lntroduction pdqe 5

n
1 Letters,faxes,and
emails 7 o
2 =
Contentand style 2s
f+
3 Enquiries 38 o
4 and quotations
Replies 47 5
5 t+
6
Orders
Payment '
6r
(n
76
7 Complaints
andadjustments gs
8 Credit n7
9 Banking 87
10 Agentsand agencies 168
11 Transportation
hnd shipping 18s
t2 Insurance 221
13 Miscellaneous
correspondence 241
L4 Memosand reports 2so
15 Personnelappointments 266

Answerkey z8z
Glossary 288
Index 297
 vr 39 M A K T N GE N O _ u r R r E S

OJ
a r!!l
39
39
Opening
pricelists,etc.
Askingfor catalogues,
L- 39 Askingfordetails
a- 40 Askingfor samples,patterns,anddemonstrations
40 Suggesting terms,methodsof payment, anddiscounts
J
-t
40 Askingfor goodson approva l,or on saleor return
5 41 Askingforan estimate
ortender
41 Closing
42
e&l
-
42 ':'
42
43
44
45 : r:';: '
46 Pointsto remember

MA KIN G EN q U IR IES
A simple enquiry can be made by email,
fax, or cable.The contents of an enquiry will
dependon three things: howwellyou know
the suppiier,whetherthe suppiieris basedin
your country or abroad,and the type of goods
or servicesyou are enquiring about,Thereis
a differencebetween askinga computer
companyabout the costof installing a
complexcomputernetwork and askinga
publisherabout the price of a book.
fi[' r Fill l] j:
Teilyour supplierwhat sort of organization
you are.
-We area co-operativewholesalesocietybased
in Zurich.
-Our companyis a subsidiaryof Universal
Business Machinesand we specializein .. .
-We areoneof the main producersof industrial
chemicalsin Germany,andwe are interested
\n ...
How did you hear about the company you are
contacting?it might be useful to point out that
you know their associates, or that they were
recommendedto you by a consulateor trade
association.
-We weregivenyour name by the Hoteliers'
Associationin Paris.
-Youwere recommendedtous by Mr JohnKing,
of Lawsom& Davies,MerchantBankers.
-We wereadvisedby Spett.Marco Gennovisaof
Milan that you are interestedin supplying. . .
-The British Consulatein Madrid hastold us
that you are lookingfor an agent in Spainto
representyou.
It is possibleto useother references.
-We wereimpressedby the selectionof
gardeningtoolsdisplayedon your standat
thisyear'sHamburg GardeningExhibition.
-Our associates inthe packagingindustry
speakhighlyof your Zetapacking machines,
and we would liketo havemore information
aboutthem.Couldyou sendus . . .
EI
for catal ogucsi pri ce l dsts,etc .
,A sl l i i nrg
-
-o
tr
It is not necessaryto give a lot of information o
about yourselfwhen askingfor carArocux s,
pricelists,etc.This canbe doneby letter,fax,
or email,but rememberto giveyour postal
address.It is alsohelpful to point out briefly
any particular items you are interested in.
-Could you pleasesendyour currentcatalogue
andprice listJorexhibitionstands?Weare
particularly interestedin standssuitablefor
displayingfurniture.
-We haveheardaboutyour latestequipment
inlasersurgeryandwouldlikemoredetails.
3
Pleasesendus any informationyou can
supply,marking the letter'Forthe Attention of
ProfessorKazuhiro',TokyoGeneralHospital,
Kinuta- Setagayaku, Tokyo,I apan.
-I am planningto comeand studyin London
nextautumn andwouldbegratefulif you
couldsendme a prospectusand detailsof
yourfees.I am particularly interestedin
coursesin computing.
-Pleasewouldyou sendme an up-to-date
price listfor your building materials.
,Askfimg
fon cietafi[sr
When askingfor goodsor servlcesyou should
be specificand stateexactlywhat you want.
If replying to an advertisement,you should
mentionthe journal or newspaperandits date,
and quote any Box NUMBER or department
number given,eg.BoxNo.j4t;Dept 4/t28. And
if orderingfrom, or referring to, a catalogue,
B R ocH U R x,or pR ospE crus,al w aysquotet he
reference,e g. Cat.no.at4g; Item no. 351t Course
et 362.
-I am replyingto your advertisementinthe
Iune edition of 'Tailorand Cutter'.Iwould like
to know more about the steampresseswhich
you are offeringat costprice.
-I wiII beattendingthe auctionto be heldat
TurnerHouseon t6 February,and am
particularly interestedin thejob lot listedas
Item No.35t.
79
 o -Could you pleasegive me more information
5 aboutcourseBt j6z,whichappearsinthe
E
tr IanguageJearningsectionof your summer
|lt
prospectus?
-I would appreciatemore detailsabout the
'UniversityCommunicationsSystem' which
you arecurrentlyadvertisingon y our website-
patterns,
Askingfor sampleso
anddemonstrations
You might want to seewhat a material or
3 item lookslike beforeplacing an order.Most
suppliersarewilling to providesamplesor
patternssothat you can make a selection.
However,fewwould senda complexpieceof
machineryfor you to look at.Instead,you
would probablybe invited to visit a showroom,
or the supplierwould offer to senda
representative. In any case,if it is practical,ask
to seean example of the article you want to buy.
-IAlhen replying,couldyou pleaseenclosea
pattern card?
-We would alsoappreciateit if you couldsend
somesamplesof the materialso that we can
examinethe textureand quality.
-Before selling toys weprefer to test themfor
safety.Couldyou thereJoresendus at least
two examplesof the'Sprite'range?
-I would like to discussthe problemof
maintenancebeforedecidingwhich modelto
install in myfactory. ThereforeI would be
grateful ifyou couldarrangeforone ofyour
representativesto call on me withinthe next
twoweeks
-Where canI seea demonstrationof this
system?
Su rg g e s ti n gte rm 5 , m e th o ds of
payment,anddiscounts
Companiessometimesstatepricesand
conditions in their advertisementsor literature
and may not like prospectivecustomers
making additional demands.However,even if
conditionsare quoted,you can mention that
you usually expectcertainconcessions and
4o
politely suggestthat, if your terms were met,
you would be more likelyto placean order.
-We usuallydealon a jo% trade discount
basiswith an additionalquantitlt discount
for ordersover4ooo units.
-As a rule,our suppliersallow us to settle by
monthlystatementand wecanofferthe usual
referencesif necessary.
-We would also liketo point out that we
usuallysettleour accountson a o /e, basis
with payment by 3o-daybill of exchange.
-Couldyoulet usknow if you allow cash
discounts?
-As we intend to placea substantialorder,we
would liketo know what quantity discounts
youallow.
A ski ng for goods o{' !erpprued,l ,
(} r (,tr sal e or return
Sometimesretailersand wholesalerswant to
seehow a lIIrtr will sellbeforeplacing a flrm
order with a supplier.Two ways of doing this
areby getting goodson approvalor on a sALE
oR RETURN basis.Ineithercasethe supplier
would have to know the customer well. or
would want TRADEREFERENcE s.Thesupplier
would alsoplacea time limit on when the
goodsmust be returned or paid for.
-The leafletadvertisingyour latesthobby
magazinesinterestedus,and we would like to
stocka selectionof them.However,we would
only considerplacing an orderif it wason the
usualbasisof saleor return.Ifthis is
acceptable,we will sendyouafirm order.
-In the cataloguewe receivedfrom you last
week,we sawthat you are introducinga new
Iine in syntheticfur s.lMile we app r ecIate th at
increasingpressurefr om wildlifepr otection
societiesis reducingthe demandfor realfurs,
we are not surehow our customerswould
reactto syntheticalternatives.However,we
would liketo try a selectionof designs.Would
it bepossibleforyou to supplyuswith a range
on an approvalbasisto seeiJwecanencourage
a demand?Threemonthswouldprobablybe
enoughto establisha market if thereis one.

Esrrmern s are quotationsto completea
job, e.g.putting a new roofon a factory or
lnstallingmachinery.TTwDERS are similar
quotations,but in written form. They are often
usedwhen the job is a large one,e g. building a
completefactory.When the work is for a
government,or is a large undertaking,there
are often newspaperadvertisementsinviting
tenders.
_ A DVERT ISEM XNT :
Thelrish TouristOrganizationinvitestenders
from building contractorsto erectseatingfor
t o,o o o peoplefo r the Dublin Summer
FestivalTenders shouldbeinby t Marchzo-,
and wiII be assessed on price and suitability of
constructionplans.
- A DVERT ISEM XNT :
TheZenaChemicalCompanyinvitestenders
from private contractorsforthe disposalof
chemicalwaste.Only thoselicensedto deal
with toxic substancesshouldapply.Further
detailsfrom . ..
A companymay write crRcurAR rnrtt n s to
severalsuppliers,inviting offersto completea
constructionjob, or to do repairsor decorating.
-We are a largechain of theatres,and would
be interestedin receivingestimatesfrom
upholsterersto re-coverthe seatsin our
two main theatresin Manchester.
-We are writing to a number of building
contractorsto invite estimatesforthe
conversionof NorthboroughAirfield into a
sportsand leisurecentre.Thework will include
erectingbuildingsand providingfacilities
suchas skislopesandparachutejumps.
Thedeadlinefor completionis the end of
Decemberzo-. If you canprovide a
competitiveestimatepleasecontactus at ...
-As you may be awarefrom recentpress
reports,wehavetaken overInternational
Motors plc and are inthe processof
automating their Hamburgfactory. Weare
writing to severalengineeringdesigners,
includingyourselves,whowe think may be
interestedin convertingtheplant to afully
automatedproductionunit.Enclosed you will
rn
Wewould welcome
find the specifi.cations. 5
tt
inspectionof the site byyour surveyors,witha E.
view to supplyingan estimatefor the =.
o
reconstruction.
Usually a simple 'thank you' is sufficientto
ciosean enquiry.However,you could menti.on
that a prompt reply would be appreciated,or
that certain terms or guaranteeswould be
necessary
-We hopeto hearfromyou in the nearfuture.
3
-We would begrateJulfor an early reply.
-Finally, we would like to point out that
deliverybeforeChristmasis essential,and
hopethat you can offer us that guarantee.
-If you can agreeto the concessions we have
askedJor,we will placea substantialorder.
-Prompt deliverywould be necessary as we
havea rapid turnover.Wewould therefore
needyour assurance that you couldmeetall
deliverydates
Youcan also indicate further businessor other
lines you would be interestedin. If a supplier
thinks that you may becomea reguiar
customer,they will be more inclined to quote
competitiveterms and offer concessions.
-If the product is satisfactory,we will place
further orderswith you in thefuture.
-If the pricesquotedare competitiveand the
quality up to standard,wewill order on a
regularbasis
-P rovided y ou can offerfav ourablequotatio ns
and guaranteedeliverywithin four weeks
from receiptoJorder,wewiII place regular
orderswithyou.
4r
6
o Rcqucrtfor e
t crtelogucand Dear Sir / Madam
(t
E
ul
pdrc llrt Pleasewould you send me your Spring catalogueand price list, quoting CIF
prices,LeHavre?

Yours faithfully

F. Rnnl
F.Raval(M.)

Rcqurrtfore
prolpoctur Dear Sir / Madam
UI
o I would like some information about your coursesin English for Business
Executives,beginning in July.
-g
c Pleasesend me a prospectus,details of your fees,and information about
E
o
x accommodation in London for the period July to December.If possible,I
EI
would like to stay with an English family.

Yoursfaithfully

Y.Iwaru.ni
Ylwanami(Ms)

tcquort for
grncnl Dear Sir / Madam
lnformetlon Couldyou pleasesend me details of your tubelesstyres rivhichare being
Notethat the reference advertisedin garagesaroundthe country?
to rnnoEpnr c r sint h i s
I would appreciate a prompt reply quoting trade prices.
lettertellsthe
manufacturerthat heis Yours faithtully
d e a lingwitahRE T A T L ER
or wholesaler, nota Erian Wyn'ut
privateindividual.
BrianWvmer
lf theseexamples
weresentasemail
messages, it wouldbe
acceptable to remove
the salutation and
changethe
complimentary close
f rom YoursJaithfu Ily to
the lessformalThanking
you in advance.

Ihqr€ lhret thott

enqurrret (o.rld lrc rr'nl
b y l? lttr . | .| r . o r e m .r ,l

42
 Replytoan tn
5
l|
advcrtisemcnt E

o
ln thisletterthe h
251ruedesRaimonieres
customer isreplying
to
F-86ooo PoitiersCedex
an advertisementfor
cosin a tradejournal.
Theadvertiser gavelittle
Tdlephone{+13,: 9968ro3r information, sothe
(+11)2j41o2163
T6f6copie writerasksfor details.
Emarl (o f r
ir ge..rrC@;:lrsc
Ref.PG/AI
12May2O-
3
The SalesDepartment tn
R.G.ElectronicsAG x
t,
Havmart 601 3
E.
D-50000Koln 1 o
o
o
DearSir/Madam

We are a large music store in the centre of Poitiers and would like to know
more about the re-vwitable and recordableCDsyou advertisein this
month's edition of 'Lectron'.

