must remind
you that... / we must tell you that we are not responsible for...
I would like you to accept our apologies for (the lack of... the poor standard in...).

Third paragraph: offer some kind of compensation (if applicable).

As a sign of our concern, we would like to offer...
Although it is difficult to compensate you for the inconveniences suffered, we would like
you to accept...

Fourth paragraph: Repeat apology/promise it will not happen again.

We would like to apologize again, and can assure you that such situations will not occur in
the future.
We have detected the problem, and have taken immediate action to ensure it does not
happen again.
MORE ABOUT COMPLAINING

You can complain when you are not satisfied or happy with a service, product or event. You
should try to be polite as the person you are talking to will be more willing to help you solve the
problem than if you talk to them in an angry, condescending manner.

Some phrases you can use to help you complain in English:

 I’m sorry to say this but…

 There seems to be a problem with…
 There appears to be something wrong with…
 I was expecting ______ but…
 Sorry to bother you but…
 I want to complain about…
 I have to make a complaint about…
 I hate to tell you but…
 I’m angry about…
 I’m not satisfied with…
 I don’t understand why…
 Excuse me but there is a problem…
 Would you mind…?

This is unfair. /I don’t think this is fair.

This is ridiculous. / I think this is ridiculous.

This seems unreasonable/I think that sounds unreasonable.

When you complain you should state your complaint and then how you think it should be
resolved or a possible solution.

Example Complaints:

1. There seems to be a problem with my cell phone bill. I was billed for two phone lines and I
only have one. Could you double check the charges on my account?
2. Sorry to bother you but I bought these pants yesterday and they have a hole in them. I
would like to exchange them for new ones.
3. I want to complain about Wendy, your customer service representative. She was very
rude when I called this afternoon. Maybe she needs more training on how to deal with
customers.
4. Would you mind turning down your music? It is too loud and I can’t concentrate on what I
am doing.
5. There must be a misunderstanding, I thought the class was supposed to go until 6pm but
everyone seems to be leaving earlier. So, what time can we actually leave?
6. I have to complain about my workload. I think that it is unfair that all the cases are being
sent to me and are not being split up amongst the department.
 7. I hate to tell you but the way you are talking to each other is not okay. You are going to
either need to calm down or leave the restaurant immediately.
8. I was expecting you to help me clean up but you aren’t. Can you please pause your video
game and help me for a few minutes?

Sometimes the employee or person that you are talking to is not listening or helping you as you
wish. You can ask to speak to someone else to help resolve your complaint. You can say…

Can I speak to your supervisor?

Can I speak to your manager?

Is there someone else I could speak to about this matter?

MORE ABOUT APOLOGIZING

Some phrases you can use to help you apologize in English:

 Please accept my (humblest) apology...

 I was wrong.

 I shouldn’t have said that.

 My comments to you were ill-advised.

 I made a stupid mistake...

 I’m genuinely sorry.

 There is no excuse for my behavior.

 It was not my intention to... I’m terribly sorry.