Couldyou tell us if the CDsare leading brand names,or made by small

independent companies,and whether they would be suitable for domestic
recording?We would appreciateit if you could sendus some samples.If
they are of the standard we require,we will place a substartial order.We
would also like to know if you offer any trade discounts.

Yoursfaithtully

P. Qirad.
P.Gerard(M.)
Manager

WhydoesM.G6rard Whatrequirements Whatconcession Whichwordsinthe tO

E
sayWearea large doeshesuggestmust doesheaskfor? letterhavea similar o
5
musicstore? bemet beforehewill meaning to the f.
lf hehadbegunthe o
5
Howdidhehear placeanorder? letter DearMr-, following? s

aboutthecos? whatwouldthe r mostimportant

complimentary close b typeofproduct
be? < large
d reducedprice
4l
 n
o Enquirryftom
a
t buyhryagumt
E
E
|lI Companies often
haveagentsin other
countrieswho sellor
buyproductsforthem
>seepagesr59+7o.In
thisemailthe agentls JohnMerton
actingon behalfofher
PRr Nc r P AinCana
rs da.

Ourref.180/MB

3
DearMr Merton
t!
E Youwererecommended to us byyourtradeassociationand I amwritingon behalfof
o ourprincipals
in Canada,whoareinterestedin importing
chinawarefrom England.
g
B
E Couldyousendus yourlatestcatalogueandpricelist,quotingyourmostcompetitive
o
x
rll
prices?
Ourprincipalsarea largechainstorein NorthAmericaandwill probablyplacesubstantial
ordersif thequalig andpricesof yourproductsaresuitiable.
Manythanks.

LindaLowe
Director
Sanders& LoweLtd
PlanterHouse,PrincesStreet
LondonECI 7DQ
Tel.:+44(0)20787457
Fax:+44(0)207 87458
Email:Llowe@sanlo.co.uk

44
 Enqulryftom ln
I
5
rntelhrto E

rfionfn o
UT
rnrnufrctuu
Thisemailisfromthe
ChiefBuyerfor a chain
of shopsin Birmingham
to an ltalianknitwear
manufacturer. Thebuyer
explains howhegot
to knowaboutthe
manufacturerl and
suggests that a quantity
discountandacceptance
DearSir/ Madam
of hismethodof ln
Wearea chainof retailers
basedin Birmingham andarelookingfora manufacturerwho paymentwould x
!l

cansupplyus witha widerangeof sweatersfor the men'sleisurewear

market.Wewere persuade himto place 3
an order.Heisstating Eo
impressed bythenewdesignsdisplayed on your standat theHamburgMenswear o
histermsin hisenquiry
Exhibition
lastmonth. because hefeelsthat
3
ll

As we usuallyplacelargeorders,wewouldexpecta quantitydiscountin addition

to a asaB U LK euvrnhe
prices. payment candemandcertain
20o/olrade
discountoff netlist Ourtermsof arenormally30-daybillof
conditions. Butyou
exchange,D/$. will seefromthe reply
interestyou,andyoucanmeetordersof over500garments
lf theseconditions at one > page58that,although
time,pleasesendusyourcurrentcatalogue andpricelist. the ltalianmanufacturer
wantsthe order,hedoes
Wehopeto hearfromyousoon. not liketheterms,and
suggests conditionsthat
PeterCrane aremoresuitableto
hi m.
ChiefBuyer
E Lynch& Co.Ltd
NessonHouse,NewellStreet,
Birmingham
83 3EL
Telephone:+44(0)212366571
Fax:+44(0)212368592
Email:pcrane@lynch.co.uk

E
I Whatexpression Whatmarket I Whatkindsof I W hi chw ordsi nthe
doesPeterCraneuse areLynch& Co. discountarethey letterhavea similar
to indicatethat Lynch in?
interested askingfor? meaning to the
& Co.isa large Wheredid Lynch& I Howwouldpayment following? E
company? Co.getto knowabout bemade? r selection
Satex? b presented
5 Howmanysweaters c fixedprice
aretheylikelyto d itemof cloth'ing
order?
4J
 Pointsto remember
6
o 1 Givedetails of your own company aswell as
I asking for information from your
q
E prospectivesupplier.
EI
2 Be specificand state exactlywhatyouwant.
If possible,quote box numbers, catalogue
references,etc.to help your supplier identify
the product/s.
3 Ask for a sample if you are uncertain about a
product.
4 Suggestterms and discounts,but be
preparedforthe supplierto make a counter-
offer.
3
5 Closewith an expressionsuch asI look
forward to hearingfrom you and / or indicate
the possibility ofsubstantial ordersor
furtherbusiness.

+6
4 8 R E PL Y TN roc E N o_urR rE s
n
48 Opening
4 8 C o n fi r mi ngthat you canhel p o
4 8 ' Se l l i n g 'your product
4 8 Su g g esti ng al ternati ves
g
IO
R e fe rri the customerto anotherpl ace
ng
49
4 9 Se n d i n gcatal ogues,
a n o s a m pl es
pri cel i sts,prospectuses, o
rn
4 9 A rra n g i ngdemonstrati ons andvi si ts
50 Closing
50 CtVtNC O_U OTA TtON S
s,
Prices =
50
51
51
Transport
andinsurance
Discounts
costs o-
51
53
Methodsof payment
Quotingdelivery
date
termsandnegotiable
Fixed terms
-o
c
53
53
54
Civinganestimate
o
r+
54
54
SJ
55 !f.
56
57 o
58 5
59
6o Pointsto remember
(n
tr REPTYI NG TO ENO - UI R I E S
o
t!
o Encourageor persuadeyour prospective
5 Opening
E customer to do businesswith you. A simple
T'
s In an email reply,the rr: abbreviation in
t!
the subject line automatically shows that you
.g
Et. are replying to a message.Therefore it is not
o
c usually necessarytouse a salutation.
>Seepageszo-z7formoreon email.
However,letters are different. Mention your
prospectivecustomer'sname, e.g.if the
customersignshis letterMr B.Green,begin
DearMr Green,xo'rDear Sir.
4 Thank the writer for his or her enquiry.
Mentionthe date of his orherletter and quote
any other references.
- Thankyou for your enquiryof 6 Junezo-
in whichyou askedabout ...
- Iwouldlike tothankyouforyour enquiryof
to May zo-, and am pleasedto tellyou that
we would be ableto supplyyou with the ...
- We werepleasedto learnfrom your letter of
to Decemberthat you are impressedwith our
selectionof . ..
- Thankyou for your letter,Nt t6gt, which we
receivedthismorning.
that you canhelp
Confirming
Ietthe enquirerknownearthe start of your
reply ifyou have the product or can provide the
servicehe or she is asking about. It is irritating
to read a long letter only to find that the
supplier cannot help.
- Wehaveawide seledionoJsweatersthat wiII
appealto the market you specified.
- Ourfactory would haveno problem in
producingthe 6,ooo unitsyou askedforin
your enqutry.
- Wecan supplyftom stockand wiII have no
trouble inmeeting your deliverydate.
- I am pleasedto say that we wiII be able to
supply the transportfacilities you require.
- Wecan ofer door-to-door delivery services.
+8
product
'Selling'your
answer that you have the goodsin stock is not
enough. Your customer might have made ten
other enquiries, so remember it is not only in
saleslettersthat you needto persuade.
Mention one or two selling points of your
product, including any guarantees,special
offers.and discounts.
- IAlhenyou have had the opportunity to see
the samplesforyourself,wefeel sureyouwill
agreethat they are oJthe highestqudlity;
and to seea wideselectiononline,go to
www.bettaware.co.uk.
- Onceyou haveseenthe Delta 8oo in
operationwe knowyouwill be impressedby
its trouble-freeperformance.
- Wecan assureyou that the Alpha 2ooo is one
of the most outstandingmachinesonthe
market,and our confidencein it is supported
by ourfiv e-year g uarantee.
g alternatives
5uggestin
Ifyou do not have what the enquirer has asked
for, but have an alternative, offer that. But do
not criticize the product he or she originally
askedfor.
- ... and while this enginehasaII the qualitiesoJ
the modelyou askedfor,the 'Powerdrive'has
the added advantageoffewer moving parts,
so reducingmaintenancecosts.Italsosaves
on oi l asi t ...
- Themodelhas now beenimproved.Itssteel
casinghasbeenreplacedby strongplastic,
whichmakesthemachinemuchlighterand
easiertohandle.
- Of course,Ieatheris an excellentupholstery
material,but escalatingcostshavepersuaded
many of our customerstolookforan
alternative whtch is more competitive in
price. TaretonPlasticshaveproduced a high-
quality substitute,'Letherine',which hasthe
texture,strength,and appearanceofleather,
but at lessthan a quarterof the cost.Wefeel
confidentthat the samplesenclose d wiII
convtnce you...
Referring
the customerto
anotherplace
You may not be able to handle the order or
answerthe enquiry.If this is the case,tell the
enquirer and,if possible,referthem to another
company which can help them.
- I regretto saythat we no longerproducethe
type of stapleryou refer to as there is no
longersutficientdemandfor it.I am sorrywe
cannothelpyou.
- Thebookyou mention is not publishedby
us,but by Greenhill Education Ltd.Their
address is...
- Weno longer manufacture pure cotton shirts
astheir retailpricestend only to attract the
upperend of the market.AIIour garmentsare
nowpolycotton, which is stronger,needslittle
ironing,and allowsvariationsin pattern,
whichyou can seeon our websiteat
www.elegance.co.uk. However,if you are only
interestedin pure cottongarments,weadvise
you to contactLouisFashionsLtd at . ..
Evenif you can handle the enquiryyou may
still have to refer the enquirer elsewhere.
- WemanuJacturetheprodud you require,but
we only deaI with wholesalers,not retailers.
Therefore,Isuggestyoucontactour agent,R.
L.Deprd SA,rueMontpellier 28,Paris,. ..
- Our agentsinltaly areIntalS.p.A,ViaAlberto
Poerio 79,Rome,Email: <sales@intal.co.it>.
Theycarrythefull rangeof our products.
pricelists,
Sendingcatalogues.
prosPectuses,
andsamples
Remembertoenclosecurrent cataloguesand
price lists withyour reply. If you are attaching
catalogues,pricelists,etc.to an email message,
make sure you compressthem to saveyour
recipient's time when they download the
material.If pricesare subjectto change,let
your customerknow.It is bad policy suddenly
to senda letter telling a customerthat prices
havebeenincreasedby ten per cent after you
have quoted a firm price.And ifyou are
sendingsamplesuworn sEeARATE covEn,let
your customer know when they are likely o
to arrive. t-
.D
- Pleasefi.nd enclosedour currentcatalogue t
5
andprice list quoting c r r pricesKobe.The c
4
unitsyou referredtoin your letterare c
o
Jeaturedon pp.3t-34 undercatalogue c,
numbersy32-y37.Whenorderingcouldyou o
5
pleasequotethesenumbers?Thesamplesyou
askedforwillfollow underseparatecover.
- Weencloseour bookleton the Omegazooo
and aresureyou wiII agreethat it is one of the
finest machinesof its kind.It can be adapted
to your specifications(seethe section
'Structuralchanges'onpage tz). 4
- Weencloseour summercatalogue,which
unfortunatelyis only publishedin English.
However,wehaveincludeda German
translationfor the relevantpages(4t-4j and
hope this will prove helpful.
- . .. and we haveenclosedour price list,but
shouldpoint out that pricesaresubjectto
changeas the marketfor raw materialsis
very unstableat present.
A rran gi ng demonstrati ons anelvi si ts
Certainproducts,e.g.heavy equipment,
machinery and computer installations, may
needdemonstrating.In thesecasesthe
supplierwill either senda representativeor
adviser,or suggestthat the customervisits
their showroom.
- Wehaveenclosedfulldetailsof the Laren
welder,but a demonstrationwould be
necessary to showyou itsfuII capabilities.We
thereforesuggestthatyouvisit our centrein
Birmingham,wherethe equipmentis setup,
sothat you canseethe machinein action-
- As the enclosedbookletcannotreallyshow
the eficienry oJthis system,wewould be
happy to arrangefor our representativeto
visityou and give a demonstration.Ifyou are
interestedin a visit,pleasefiII in the enclosed
pre-paidcardand return it to us.
- TheenclosedcataloguewiII giveyou an idea
of the type of soundequipmentweproduce,
but may we suggestthat you alsovisit our
49
tr agent'sshowroomsin Rotterdamwhereyou
o
can seea wide rangeof units?Theaddressis .. .
G
E - Beforeinstallingthe equipment,wewould
3
E Iiketo sendMrTony Grifith,our Chief
It
tr Engineer,to look overyour plant andprepare
o
a reporton the installation,takingyour
.g
a particular requirementsinto account.We
o
e suggestyou contact us to arrange a
convenientdate.
Closing
Always thank the customer for contacting you.
4 Ifyou havenot done so at the beginning ofthe
letter or email,you can do so at the end.You
shouldalsoencouragefurther enquiries.
- Onceagain we would liketo thank youfor
writing. Wewould welcomeanyfurther
questionsyou might have.
- Pleasecontact us again ifyou haveany
questions,using the abovetelephonenumber
or email address.
- I am sorrywedo not havethe modelyou
askedfor,but can assureyou that the
alternativeI havesuggestedwiII meetyour
requirements.PIeaseremember that we ofrer
afuII thr ee-year g uarantee.
- Wehopeto hearfromyou again soon,and
co.nassureyou that your orderwiII bedealt
withpromptly.
G IV IN G O -U O T A T IO N S
In your reply to an enquiry you may want to
giveyour prospectivecustomera o_uorATroN.
Belowis a guide to the subjectsyou should
cover.
Prices
\Mhen a manufacturer, wholesaler,or retailer
quotes a price,they may or may not include
other costssuchastransport,insurance,and
pURcHASE rax (e.g.var(Varur Aooro Tax)
in the UK).Priceswhich includetheseextra
costsareknown ascRoss pRIcEs ; thosewhich
excludethem areknoum as N ETpRIcEs.
5o
- Thenetprice of this articleisf,too.oo,to
which vtr must beaddedat t7.5%,making a
grossprice of tn7.5o.
- Wecanquoteyou a grossprice,inclusiveof
deliverycharges, of fi47.5oper rco items.
Thesegoods are exemptfromvAr.
A quotation is not necessarilylegally binding,
i.e.the companydoesnot haveto sellyou the
goodsat the price quotedin the reply to an
enquiry. However,when prices are unstable,
the supplier will say in their quotation that
their pricesaresubjed to change.If the
companymakesafirm ofrer,ilmeansthey will
hold the goodsfor a certaintime until you
or der,e.g.fi r m 4 days. Again,this is not Iegally
binding,but suppliersgenerallykeepto firm
offers to protect their reputation.
- Thepricesquotedaboveareprovisional,since
we may be compelledby the increasingcostof
raw materialsto raisethem.I wiII informyou
immediately if this happens.
- Wecan offeryou a price of t 5,zoo.ooper
engine,firm zt days,after which the price wiII
besubjectto an increaseof 5%.
Wheneverpossibleyou should quote pricesin
your customer'scurrency,allowing for
exchangefluctuations.
- Theprice oJthis modelis Yz,8oo,oooat
today's rate of exchange.
- Wecan quoteyou a price of €3oo per rco
units,though I regretthat, becauseof
Jluctuatingexchangerates,wecan only hold
thispricefor four weeksfrom today'sdate.
- Thenetpriceof $5jo.ooper unit is extremely
competitive.
Tnansport
andinsuranee
eosts
There are a number of abbreviations that
indicatewhich price is being quotedto the
customer.Theseare establishedby the
Is rr n rv a rro rrra C
r H n Ms rn o r C omann
ncn
(ICC)and arecalledIr.lcornnus. Theyare
revisedregularly,and additionalterms may
be added,e.g.the phrasecrr NaplesIncoterms
zooo landedmeansthat a consignmentis
coveredunder an Incoterm c r r (cost,
insurance,and freight) setin the year 2ooo,
up to the time it is landed in Naples.
The main Incotermsare in four groups,
which are named after the flrst letter in the
term.
GroupC
The sellercoversonly the costslisted to get the
goodsto a named destination,e.g.freight and
import duties,but not insurance.
GroupD
The sellercarriesall the costsand risksto get
the goodsto a named destination.
GroupE
The buyer paysall costsoncethe goodshave
left the seller'spremises.
GroupF
The sellerdeliversthe goodsto a carrierwho is
appointedbythe buyer.
Incotermsare quoted in correspondence in
the following way: t3o,ooo crn Hong Kong (i.e.
the price includesall deliverycoststo Hong
Kong,exceptfor insurance);$35,oooroa
Rotterdam(i.e.the price includesdeliverycosts
to when the goodsare on boardship at
Rotterdam).Abbreviationsfor Incotermsmay
alsobe written inlower case,e.g.cfr orfob.
Two otherterms which shouldbe noted,but
which areusedmainly in the UK,are:
- Cannracr yuo (c/ e),i.e.chargeswill be
paid by the sender,e.g.WewiII send
replacementsforthe damagedgoodsc/e.
- Cannracr FoRWARD(c/r),i.e.charges will
be paid by the receiver,e.g.Asyou are
responsible for the damage,we wiII send
replacements c/r.
Diseounts o
-
E.
o
Manufacturersand wholesalerssometimes 5
!J
allow a discount (i.e.a deduction)on the net =
cl
lt
or grossprice.Theseare ofdifferent kinds,e.g. c
o
a trade discountto sellersin similar trades;a !,
quantity discount for orders over a certain rf.
o
=
amount; a cashdiscountif payment is made
within a certaintime;a LoyArry DrscouNr
when companieshave a long association.
- Weallow a j% cashdiscountforpayment
within onemonth.
- Thenetprice of this modelisftTo.oo,Iessrc%
discountforquantitiesup to rco and ry%
4
discountforquantiti.esover1oo.
- Wedo not normally give discountsto private
customers,but becauseof your long
associationwithour companywecan ofrer
you tz% offthe retailprice.
- Thepricesquotedare crn Yokohama,but are
subjectto a zo%trade discountofr netprice.
Wecan offerafurther to% discountoff net
pricesforordersof more than z,ooo units.
Mef hods of p.rvrnent
When quoting terms,you may require,or
suggest,any of severalmethodsof payment,
e.g,Ietter of credit or bill of exchange.
> Formoreon this subject,seepages78-79,
and47-157.
- On receiptof a chequefor the amount quoted,
we will sendthe articleby registeredmail.
- Paymentfor initial ordersshouldbe made by
sight draJt,payableat Den Norske
Creditbank,Kirkegatenn, OsIot, cashagainst
documents.
- Weare willing to consideropenaccount
facilities ifyou canprovidethe necessary
bank reference.
51
 5
tr INCOT ERM AB B R E V IA TION E X P LA N A TION
.9
o
o Gro u pC
t
q
Costand FReight C FR The selier pays all delivery coststo a named
!
tr destination,exceptfor insurance.
a!
n
.g Cost,Insurance, C IF The sameas crn, exceptthe selleralsopays
CL
o and Freight the costof insurance.
4
CarriagePaidTo CPT The seller pays all delivery coststo a named
destination.The buyer pays any additional
costsafterthe goodshavebeendeliveredtoa
nominated carrier.
4 Carriageand C IP The sellerpaystransport and insurancecosts
InsurancePaid to a named destination, but not import duty.

Gro u pD
Delivered at Frontier uAr The seller pays all delivery coststo the buyer's
frontier,but not import duty.

DeliveredEx-Ship DES The seller pays all delivery costson board ship,
but doesnot clearthe goodsfor import at the
named port of destination.

DeliveredEx-O_uay DEO The seller pays all delivery coststo a port

named by the buyer,but doesnot clearthe
goodsfor import at the named port.

Delivered Duty Paid DDP The seller pays all delivery costs,including
import duty, to a named destination in the
importing country.

Delivered Duty Unpaid DDU The sameasDDp,exceptthat the sellerdoesnot

pay import duty.

Gro u pE
EX-Works EXW The buyer pays all delivery costsoncethe goods
have left the seller'sfactory or warehouse.

Gro u pF
FreeCArrier FCA The seller pays all delivery coststo the buyer's
carrier, and clearsthe goodsfor export.
FreeAlongsideShip FAS The seller pays all delivery coststo the port. The
buyer paysfor loadingthe goodson to the ship
and all other costs.

FreeOn Board The seller pays all delivery coststo when the
goodsare onboard ship at a namedport.The
buyer pays all other costs.

t2
 be discussed. In the f,nal examplethe supplier o
F
Quotingdeliverydate softensthe tone further by askingthe
g
o
If the enquiry speciflesa deliverydate, customerto conflrm whether or not the !,
5
confirm that it canbe met, or if not, suggestan arrangementis satisfactory. CL

- Weusuallyofferan B% tradediscounton lt
alternative date.Do not make a promise that g
o
you cannot keep as it will give you a bad r o s prices,and wouldpreferpayment by !J

reputation.If a deliverytime is a condition of irrevocableletterof credit. o

- Normally we allow a 4% trade discount =
ordering,the customercouldrejectthe goods
or sueyou ifyou breakthe contract. offnet priceswith payment on a documents
- . .. and we arepleasedto saythat we can againstpayment basis.Pleaselet us know if
deliverby NovemberL soyou will havestock thisarrangementis satisfactory.
for the Christmassalesperiod.
- As thereare regularsailingsfrom Liverpoolto
NewYork,we aresurethat the consignment
Givingan estimate 4
will reachyou weIIwithin the time you Companieswhich are askedto give an
specified. estimatefor a particularjob may include
- Wehavethe materialsin stockand wiII ship the estimatein tabulatedform in a letter
them immediatelywe receive your order. > seepage59.More often,however,they will
- As thereis a heavydemandforfansat this sendtheir offcial estimateform with a
nnrrarin n la++av
time of year,pleaseallowatleastsixweeksfor
delivery. - Asyou know,our representative hasvisited
- Wewould not beableto deliverwithin two yourfactory to discussyour proposed
weeksof receiptof order,aswe would need extension,andI nowhavepleasurein
time to preparethe materials.However,we enclosingour oficial estimate.
couldguaranteedeliverywithinfour weeks. - Theenclosedestimatecoverslabourand
partsand carriesa six-monthguaranteeon
allwork comaleted.
Fixedtermsand negotiableterms
Youcan quoteterms in two ways:state
your price and discountswith no room for
negotiation,or suggestthe customercould
discussthem. In the two examplesbelow,the
writers makefirm quotes,indicating that
methodsof payment and discountsarefixed.
- Alllist pricesarequotedrot Southampton
and aresubjectto a z5%tradediscountwith
payment by letterof credit.
- Thepricesquotedarenxw,butwe can
arrangefreightand insurance(crc Hong
Kong) if required.However,unlessotherwise
stated,payment shouldbe madeby jo-day
biII of exchange,documentsagainst
acceptance.
In the next two examples,the useof the
adverbsnormally andusually softenthetone
of the statementsto indicatethat, although
the companypreferscertainterms,thesecan

53
 I
tr R eply t o a r eque rt
o DearMrRaval
f o r a c at alogue
G
o a n d pr ic e lis t Thank you for your enquiry of 31January.We encloseour Spring Catalogue
3
q
and current price list quoting CIFprices LeHavre.
' Seepage4z for
It
g
a! We would like to draw your attention to the trade and quantity discounts
I
the request.
o we are offering in our SpecialPurchasessection on pp. 19-26,which may be
A
o
ea
ofparticular interest to you.
Pleasecontactus if we canbe of anyfurtherhelp.
Yourssincerely
':

4 TimHoad

5
Replyto a request
o
for a prorpectur DearMs Iwanami
g
g Pleasefind enclosedour prospectuscoveringcoursesfrom Julyto
CL . Seepage 4z for
E December.Details of feesand accommodation in London for that period are
G
the request.
x coveredin the booklet 'Living in London'which accompaniesthe
|ll
prospectus.
At present we still have placesavailablefor students taking the English for
BusinessExecutivescoursebeginning in July,but would ask you to book as
soon as possible sothat we can reseryea place for you and arrange
accommodation with an English family.
We are sureyou will enjoy your stay here and look forward to seeingyou.
Yourssincerely
I,

M.Preston(Ms)

Reply t o. r r eque rt
fo r gener al DearMrWymer
i n f or nr at ion Thank you very much for your enquiry. I enclosea cataloguegiving detailed
page4z for information about our heavy goodsvehicle tyres, including the impressive
' See results we have achievedin rigorous factory and track tests.Pleasenote
the request.
especiallythe items on safety and fuel economy-the main selling points of
this product.
With regard to trade discounts,we can offer 25%off listprices to bona flde
retailers and wholesalers,with quantity discountsfor ordersover f,20,000.00.
We would be pleasedto supply any further information you require.
Yourssincerely
. .,r1

DarrenTreadwell

54
 Catalogues
and o
samPles ! -
o
5

Electronics
m.ffi. AG flHl?,1", M.Gdrardwroteto R.G.
Electronicsto enquire 3
!,
=
r
aboutc os >seepage43. t
Telefon(+49)zzt3z 4z 98
Telefax(+49)zzt 83 6t z5 Heimpliedthat hisstore !l

de wasa largeone,thathe o
5
ilil:,?::f:"'rge'co wasonlyinterested in 6

high-qualityproducts,
YourRef:PG/AL andthat hemightplace
a substantiaI order.This
14Mav20- isthe reply.
l1.Geraro
Manager
4
DiscS.A. Il|
251rue desRaimonidres
xt
F-86000PoitiersC6dex 3
E.
o
o
uear ]vI.ueraro
o
Thank you for your enquiry of 12May in which you askedabout the CDs
we advertisedinthis month's edition of 'Lectron'.

I can confirm that they are of high quality, and suitable for domestic
recording.They are'Kolby'products,a brand name you will certainly
recognize,and the reasontheir prices are so competitive is that they are
part of a consignmentof bankrupt stockthatwas offeredto us.

Becauseof theirlowprice, andthe small profit margin,we will not be

offering any trade discounts on this consignment. But we sell a wide range
of electronic and computer products and have encloseda price list giving
you details oftrade, quantity, and cashdiscounts.

We have sent,by separatepost, samplesof the advertisedCDsand other

brandswe stock,and would urge you to placean order as soonaspossibleas
there has been a huge responseto our advertisement.Thank you for your
interest.

Yourssincerely

R. Qer|ar-h,
(Herr)R.Gerlach
SalesDirector

Enc.price-list

What referencesdoes Why arethe cos Doesheofferany What other material CanDiscS.A.order rO
s
HerrGerlachquote? being sold cheaply? discounts
on the hashe sentto Disc wheneverthey want o
5
goods?
advertised 5.A.? to? so
=
6

55
 I
E 'Selling'the
o
a!
product
o
t
I
Thisisa replyto the =- GLASTON
! buyingagentwho
E
a!
,o
emailedGlaston C ay' :a1i
r .u,r
r r *o' ol.e V POTTE RlEi rrp
Potteries>seepage44
o
A. on behalfofher Tel ephone+44 (o)r282.i .5rl l
o2 principalsin Canada. Facsi mi l e+44 i o j tz8,-63rE ;
Asthe agentmade E mai lI mettor@g'astc:.co rr<
no reference to any wWVv Hla5iCn CC'-'-

particularlineof
chinaware shewas 10June 20-
interested in,anddid MsL.Lowe
4 not mentionterms, Sanders& Lowe Ltd
thisreplytakesthe
Planter House
o formof a salesletter.
E PrincesStreet
o
LondonECl7DO_
!c
E
o DearMs Lowe
tll
x
We were pleasedto receiveyour enquiry today,and are enclosingthe
catalogueand price list you askedfor.

Youwill seethat we can offer a wide selectionof dinner and tea services
ranging from the rugged'Greystone'earthenware breakfast setsto the
delicate'Ming'bone china dinner service.You can choosefrom more than
fifty designs,which include the eleganceof 'Wedgwood',the delicate
pattem of 'Willow', and the richness of 'Brownstone'glaze.

We would very much like to add your clients to our worldwide list of
customers,and could promise them an excellent product with a fust-class
service.We would be glad to acceptordersfor any number of pieces,and can
mix setsif required.

Youwill seethat ow prices are quoted CIFto EasternCanadian seaboard

ports and we are offering a special10%discount off all net prices,with
delivery within three weeksfrom receipt of order.

If there is any further information you need,pleasecontact us,or go to our

website at the addressabove.Onceagain thank you for your enquiry.

Yourssincerely

J. Muton
J.Merton(Mr)
SalesManager
Enc.

R egr s ter edN o 716481

v Ar R eBr s ter edN o r 33 53.i 3rc B

Er HowdoesMr Merton How does he imply 3 Whattermsfor Whichwordsin the

3 drawattentionto his that his companyhas deliverydoGlaston letterhavea similar
3 company'smany an international Potteriesquote? meaning to the
= products?
c)| reputation? 4 Howdoeshe following?
encourage
further r range
enquiries? b select
c timewhenorder
received
56
 Offeringan F
o
alternative E
o
!,
A w h o l e s a l e ri s o u t o f =
CL
stockofthe adapters lt
that hercustomerhas tr
o
askedfor,so she offers a !,

substitute.However,the o
5
PedroMonteiro new producthasnotyet
beentestedand she
knowsnothingabout its
performanceor safety.
(K153,
Enquiry K157units)

4
DearSr Monteiro
tn
Thankyoufor youremail.I regretto saythatwe are out of stockof K153and K'l57 units,and x
!,

co notexpectanotherdeliveryuntillaterthis month. 3
g
o
'lVeare currentlytestinga consignmentfromTaiwan,butthesedo not havea Belgian o
3
StandardsInstitutestampof approvaland we wouldliketo completeour testsbeforeputting 9.
:hemon the market.We willcontactyou againas soonas our testingis completed,or when
:he unitsyou requestedare available,
whicheverdateis the earlier.

Di a n eChar c ot( M m e)
r,t3 l a ger
I i SC har c ot S . A . R. L.
: =:e du 20 ao0t79, 8-4000, Lidge
: : i+32)49-240886
-: ecopie:(+32) 49-16592
=-all: d.charcot@dscharcot.co.be

i W hat is Mme 2 How doessheshow 3 ls Mme Charcot rO

c
Charcot'sproblem? her c us t om er t hat s he r el y i n g o n h e r a
is concernedabout customertocontact 9.
a
safety? heragain?

57
 g Quotationof
o
tcrmr
o
o
3
q
This is a replyto the S a te x S.p .A- l ercto,.ri c,r
+39 1o)67699ro

! genera en l qu iryin whic h 39 (o,)66i 3i 5,;7;

trel ':t.r.r,:-i
tr Mr Crane,ChiefBuyerat Vr .1( i i []i eI.r t F aEa o" r t,tr t. r ,.'l r i I E m,rr!;rausrod@satex(o.rI
t!

o F.Lynch& Co,askedfor
Cl' certainconcessions v.,.rrr Vs.rif.: 6 Feb.20-
0,
e > seePate 45. Notice 'rs nf D/1439
how Sig.Causioof Satex
doesnot turn down his 21February20-
requestsbut makesa
Mr PeterCrane
counter-offer.
ChiefBuyer
4 F.Iynch & Co.Ltd
NessonHouse
o Newell Street
U
g Birmingham833EL
o UK
A.
E
a!
EI
x
DearMr Crane

We were pleasedto receiveyour enquiry and to hearthat you liked our

rangeof sweaters.We can conflrm that there would certainlybe no trouble
in supplyingyou from our wide selectionof garments.

We can offer you a quantity discount,which would be 5%off net pricesfor

ordersoverf 2,000,but the usual allowancefor a trade discountin Italy is
159/o,andwe always deal on payment by sight draft, cashagainst
documents.However,we would be preparedto review this oncewe have
establisheda flrm trading associationwith you.

Enclosedyou will find our summer catalogueand pricelist quoting prices

crr London.We are sureyouwill find a ready salefor our productsin
England,ashaveother retailersthroughout Europeand America,and we
hopevery much that we can reachagreementon the terms quoted.
Thank you for your interest. We look forward to hearing from you soon.

Yourssincerely

E. C;::ut...'t)
D.Causio(Sig.)
SalesDirector

Encs.

DoesSig.Causio What sort of payment What is enclosed Whichwordsin the

agre eto a ll Mr doeshe askfor? with the letter? letterhavea similar
Crane'srequests What doeshe How does5ig.Causio meani ng to the
concernrnS suggestabout the indicatethat his following?
discounts? , bi l lpai don
method of payment companydeals
in the future? internationally?
presentation
r reconsider
, linkor connection
58
 An estimate 7'
o
E.
Thisexample illustrates o
e€ anestimate sentin !J
=
tabulated formin the CI
\ l i ( c n r D e Ro a d We."nbicyShopfitters Ltd. 5
bodyof a letter.lt refers t
\!ernL! ey Ie erhone +di ,cl -.c E 9o3 z3z; o
;a,i +4t (o)zo 89o3:323 backto theexchange of o
M i d d : e s ex
!ma,r: p,ane@tvei rsncpcom
emailmessages o
rn9 6oe I
) seePages23-24,when 5

WembleyShopfitters
Mr K. Bellon 22}une20- saidtheywouldsend
SuperbuysLtd theirsurveyortoprovide
SuperbuyHouse anestimate forthisjob.
WolvertonRoad
LondonSW167DN 4
DearMrBellon ln
x
!,
Estimate for refitting Superbuys'Halton RoadBranch 3
Our Surveyor,lohn Pelham,visited the abovepremiseson Wednesday Eo
16lune, and our costing department have nowworked outthe following .D

estimate for fixtures and fittings. This includes materials and labour. o

Fitting 200m of 'Contact'shelving in main shop

and storeroom @f 35.00per metre t2000.00
Erecting r5 steel stands plus shelves23m x 6m
@f,110.00 each t1,550.00
laying 3,320 sq.m.'Durafloor' flooring @f,i8.00
persq.m. f59,760.00
Rewiring; fixing power points, boxes,etc.36'Everglow'
lightfittings @f,28.00each. t1,008.00

Subtotal f 69,418.00
plus VAT@17.5% tr2,748-7s
TOTAT f 81.566.15

We feel sure you will agreethat this is a very competitive estimate,bearing

in mind that we use top-quality materials backedby a one-yearguarantee.
We can also conflrm that the job will be completed before the end of
February provided that no unforeseen circumstancesarise.
If you have any further questions,pleasecontact our SeniorSupenrisor,
Mr Terry Mills, on the abovenumber, ext. zr.
We look forwardto hearing fromyou soon.
Yourssincerely
?. Lan"e.
P.Lane(Mr)
?eg .c 'r .tor t 45'f:t
Director t ;" t92E
"

Whatisthe subjectof 4 Whatmightprevent Whichwords in the |o

tr
this letter? thejobfrombeing letter havea similar n

lsthefiguref 69,4t8a completedin meaningto the o

February? following? =
netor a grosstotal?
r buildings
WhydoesMr Lane 5 W h a ti s MrMi l l s ' s j o b
b calculated
consider
thisa title?
c supported
comoetitive
offer?
59
 Pointsto remember
5
E 1 In salutations,use the customer'sname
.9 ratherthanDear Sir/ Madam.
t!
o 2 Letthe customer know early in the letter
t
E whether or not you can help them.
!
E
G
Ut
3 Male surethat you have supplied all the
o information you think will help your
e
o customer including, if relevant, catalogues
4
and price lists.
4 Than-kthecustomerfor contacting you, and
encouragefu rther enquiries.
5 When giving a customer a quotation, in
4 addition to the price quote transport and
insurance costs,any discounts,method of
payment, and delivery date.
6 Do not promise a delivery datethat you
cannotkeep.

6o
6z
6z
6z
pLAc t NG A N o R D E R
Opening
Payment
o
r.t
6z Discou
nts o-
6z
6z
Delivery
Methodsof delivery o
63 Packing
63 Closing tn
-
fi Ac KNowlE D G T N c A N o R D E R
63 ADVTc EoF D E s P A T c H
64
65
66
67
68
69
7o
71 DEL AYS tN D E LTV E R Y

71 REF UST NC A N OR D E R

71 Out of stock
j 2 B a dre p u tati on
7 2 U n fa v o u rablterms
e
7 2 S i z eo f o rder
73
14
75 Pointsto remember
o P L AC IN GAN OR D E R
T'
o Ordersareusually written on a company's
official order form >seepage65 for an example
which has a date and a referencenumber that
shouldbe quotedin any correspondence
referringto the order.If the orderis
telephoned,it should be confirmed in writing,
and an order form should always be
accompaniedbyeitheracoMpLlMENrs sLrp
oracovxRlNcLErrER.Acoveringletteris
preferable as it allows you the opportunity to
make any necessarypoints and confirm the
termsthat havebeenagreed.
The guide below is for an outline of a
covering letter. You may not want to make all
the points listed,but look throughthe guideto
seewhat couldbe mentioned.
Operr i ng
Make it clearthat there is an order
accompanying the letter.
- Pleasefindenclosedour OrderNo.a45ztfor z5
'Clearsound'transistor receivers.
- Theenclosedorder (No.nt54) isJor 5o packets
of e4 copierpaper.
- Thankyouforyour reply of 4 May regarding
our email about the mobilephones.Enclosed
you willfind our oficial order(No.a 56t)for ...
- I would like to place a trial orderfor the
'Letherine'materialwedtscussed at the trade
showlastmonth.Please find enclosed.. .
p.ry rrrr.. t
ConfirmtherxRMSoF pAyMENr.
- As agreedyouwill draw on us at 3o days,D/A,
with the documentsbeingsentto our bank,
TheNational MercantileBank ...
- Wewould liketo confirm that payment is to
be made by irrevocableletteroJcredit,which
wehavealreadyappliedtothe bankfor.
- Oncewe have receivedyour advice,we wiII
senda bank draft to . . .
- ... and we agreedthatpaymentswould be
madeagainstquarterlystatements...
6z
D i scorrrrts
Confirmthe agreeddiscounts.
- Wewould like to thank youfor the 3o%
tradediscountand to% quantity discount
you allowedus.
- Finally,wewould liketo confi.rmthat the
z5%trade discount is quite satisfactory.
- .. . and we wiII certainly take advantageof
thecashdiscountsyouofreredforprompt
settlement.
- Although we anticipated a higher trade
discountthan ry%,we wiIIplacean initial
orderandhopethatthediscountcanbe
reviewedin the nearfuture.
Deliver v
Confirm the delivery dates.
- Itis essentialthatthe goodsaredelivered
beforethe beginningof November,in timefor
the Christmassalesperiod.
- Delivery beforez8 Februaryis afirm
conditionof thisorder,and we reservethe
right to refusegoodsdeliveredafter that time.
- Pleaseconf.rm that you can completethe
work beforethe end of March, as the opentng
of the store isplannedfor earlyApril.
Mpthorlr of d e I ivt,r v
Many companiesuseronwARDrNG AcENTS
Dseepager99who are specialistsin packing
and handling the documentation to sn r p
goods.Nevertheless, to ensureprompt and safe
delivery it is a goodideato advisethe company
onhowyouwantthegoodspackedandsent.
This meansthat if the consignmentarrives
Iate,or in a damagedstate,your letter is
evidenceof the instructionsyou gave.
- ... and pleaserememberthat only airfreight
wiII ensureprompt delivery.
- PleasesendthegoodsbyexpressJreightaswe
needthem urgently.
- Weadvisedelivery by road to avoid constant
handling of thisfragile consignment.
- Couldyou pleaseship by scheduledfreighter
to avoid any unnecessarydelays?
P acking
Advise your supplier how you want the goods
packed.Note,in the first example,that crates
are often marked with a sign - a diamond, a
target,asquare,alion, etc.-that canbe
recognizedbythesupplierand customer.
- Eachpieceof crockeryis to be individually
wrapped in thickpaper,packedin straw,and
shippedinwoodencratesmarkedOand
numberedt to 6.
- Thecarpetsshould be wrapped,and the
packagingreinforced atbothendstoavoid
wear.
- Themachinesmust be weIIgreasedwithall
movableparts securedbeforebeingloaded
into crates,whichshouldbeclearlymarked
with your castlelogofor easyidentification.
Cfosing
- Wehopethat this wiII be thefirst of many
ordersweplacewithyou.
- WewiIIplacefurtherordersif this one is
completedtoour satisfadion.
- If our salestargetsare met,we shall be
placingfurther ordersin the nearfuture.
- I lookJorwardtoreceivingyour advice/
shipment/ acknowledgement / confirmation.
A c K N o w L ED G IN G A N o R DE R
As soonas a supplierreceivesan order,it
shouldbe acknowledged.This canbe doneby
Ietter,or by email for speed' seepage66.The
following examplescan be usedin both emails
and letters.
- Thankyouforyour order No.g8e whichwe
receivedtoday.We are now dealingwithit
and you may expect deliverywithin the next
threeweeks.
- Yourorder No.67tz/t is now beingprocessed
and shouldbe readyfor despatchby the end
of this week.
- Wearepleasedto inform you that we have
already madeup your order,N o.99 ot / t / 5,for
5oo bed-Iinenpackets,and are now making
arrangementsfor shipment to Rotterdam,
A Dv rc Eo F DE s P A T c H 3
q
5
When the supplier has made up the order and
arrangedshipment,the customeris informed
by means of an advicenote. This may be a form
pageTo,letter,fax,oremail.
'see
Although an advicenote canbe sentbyfax
or email, the customer may need to present
original documents (e.g.rwvorc n, bill of
lading,rmsunANcEcERrrFrcarr)tocollect
the consignment.Of coursethesecannot be
faxed or sent by email.
- Yourorder,No.o/t54/r,is alreadyonboard
5
the SSMitsu Maru, sailingfrom Kobeon t6
May and arriving Tilbury,London, on n June.
Theshippingdocumentshavebeen
forwarded to your bank in Londonfor
colledion.
- Wearepleasedto adviseyou that the watches
youordered-No.88t5t/24-willbeonflight
s,a,t65leavingZurichat n.oo,9 August,
arrivingManchesterry.oo.Please find
enclosedair waybill oc t5t6t/j and copiesof
invoice,an3fi,whichyouwillneedfor
collection.
- Yourorder,No.vt /t5t/c, is beingsentexpress
rail-freightand can be collectedafter o9.oo
tomorrow.Enclosedis consignmentnote No.
n6V5j,which shouldbepresentedon
collection.Youshouldcontactus immediatelv
i fanyprobl emsari se' Thankyouforyou r
order,and we hopewe can be offurther
serviceinthefuture.
6t
I

o
Placingan order:
Head Ofhcc
E cwering lcttcr
o , F. Lynch & Eo. Ltd N essonH ouse
F.Lynch& Co.have N ew el l S treet
decided to placean B ;.mi nghan!
orderwith Satex5.p.A. 8J 3E L
>seeprevious
corespondence on Tel ephone,+44 @)z t 216 657t
pages45and58andare Fax:+44 (o)21236 8592
sendinga coveringletter Lm,rrl p<rane@l yn c hc o,uk
with the orderform. r./'.vwlynch Conl

Your ref D/7439

Ourref: OrderDR4316

9 March 20-
o SatexS.p.A
g Via di Pietra Papa
o
q 00146Roma
E
!!
ITAIY
x
ul
Attn. Sig.D. Causio

DearSig.Causio

Pleasefind enclosedour official order,No.DR4316.

Forthis order,we acceptthe 15%trade discount you offered,and the terms

of payment (sight draft, CAD),but hope you are willing to reviewthese
terms if we decideto order again.

Would you pleasesendthe shipping documents and your sight draft to

Northminster Bank (City Branch),Deal Street,Birmingham 83 1SQ.

If you do not have any of the items we have ordered currently in stock,
pleasedo not send alternatives.

We would appreciatedeliverywithinthe next sixweeks, andlook forward

to your acknowledgement.

Yourssincerely

Peter Cranp
PeterCrane
ChiefBuyer

Enc.OrderNo.DR4316

E1 Onwhosetermsare lf anyof the sweaters Howsoondo they

g F.Lynch& Co.paying? theyhaveorderedare wantthe sweaters?
I3 out of stock,would
c/ theyaccept
alternatives?

64
 OrdcrfiCIfilN o
CL
HeadOffice o
F, Lynch & Eo. Ltd NessonHouse Thisis F.Lynch& Co.l
orderform.
NewellStreet
Birmingham
833Er

Telephone:+44 @lzt 46 657l

Fax:+44 (o)zr2368592
Email:pcrane@lynch.co.uk
www lynch com

Orderno. DR4315
SatexS.p.A
Via di Pietra Papa
00146Roma m
ITATY Aut'horized x0,
3
T'
?eter (ta*tp o
ID

o.
o

Quantlty Itemdexrlption Cat.No. Prkc(ClFtondon) e

3
50 V-neck:30 red + 20 blue R432 f30.80 each

30 Roll neck 15black + 15blue Nr54 f20.40 each

30 Crewneck:15green+ 15beige N157 f23.00 each

40 Crew neck:pattern R541 f,25.60each

Note: Subjectto 5%quantity

discount

comm€nts L5%TradeDisc.allowed. Pytnt. C/D Del.6weeks

Dete 9 March 20-

I In th e e m ail
on Whichreference Bywhen shouldthe rO
g
page45,MrCrane the
identifies order be delivered? o
suggestedthat he sweaters? lf F.Lynch& Co.have o
might placeordersfor =
Whatsortof fu rthercorrespondence
over5oosweaters, havebeen
discounts with Satexon this
butthis orderisfor agreed? order,what reference
onlyr5o.Whydoyou would they use?
think it is relatively
sma l l ? 6S
 Adnowlcdging
en ordcr
Satexwill now prepare
tlrCrane'sorder,but in
the meantimethey
enrailhimto let him
lnow that the orderhas
beenreceived.

DearMr Crane
=
a
E Thankyoufortheaboveordelwhichwe arenowmakingup.Wehavealltheitemsin stock
a andwilladviseyouaboutshipment
in thenextfewdays.
!
B
E
a DanieleCausio
E. SalesDirector
SatexS.p.A.
Viadi PietraPapa,00146Roma
Telefono:+3906 769910
+39
Telefax: 06 6815473
Email:causiod@satex.co.
it

6
 Adviceof despatch o
e
o
Thisemailmessage I

confirmsthat Satexhave
senttheorder.When Mr
Cranereceives theemail,
the Northminster Bank
w i l li ssueaorsrr
aurH onrrv, w hi ch
allowsthemto debit
F.Lynch& Co.'s account.
Theshi ppi ng docume nt s
YourOrderDR4316 willthenbesentto
F.Lynch& Co.,sothat the
goodscanbecollected, 5
Dear Mr Crane Remember,this wasa
crr transaction where tn
xl,
't{e are pleasedto tell you that the aboveorder has been shippedon the SS Marconissa and
the supplier paidcost,
sfrouldreachyou in the next 10 days. insurance, andfreight,
3
Eo
andon a documents o
ilrleanwhile,
our bank has forwardedthe relevantdocumentsand sightdraftfor t3,092.80,
againstpaymentbasis. 3
uhich includesthe agreedtradeand quantitydiscounts,to the NorthminsterBank (City E.
Branch)Birmingham.

\4/eare sureyou will be very satisfiedwith the consignmentand lookfonrvardto your next
order.

Bestwishes I
DanieleCausio
SalesDirector
SatexS.p.A.
Via di PietraPapa,00'146Roma
Telefono: +39 06 769910
Telefax:+39 06 6815473
Email:causiod@satex.co.it

6t
 6

o
Placingan order
T'
o Th i sem ailandt hene x t
onefollowon from
previous correspondence
>seepates44 and56.
Therearethreeoarties
involved: the
manufacturers, Glaston John Merton
Potteries;the buying
agents,Sanders & Lowe;
andtheirprincipals in
Canada, MacKenzie Bros.
Here,Ms Loweiswriting
5 on behalfofher
p ri nc ipals
and
forwardingtheir order.
G
E Noticethe instructions
o 1432
o shegivesandnoticethat
E shehasalready phoned
E
G GlastonPotteries to DearMr Merton
x
lll agreetermsof payment,
whichwerenot Pleasefind attachedan order (R1432)from our principals,MacKenzieBros Ltd,
mentionedin theirletter 1-5 WhaleDrive,Dawson,Ontario,Canada.
on page56.
They haveaskedus to instructyou that the 60 sets of crockeryorderedshouldbe packed
in 6 crates,10 sets per crate,with each pieceindividuallywrapped,and the cratesmarked
clearlywith their name,the words 'fragile'and 'crock ', and numbered1-6.

They haveagreedto pay by letterof credit,which we discussedon the phonelastweek,and

they would likedeliverybeforethe end of this month,which shouldbe no problemas thereare
regularsailingsfrom Liverpool.

lf the coloursthey havechosenare not in stock,they will acceptan alternativeprovidedthe

designsare those stipulatedon the order.

Pleasesend any furthercorrespondencerelatingto shipmentor paymentdirectto MacKenzie

Bros,and let us havea copyof the commercialinvoicewhen it is made up.

Manythanks
LindaLowe

Whatinstructions 3 Whyshouldthere 5 Sanders&Lowehave 6 Wh i c h w o r d s i n t h e easilydamaged

o havebeengiven beno problemfor completed theirjob, e m a i l h a v ea s i m i l a r or broken
Cl aboutpacking? GlastonPotteriesto whichwastofinda m e a n i n gt o t h e d stated
=
orz Whatmethodof deliverwithinfour supplier.
Sowho must following? e completed
paymenthasbeen weeks? GlastonPotteries a cupS,saucers,
arranged? 4 Willsubstitutes be writetonow? plates,etc.
b large,wooden
acceptable if Glaston
boxes
Potteriesareout of
68 stockof anyitems?
 Adviceof despatch o
e
o
GlastonPotteries have 5

madeuptheMacK en zie
orderandnowadvise
themofdespatch.
MacKenzie Broswill
already haveopeneda
letterof credit>see
pager55at theirbank,
TheC anadi an U ni on
TrustBank,in favourof
GlastonPotteries.The
C anadi an bankw i lno
l w
wait untiltheyhave
Dear Mr MacKenzie confirmation of
shipment fromtheir tn
-he aboveorder has now been completedand sent to LiverpoolDocks,where it is awaiting xq,
agentsin England,
@ding on to the SS Manitoba,whichsailsfor Dawson,Canadaon 16 Julyarriving30 July. Burnley CityBank, and
3
It
,$lhenwe havethe necessarydocumentswe will transferthem to BurnleyCity Bank,your willthentransfer the o
o
mnk's agentshere,and they will forwardthem to the CanadianUnionTrustBank. moneysothat Glaston 3
t
Potteries canbepaid.
'rrfehavetaken particularcareto see that the goods havebeen packedas per your
the six crateshavebeen markedwith your name,and numbered1-6. Each crate
nnstructions:
measures6ft x 4ft x 3ft and weighs5 cwt.
lrllbmanagedto get all itemsfrom stockwith the exceptionof Cat. No. G'l 6, which is only
arrailablein red, but we includedit in the consignmentas it was of the designyou askedfor.

llfyou need any further information,pleasecontactus. Thankyou very much for your order.

We lookforwardto hearingfrom you again soon.

John Merton
SalesManager
Gl otteriesLtd
Cl B ur nleyB B 101 R Q
rer +44 (0)128246125
Fax'.+44 (0)128263182
Email: j. merton@glaston.co.uk

Ho w willt he 3 Whatwill happento 4 WhatdidGlaston 5 Whichwords in the rO

tr
consignment besent? thedocuments once Potteriesdo about e m a i l h a v ea s i m i l a r o
6

GlastonPotteries the itemtheycould meaningto the f.

Whenisit dueto o
receive
them? notsupply? following? =
arrivein Canada?
a essential
b forwarded
c in accordance with
d apart from
69

D EL A YSIN D E T IVE R Y
If goodsareheld up either beforeor after
they are sent,you must keepyour customer
informed.Statewhat has happened,how it
happened,and what you are doing to put
things right In thesecasesthe speedof email
is very useful.If email is not available,then fax
or cableshouldbe usedasthe sooneryour
customeris informed,the soonerthey cantake
action.It is a goodideato keepcopiesof any
messagesyou sendabout delays.
- I wassurprised and sorryto hearthat your
consignment (OrderNo.n45) had not
reached you.On enquiryIfound that it had
beendelayedby a localdisputeon the cargo
vesselSSHamburg on which it had been
Ioaded.Iam now trying to get thegoods
transferredto the SSSamoa,which is
scheduledto sailfor Yokohamabeforethe end
of next week.I shall keepyou informed.
- I amwriting totellyouthat unfortunately
therewill be a three-weekdelayin delivery.
Thisis due to afire at our Greenfordworks
which destroyedmostoJthe machinery.Your
orderhasbeentransferredto our Slough
factory and wiII beprocessed thereassoonas
possible.I apologize for this delay,which is
due to circumstances beyondour control.
- Weregretto inform you that there will be a
delayin gettingyour consignmentto you
Thisis due to the cut in suppliesfrom Gara,
where,asyou may be aware,civil war broke
out last week.Wehavecontacteda possible
supplierin Lagosand he wiII let us know if he
can help us.If you wish to cancelyour order,
pleaselet us know as soonaspossible.
However,I think y ou willf nd most
manufacturersareexperiencingthe same
dtficulties at present.
R EF U SIN GAN O R D E R
Thereare a number of reasonsfor a company
to refusean order,and someof the most
common are given below.Whateveryour
reason,you must be polite:the words reject
andrefusehave a very negative tone, therefore
it is better to usedeclineor turn down instead.
o
CL
o
Youmay be out of stockofthe productordered,
or you may no longer make it. Note that, in
either case,youhavean opportunityto sell an
alternative product seepage48,but
remembernot to criticizethe productyou can
no longer supply.
- Wearesorryto saythat we arecompletelyout
of stockof thisitem and itwillbe sixweeks
beforeweget our next delivery,but please
contactusthen.
- Weno longermanufacturethisproduct as
demandoverthepastfewyearshasdeclined.
5
- Thankyoufor your orderfor heavy-duty
industrialoveralls.Unfortunatelywe have
run out ofthe strengtheneddenim styleyou
askedfor.Asyou particularlyspecifedthis
material,wewill not offera substitute,but
will inform you immediatelywe receive
deliveryoJa newconsignment.This willbe
within the next two months.
- Wereceivedyour orderfor ACNdynamos
today,but regretthat due to a strikeat the
ACNfactory we are unabletofulfl it at
present.Weareawarethat other modelswill
not suityour requirements, but hopethat the
disputewiII besettledsoonand that wewill
beableto supplyyou. Wewill keepyou
informedof developments.
71
5

o 8 a d re p u ta ti o n
!t
o The customer may have a bad reputation
for settling their accountsor,in the caseof a
retailerof, say,electricalor mechanical
products,may have offered a poor after-sales
servicewhich could in turn affect a
manufacturer's or supplier'sreputation. In
thesecases,it is betterto indicateterms on
which you would be prepared to acceptthe
order,or, as in the last two examplesbelow,
find a diplomatic way of saying'no'.
- Wewould only beprepared to supply on a
5 cashbasis.
- Weonly supplyon payment againstpro
forma invoice.
- As thereis heavydemandat present,wehave
veryfew of theseproducts in stockand are
servingon a rota basis.Itis extremelyunlikely
that we wiII be ableto deliverwithin the next
fourmonths.
- As our plant is closingfor the summer
vacationwe would not beableto processyour
orderfor the dateyou havegiven.Therefore,
regretfully,wehaveto declineit.
- I am sorryto saythat we must turn down
your orderas we haveJullorderbooksat
presentand cannotgive a definitedateJor
delivery.
or payment:
- Weonly acceptpayment by letter of credit.
- Weneverofferquarterlytermson initial
orders,evento customerswho canprovide
references. However,wemight considerthis
sort oJcreditoncewe haveestablisheda
trading relationship.
- Our companyrelieson quicksales,lowprofi.ts,
and afast turnover,and thereforewecannot
offer Iong-term creditfacilities.
S i re of order
The quantity requiredmight be too large:
- Wearea small companyand couldnot
possiblyhandlean orderfor zo,ooo units.
- Unfortunately,ourfactory doesnot have
facilities to turn out 3o,ooo units a week.
The quantity requiredmight be too small:
- Weonly supplyordersforballpointpensby
the gross,and thereforesuggestyou try a
wholesalerrather than a manufadurer.
- The shirtswe manufacture are sold by the
dozenin one colour.I regretthat we neverseII
individualgarments.
- Ourfactoryonly sellsmaterial in 3o-metre
rollswhich cannotbecut uo.

U n fa v o u ra b l e te rn rs

The suppliermay not like the terms the

customerhas askedfor, either for delivery:
- Deliverycannotpossiblybeguaranteed
wtthinthe time given in your letter.
- Two months must be allowedfor deliveryas
we are dependenton our suppliersforraw
materials.
or discount:
- Itwould be uneconomicalforusto ofrerour
produds at the discountsyou suggestas we
workon afast turnoverand lowprofit margins.
- Theusualtradediscountist5o/o in this
country which is5%Iowerthan thefigure
mentionedin your letter.
- Thediscountyou askedJorisfar more than
we ofer any of our customers.

72
 Delayin delivery o
CL
o
P a n t o n M an u fa ctu r in g L td
P a n t o nW or ks I Ho u n slo w M id cie se x ] r w6 za o*
FENTt r N
r E L EP Ho N r + 4 4 @ ) zo 8 3 5 3cr z5
F A cs I M I r E + 4 4 @ ) zo 8 3 5 36 7 8 3
et " r a r r d p an to n @ p a n m a n co .u k

8 October20-
MrH.Majid
Majid Enterprises 5
Grant Road
Bombay m
x!,
INDIA
3
g
o
o
DearMrMajid o
I am writing to you concerning your order,No. CU1154/d,which you placed
four weeks ago.At that time we had expectedto be ableto complete the
order well within the delivery date which we gaveyou of 18June,but since
then we have heard that our main supplier of chrome has gone bankrupt.

trtwill be necessaryto flnd an alternative supplier who can fulf.I all the
outstanding contractswe have to complete.As you will appreciatethis will
take some time. but we are confi.dentthat we should be able to deliver
consignments to our customersby the middle of next month.

The units themselveshavebeen assembledand only needcompleting.

We regret this unfortunate situation over which we had no control, and
apologizefor the inconvenience caused.We will understand if you wish to
cancelthe order,but stressthat we are confident that we will be able to
complete delivery by the middle of next month.

Pleaselet us know your decisionas soonas possible.Thankyou for your

consideration.

Yourssincerely

D. Pantow
D.Panton
Managing Director

R eg,s 'i rei :' 'l o Er g and

266.c

Why havePanton Whendotheynow Whatisthe'decision' with reference

to
Manufacturingnot expectthe orderto be referred
to in the last unableto payone's
completedthe order? completed? paragraph? debts
5
How do they intend CanMajidEnterprises Whichwordsin the certain
to overcomethe the orderif
cancel letterhavea similar put together
problem? e trouble
theywantto? m e a ni ng
to the t
following? understanding

73
 5
Refuringan order
!
!,
:]ETJ-XJ
o !-l se nlog g l X h G t ur0 F I
ttu
lflootions. fl
A ri a t - i 10 - o B r u E==- ==

ro...
_I I Ericvan Gellen

OrderHU14449

Attn: Eric Van Gellen

'-
E
o
Thank you for your order,No. HU 14449,which we receivedtoday.Unfortunately, we cannot
g offerthe 35% tradediscountyou askedfor.25o/ois our maximumdiscount,evenon large
r
E orders,as our pricesare extremelycompetitive.Therefore,in this instance,I regretthat we
G
t!
x haveto turn down your order.

DenisYork
SP Wholesalersplc
King'sLynn,Norfolk
PE3O4SW
Tel; +44 (0)1553 60841
Fax:+44 (0)I 553 60923
Email:d.york@spw.co.uk

c WhydoesMrYork I Howdoes he I What isthe

refusethe order? generalizehis implicationof in this
refusal? instancein the last
sentence?

74
+t Proforma
g n
n
I N V OIC E S A N D S TA TE M E N TS
lnvoices
o n
n
Proformainvoices

E
Statementsofaccount
78 SETTLEMENO
T FACCOUNTS
78 Methodsof payment:trade within the UK
78 Methodsof paymenttradeoutsidethe UK
ttr 79 Adviceof payment

o- EXAM PT T S
8o
8r
Acknowledgement
InvoiceI
of payment

8z Invoice2
83 Strtementof lccounl
8+ Adviceof paymentI
85 Adviceof payment2
86 D E L A Y E DP A Y M E N T
86 Askingfor moretime to pay
86 Replying to requests for moretime
87 R E q U E S T SF O RP A Y M E N T
8t Firstrequest
8t Secondrequest
88 Thirdrequest(finaldemand)
t r Afr Pt( t 8g Requcrtfor moretime
9o Agteeing to mo.elame
91 Requert for rn ertenrion
92 Oflerof a compromite
93 tirlt requerl
94 Rcplyto 6rrt requcrl
95 Sccondrequelt
96 Rcplyto rc(ondrequerl
97 Thirdrcquert(llnaldemand)
98 Pointsto remember

I NVO I CE5 AN D STATEM ENT S
INvorcrs areoneof the main documents
usedin trading.They are not only requestsfor
payment but alsorecordsof transactions
which give the buyer and sellerinformation
about what has beenbought or sold,the terms
ofthe sale,and detailsofthe transaction.An
invoicemay be accompaniedby a short
coveringletter or email offering additional
information the customermight need.
- Please
fnd enclosedour InvoiceNo.ary5tfor
tlzg.+l Theplugsyou orderedhavealready
beendespatchedto you, c/r, andyou should
receive them within the nextfew days
- Theenclosedinvoice (No.ou67)for t74 6o is
for z 'Layeazee'
chairs at t 54o.ooeachlessy%
trade discount.Welookforward to receiving
your remittanceand wiII then sendthe chairs
c/F.
- OurInvoice,N o.r n y 5n 6Jor €6,78o.oo net is
attached Welookforward to receivingyour
cheque,fromwhichyou may deduct3%cash
discountif payment is madewithin seven
days.
A pno ronua rNVorcEis onewith the words
proformalyped or stampedon it, and is used:
- If the customerhas to pre-pay(i.e.pay for
goodsbeforereceivingthem),they pay
againstthe pro forma
- If the customerwants to make surea
quotationwill not be changed,the pro-
forma will sayexactlywhat and howthey
will be charged
- If goodsare sent on approval,on saleor
return, or on consignmentto an agent who
will sellthem on behalf of the principal
- As a customsdocument
A coveringletter may accompanya pro forma
InvoIce.
- TheenclosedProforma No.tt64for f.8,25j.76
isfor your OrderNo.ct534,which is now
packedand awaiting despatch. As soonaswe !
!J
receive your chequewe will sendthegoods 3
o
which shouldthen reachyou within aJew t
days.
- Wearesendingthe enclosed proforma (No
n gt9t)for f,j,96o gross,forthe consignment
oJchairsyou orderedon approval.Wewould
appreciateit iJyou couldreturn any unsold
chairsby the end of May asagreed.
- Proforma invoice,No.pt77t5,isfor your order,
No 652u74,in confirmationof our quotation.
Thetotal of f, t5,j5t includescost,insurance,
andfreight.
6
Ratherthan requiring immediate payment of
invoices,suppliersmay offer credit seepages
rt8-r35 in the form of open accountfacilities
for an agreedperiodof time, usually a month
but sometimesa quarter (threemonths).At the
endof the peri oda sTA TE ME NoFT A ccouNT
is sentto the customer,giving detailsof all the
transactionsbetweenthe buyer and selierfor
that period.The statementincludesthe
BALANcEonthe account,whichis brought
forward from the previousperiodand listed as
A C C OU N T R E N D E R E D . IN V Oi C C S
A N d P TS IT
NorEs seepagerr areadded,while
paymentsand cnrplr NorES seepagerrl
are deducted.
Statementsof accountrarelyhaveletters
with them unlessthere is a particularpoint
that the supplierwants to make,e.g.that the
accountis ovERDUE,or that somespecial
concessionis availablefor prompt payment,
but a complimentsslip may be attached
Notethe expressionns a'r (e.g.asat jt
March),whichmeansup to this date.
- I enclose your statementasat 3t luly. May I
remindyou that your |une statementis still
outstanding,and askyou to settleassoonas
possible?
- Pleasefnd enclosedyourstatementoJ
accountas at jt May thisyear.If the balance
of ft6t is clearedwithin the next sevendays,
you can deducta 3%cashdiscount.
77
c SE T T T EME N TO F A C C O U NTS letter ofcredit
a
E A l rrrrn or cR E D rr(l f c) i sadocument
a
c Me th o d r o f p a y n re n t:tra d e w i thi n issuedby a bank on a customer'srequest,
ordering an amount of money to be paid to a
th e U K
supplier. Paymentsby letter of credit can be
Here is a list of methods of payment which can made within the UK,but this method is
be used in trade within the UK. more common in overseastransactions
>seePage79.
Bankdraft
In the caseof a sarvr pnarr,the customer Cashon delivery
buys a chequefrom the bank for the amount CesH olu DELTvERy (coo) is a serviceofiered
he or shewants to pay and sendsit to the bythe PostOffice.Theywill delivergoodsand
supplier. Banksusually require two of their acceptpayment onbehalf of the supplier.
6 directors'signatureson drafts,and make a
PostOfficeGiro
small charge.
The PostOfficeGiro system allows a customer
Banktransfer to senda payment to a supplier,whetherthey
A saNx TRANsTER is when a bank moves have a PostOfficeGiro account or not.
money by orderfrom one accountto another.
Postalorder
Billofexchange Posrar oRDERscanbe boughtfromthe Post
In slrl oF EXCHANGT (n/r ) transactionsthe Office,usually to pay small amounts, and sent
supplier draws a bill on the customer.The bill to the supplier direct.They can either be
statesthat the customer will pay the supplier cRossED,inwhich casethe money canonly be
an amount within a statedtime, e.g.thirty paid into the supplier'saccount,or Ieft openfor
days.The bill is sent direct to the customer or the supplierto cash.
paid through a bank.If the bill is a srcnr
pnerr, the customerwill pay immediately (i.e.
Methodr of payment; trade outri de
on'sight'or presentation).If the bill is arERM
the U K
DRAFrthe customersigns (accepts)thebill
beforethe goodsare sent and payslater. Banktransfer
pages47-154for moreon bill of exchange
' See The customer orders a bank to transfer money
transactions. to the supplier'saccount.If telegraphed,this is
known asa rE LEGRAeHTc TRANsFER (rr). The
Cheque
Societyfor Worldwide Interbank Financial
The customermust havea CURRE NT
Communications(swlrr) offersa twenty-
AccouNT,or certaintypesof savrncs
four-hour international bank transfer service.
eccourvr, to pay by cheque >seepagesr38-r39.
Businesses in EuropeanUnion(ru) countries
Chequescan take three working daysto clear
often usethe swrFr system.Paymentsare
through the commercialbanks,and can be
subjectto r u directives,e.g.transfershaveto
open,to pay cash,or closed(crossed),
to be paid
be made within six days.
into an account.
Billofexchange
Credittransfer
The procedureis the same as that for trade in
In th e c a s eo f c R E D rrrR AN SrE R S ,the
the UK, but shipping documents usually
customerfills out a bank crno slip and hands
accompanybills when the bank acts as an
it in to a bank with a cheque.The bank then
intermediarv in international transactions.
transfers the money to the supplier.

Debit/ creditcardpayment
Dnnrr andcnEDrrcARDpaymentscanbe made
either direct on the phone,or on the Internet.

It
Cheque
It is possibleto pay an overseassupplierby
cheque,but it takesa long time beforethey
get their money.In a transactionbetween
businessesin Germanyand the UK,for
example,the suppliercouldwait up to three
weeksfor payment.
Documentary credit
When a letter of credit is accompaniedby
shipping documentsit is calleda
D o c u M xN T A n Yc n r p rr. T h emo neyi s
creditedto the supplier'saccountas soonas
confirmationof shipment is made.
Seepagest55-'166formoreon documentary
credittransactions
International bankdraft
An rN rrn re rro N Ar B AN KD R A rr i s a cheque
which a bank draws on itself and sellsto the
customer,who then sendsit to their supplier.
The supplier'sbank shouldusuallyhaveeither
an accountor an agreementwith the
customer'sbank
Internationa I moneyorder
(l tvros)
I N rn n rrl a rIo N ALMo N Ey o R D ER S can
be bought at most banksinthe UK and are
paid for in sterling or dollars.Thebank fllls out
the orderfor the customerthen, for a small
charge,handsthe IMo over,and the buyer
sendsit to the supplier.Iuos can be either
cashedor creditedto the supplier'saccount.
lnternationalPostOfficeGiro
Paymentby InternationalPostOfficeGiro can
be made when either the customeror supplier,
or both, do not havebank accounts.An order
for the amount to be paid is fllled out at a Post
Office,which forwards it to the Giro Centre The
Giro Centrewill sendthe amount to a Post
Officein the supplier'scountry,where the
supplierwill receivea postalcheque.They can
then either cashit, or pay it into a bank
account Girosare chargedat a flat rate.
Promissorynote
A pnours s oRy Norx is,strictlyspeaking,not
a method of payment but simply a written
promisefrom a customerto a supplierthat the
former will pay the amount stated,either on !
ql
demand or after a certain date In effect,a 3
o
promissorynote is an rov (I oweyou). =
Correspondence advisingpayment,
particularly in the UK,tends to be short and
routlne.
- Wehavepleesurein enclosingour postal
order/ cheque/ bank draftJor f- in
payment of your statementInvoiceNo.-
dated...
- I haveinstructedmy bank today to transfer
6
ft,t6t.ooto your accountin paymentoJyour
31Maystatement.
- Wehavedrawn a chequefor fz67.ooin
payment of your InvoiceNo.tzjt datedz
August Thiscan bepaid into your accountor
cashedat any PostOfi.ce.
Correspondence confirming payment in trade
transactionsoutsidethe UK maybe more
complicatedif you want to make specific
points.
- Thankyoufor your prompt delivery.Please
find enclosedour draJtfor t4841 drawn on
EastlandCityBank,Sommeryille.Couldyou
please acknowledge receipt?
- Wewouldliketo informyouthatwe have
arrangedfora credittransferthrough our
bank,the Hammergsbank,Berg en,Jor t 3,tzo
in payment of InvoiceNo.nt64t. Couldyou
conrtrmthe transferhasbeenmadeassoon
as the correspondentbank advisesyou?
- Wehavepleasurein enclosing our bankdrafi
for f,5,t4t.5j
aspayment on Proforma Invoice
No.55t2.Pleaseadviseus when the goodswill
beshippedand are likelyto reachBarcelona.
- Youwill bepleasedto hearthat we have
accepted your bill and now havethe
documents.Weshall collectthe consignment
assoonas it arrivesin Bonnandpayyour bill
onthe dateagreed.
- Our bank informsus that they now havethe
shippingdocuments,and wiII betransferring
theproceedsof our letterof creditto your
account.
79
tr gementof payment
Acknowled
o
E
G
A
Correspondenceacknowledging payment also
tendsto be short.
- Thankyoufor your draft / credittransferfor
f- in payment of our statement/ invoice
No.- dated...
- Our bank advisedus today that your transfer
oJfg,76t.oowascreditedto our account.
Thanky oufor p aying sopr omptly,and we
hopeto hearfromyou again soon.
- Wereceivedyour Giro slip today informing us
that you hadpaid tt,tz6.oo into our account
6 in settlementof invoiceNo.r,4t. Thankyou
for letting us know,and we lookforward to
hearingfromyou again in the nearfuture.
- Thankyoufor sendingyour draftfor invoice
No.tt87t sopromptly. Wefeel sureyou wiII be
pleasedwith the consignmentand look
forward to receivingyour next order.
- Wereceivedadvicefrom our bank this
morning that your transferfor invoiceN o.
ntt64thas beencreditedtoour account.We
would liketo thankyou, and would bepleased
to helpif you needfurtherinformation,or
would liketo placeanotherorder.
- Our bank informedus today that you
acceptedour biII (No.sz zz5l andthe
documentshavebeentransferredto you.We
aresureyou wiII bepleasedwith the
consignment.
- TheNippon Bank in Tokushimahave told us
that the proceedsofyour letter of credit have
beencreditedto our account.Thankyoufor
your custom,and we hopeyou wiII be in touch
wtth us again.Wehavepleasurein enclosing
our newsummercatalogue.

to
 Invoice1 !
!l

Thisis a relativelysimple -3
o
ro
G&RHffiectrFse*Ltd
tnvorce invoice.Note the
additionforValueAdded
I

Tax (var) and PosrAGE

35HillStreet A N D P A C K T N(G
P&P).
Seacroft
The lettersrgor at the
Leeds
bottom mean ERRoR5
LS14 1N D
AN D OM ISSION S
Telephone+44 (o)u3 64or8r E xcE P TEi nDother
;
+44 (o)ttl 6$7 8z
Facsimile ' words,if thereisa
Emailaccounts@drelec.co.uk mistakeon the invoice,
InvoiceNo. 81951 the supplier hasthe

To P.Gwent & Co.Ltd

right to correctit by 6
askingformoremoney
43 RingRoad orgivingarefund. ln
x
LeedsLS162BN !,

YourorderNo. L57/5
g3
lD
=
Date 1May20-
I
al
o
Number Description Total

40 RVA250volt plugs @55p.each t26.OO

AddvATl7.5% L4.55

Addp&p t4.oo
[34.55

E&OE Registered LondonNo.n5662

vA r R eg.N o.154662219

8t
tr lnvoiee2
o
E Thisinvoiceis rather
o
a morecomolicated. lt is
from Claston Potteries
to their Can ad ian
customers, MacKenzie
c,ayre,rlIBun,ey
BBio,F,.,
T$ ;:?Tt?lrr rro
Bros.lt would be sent i .- F i r l ,.- r ,r {i I I ( o) 1132 4( ) tr r ,
with copiesand shipping [" r i r :r l - ' l r r ) r ff r fy r l fl i
documentstoThe [.] - 'r 'l '.,i C :ttc tl Ltk
'
C anad ianUn ionTrust
B ankvia the Burn ley
B ank.wh oa re Invoice
No.1096/A3 11July20-
MacKenzie's agentsin
6 the UK.These
MacKenzieBrosLtd
documentsprovethat a
1-5 Whale Drive
1) shiomenthasbeen
.9 Dawson
0 madefrom Claston
.= Potteriesto MacKenzie Ontario
o Brossothat the CANADA
CL
E C anad ianb an kcan no w
l!
x releasethemoneythat
ut
MacKenzieBrossaid YourorderNo.R1432
they would pay in their
letterof credit.There will Qu a n tity D escri pti on C at.N o i eaei r

alsobe a dd ition al
35 Earthenware Rt94 @ 55.00 set 1,925.00
chargesthat MacKenzie
10 Wedgwood wl6l @ 47.50 set 475.00
B roswill pa yth eirba nk
f or ha nd lingthe
15 Bone/Tea T2l @ 23.00 set 345.00
transaction. 10 StaffordshireRed s73 @ 5260 set 526.00
It might be helpfulto CIF 3,271.00 3,271.00
refer backto enquiry,
LessCost& Freight
reply,order,and advice
r seePa8es44,56,68,
Liverpool-Dawson 3U.00
and 59.
LessInsurance 292.O0
Youwill seefromthe 10%discountoff net price 2,632.00 LessDisc zo7.z v
i nvoicethat c rr charges
havebeendeducted Total 2,368. 80
from the grossprice.This
is becauseunderUK law
the customermust be
told exactlywhat they
are payingfor.Andin
t his ca secr r h asa lso
beendeductedsothat
the ro% specialdiscount
can be taken offthe net
Pnce.

E&O E , ,-' , \l.i.lhlijl

:i .1., lt,l,) ljSl,llroli

Which reference What doesthe 4 What chargeshave How haveGlaston

w ould Ma cKe nzie s ign@ m eanin t he beentaken offthe Potteriesindicated
Brosusewhen calculations? grossprice? they havethe right to
referringto this correctthe invoiceif
What isthe net total
invo ice ? there is a mistake?
ofthe invoice?

8z
 Statementof !
t
account -3
o
5
Thisstatement isan
Furniture
Ltd accountofthe
transactions that took
placeoverthe monthof
Telephone:+44 (o)r52826755 TibStreet MaybetweenSeymore
Fax:+44@)t628 26756 Mai denhead
Furniture andtheir
Email: accou
nts@seymore.co.uk B erkshi re
customer. C,R.
M€ndez.
RegisteredNo.r85r439rLondon s L6 5D 2
Youwill seethat a debit
var No z3r61883r UK
note(o/tt 3rr)anda
creditnote(c/r.rC5r7)
3i May 20- areIistedaswellasthe
C.R.Mendez SA i nvoicestheycorrected. 6
Avda del Ej6rcito 83 Therearealsotwo
E-48015Bilbao paymentswhich are ln
x
!,
listedhereascash,
3
althoughtheword Eo
Date Item Debit Credit B al ance chequecan alsobeused 6

in this context. ol
20- f + f L o
3
o
lMay Account Rendered 270.00 I

2May Inv.18992 260.00 530.00

8May D/N 311 52.00 582.00
12May Cash 100.00 482.OO
14May Inv.18995 720.OO 7,202.OO
20May c/N c517 80.00 1,122.00
25May Cash 600.00 522.00

E.& O.E.CashDisc.3%
if paidwithin7 days

HowmuchdidC.R. Whatdidtheypay 5 H o w w i l l thei rrJune rO

tr
M€ndezoweat the d u ri n g th em o n th ? statement ooen? o
beginning
ofthe Whatwasthe totaI 6 lsthereanallowance o
month? t
amountof their for paymentwithina
Howmuchwasthe purchases
during certaintime?
errorin theirfavour? May?

83
 tr Ad vic e of
o '-rc Ofi rce
E p Jym0nt I
4
a! F, Lyneh R"EE" ttd 'j a- r - ) O nF l oLtSr .
Thislettercontinues 1,,1\iile I Sireet

previous correspondence F r , i :i r ngh a m

r pagezt!(enquiry), ,r I l i ;
'ee (replyand
page 58
quotation),pages54-55 i erepl .cne:+44l oJzt z 1' o6r,1' .
(order),and pages66-67 Fax +44 (o):r 236 859 :
(theemailmessages E-.rai r.ocrane@l yncirco uk
Yi r \\^.ij y nC l i ac ffr
acknowledging the
orderandadvising
despatch). Thecustomer, '/a'i r r : a

Mr Craneof F.Lynch& Co., !,)), OrderI4463

6 usesthisconfirmation of
payment to askforthe 16lune 20-
o termsof paymentto be SatexS.p.A.
g revised >seealsopage Via di PietraPapa
sr rr8.lf you lookbackto
00146Roma
page58,youwill seethat
E ITALY
a!
x SatexS.p.A. saidthey
lll
wouldreviewtheterms
aftera while.Notice
howtheletterbegins Attn Mr D. Causio
with confirmation of
payment, thenstatesthe DearMr Causio
present arrangement,
a n dfinallym ak est he Thankyou for being so prompt in sendingthe documentsfor our last order,
nextordersubjectto No.14463.We haveacceptedthe sight bill, and the bank should sendyou an
Mr Causio accepting the advice shortly.
newterms.The Ietteris
We have been dealing with you on a cashagainst documents basisfor over
firm,butstillpolite.
a year and would like to changeto payment by 4o-day bill of exchange,
Forthiskindof
corresoondence a letter documentsagainst acceptance.
ismoreappropriate than When we flrst contactedyou last Februaryyou told us that you would be
anemailmessage. preparedto reconsiderterms of payment oncewe had establisheda trading
association.We think that sufficienttime has elapsedfor us to be allowed
the terms we haveaskedfor. If you needreferences, we will be glad to
supplythem.

As we are planning to send another order within the month, could you
pleaseconfirm that you agreeto thesenew terms of payment?

Yourssincerely

Pe,ter {t'a.t',a,
PeterCrane
ChiefBuyer

84
 Adviceof !
ol
payment2 3
o
t
Thi semaiall so
continues previous
correspondence
>seepage44 (enquiry)
page56(reply),page58
(order),page69 (advice
of despatch), andpage
8z (invoice).
MacKenzie
Brosusethe emailboth
to confirmpaymentand
to makea complaint
aboutthe packing 6
>seealsopagesroo-rt6,
Notethat MacKenzie ln
x0,
Broswill accepteither 3
replacements forthe g
o
brokencrockery or a o
creditnote.Claston 3
c,
Potterieswillclaim on =
blb haveinstructedour bank to arrangefor a letterof creditfor €6,158.92to be paidagainst
theirinsurance company
tour pro forma invoiceNo. G1'152iS.The proceedswill be creditedto you as soon as forthebreakages,
CanadianTrustreceivethe documents. althoughtheymight not
getcompensation as
We usuallyask you to wrap each pieceof crockeryindividuallyand pack no morethan ten
theyhavebeen
sets intoa cratpto allowfor easy and safe handling.This was not donewith our last negligent in their
consignmentand as a consequencetherewere breakages(see attachedlist).We would like packing.
eitherreplacementsto be includedin our nextshipment,or your creditnote.

RichardMacKenzie

8S
 c Noticein the last exampleabovethat there
o DELAYED PAYM ENT
E is no referenceto the bankrupt customer's
4
|!
This is an areaof correspondence where you
must useyour own judgement about how
confidentialthe information is.Would an open
systemlike email or fax be satisfactory,or
shouldyou senda letter?Thesesituationscan
be sensitive.
If you arewriting to a supplierto explain
why you havenot clearedan account,
rememberthat they are mainly interestedin
6 whenthe accountwill be paid.So,while you
must state why you have not paid, you must
alsoexplain when and how you intend to pay.
Beginthe letter with your creditor'sname
(this should alwaysbe done once
correspondence has beenestablished,but it is
essentialin this case:if you owe someone
money,you shouldknow and usetheir name).
Referto the accountand apologizein clear,
objectivelanguage(i.e do not useover-
elaboratelanguagelike P/easeforgive mefor
not settlingmy indebtedness toyou).Noticethe
verbsclearand settle(an account)are used
ratherthanpay.
- I am sorrythat I wasnot ableto clearmy luly
accounl
- Weregretwewereunableto senda chequeto
settleour accountfor the last quarter.
Explainwhy you cannot clearthe account,but
do not be dramatic
- Thedock strikewhich hasbeengoing onfor
thepast sixweekshasmadeit impossible to
shipour products,and asour customershave
not beenableto pay us,we havenot beenable
to clearour own suppliers'accounts yet.
- A warehouse flood destroyedthe majority of
theZenithgoo components.We arewaiting
for our insurancecompanyto settleour claim
sothat we can renewour stockandpay our
suppliers.
- Wewerenot ableto settlethe account
becauseof the bankruptcyoJone of our main
customers- Thedebtwasconsiderable and its
losshas made it dtfi.cultfor us to pay our
suppliers
86
name,nor how much they owed.It would be
unethicalto givethis sort of information.
Also noticehow the debtorgeneralizesthe
situation,explaining that other suppliers
havenot beenpaidyet.
Youmay be ableto pay somemoney
oN AccouNr, i.e.to pay part of what you owe.
This showsa willingnessto clearthe debt,and
will gain your creditor'sconfidence
- Wewill try to settleyour invoicewithin the
nextfour weeks.Meanwhilethe enclosed
chequeJorf,z,soooo ispart payment on
account.
If you cannot offer a part payment, give as
precisea dateof payment asyou can.
- Oncethe strikeis over.whichshouldbe within
the nextfew days,we will beableto clearthe
balance.
- As soonas the insurancecompanysendsus
compensation, we will settlethe account.We
expectthis to be within the next two weeks
Therearethree possibleways in which you
might reply to a requestfrom a customerfor
more time to settlean account:you may agree
to their request,refuseit, or suggesta
compromlse
Ifyou agreeto the request,a short letter is
all that is needed.
- Thankyoufor your letterconcerningthe
outstanding balanceony our account.
I sympathizewiththe problemyou have
had in clearingthe balanceand amwilling
to extendthecreditfor another sixweeks.
Wouldyou pleaseconfrm that the credit
will besettledthen?
- I wassorryto hearaboutthe dtficulties
you havebeenexperiencingin getting
componentsto completeorders,and realize
that without salesit isdifi.cult to settle
outstanding accounts. Thereforey our account
hasbeenextendedanothermonth,but I
will haveto insiston payment by the end
of July
If you refusethe request,you will needto
explain, politely, why you are refuslng.
- Thankyou for your letterexplainingwhy
you cannotclearyour lanuary statementfor
appreciateyour dfficulty, but we
f,2,t67.54.1
ourselveshaveto pay our own suppliersand
thereforemust insiston paymentwithinthe
next ten days.Welookforward to receiving
your remittance.
- With referenceto your letterof 6 August in
whichy ou explained why th e outstandtng
invoice,No.vn 88ryo c, hasnot beencleared,
we understandtheproblemsyou havebeen
facing in the currentrecession. However,it
wasbecauseof thepresenteconomicclimate
that we allowedyou a two-monthperiod to
settle,and while we would liketo ofreryou
moretime to clearthe balance, our own
fnancial position makes this impossible
Therefore, we must askyou to settlethe
accountwithin the next fortnight.
An offer of a compromise(for example
paying part of the money)will alsoneedan
explanation.
- Thankyoufor writing to let us know why
theMay accountis still outstanding.
Unfortunately,we cannotextendthe credit
any longeraswealloweda considerable
d iscountfor pr o mpt p ayment.N evertheless,
in viewof the dificultiesyou havebeen
having with your two major customers,we
arepreparedto compromiseand suggest
that you clearhalf the outstandingbalance
immediatelyby sendinga chequefor
f,4,87t.oo,and clearthe remainderby the
end of next month. Welookforward to your
remittanceand conf.rmationthat the
balanceof the accountwill beclearedin IuIy.
- I wassorryto hearaboutthe strikewhichhas
heldupproductioninyour plantfor thepast
few weeksand understandwhyyou need
moretime to clearyour account.
Nevertheless, when we allowedopenaccount
terms,we emphasizedthiswason condition
balanceswereclearedpromptly on duedates
as creditfacilitiesput a strain on our own
cashJlowsituation However,because of your
previouscustomwith us we are quite willing
to allowyouto clearhalf the balance,[5,t89, !
OJ
by sendingus a sight draft,seeenclosedB/ n :I
o
No.898tot,and clearthe outstandingamount =
by acceptingthe encloseddraft a / r No.
898to8,drawn at 3o days WelookJorward to
receivingyour acceptance and confrmation.
R E OU E S TSFOR P A Y ME N T
Neverimmediately assumeyour customers
haveno intention ofpaying their accountifthe 6
balanceis overdue.Theremay be a number of
reasonsfor this: they may not havereceived
your statement;they may havesent a cheque
which hasbeenlost;or they may havejust
overlookedthe account.Therefore,a first
requestshouldtake the form of a polite
enquiry Tryto make the letter impersonal.
Youcan do this by using the definite article,
e.g.theoutstandingbalanceinsteadofyour
outstandingbalance;usingthe passivevoice,
e.g.to beclearedinsteadof whichyou must
clear; and modifying imperatives,e.g.should
insteadof must.Thefirst examplewill give you
an idea ofthis style.
- Weare writing concerningthe outstanding
Octoberaccountfor $qt 6j (copyenclosed),
whichshouldhavebeenclearedlastmonth.
Please couldyou contactusand let us know
why the balancehasnot beenpaid?
- Wethink you may haveoverlookedinvoice
No.5arytofor f,j5t 95 $eecopy)whichwas
duelastmonth.Couldyoupleaselet ushavea
chequeto clearthe amountassoonas
possible? If payment hasalreadybeensent,
pleasedisregardthis letter.
If a customerintendsto pay,they usually
answera flrst requestimmediately,offering an
apologyfor having overlookedthe account,or
an explanation.But if they acknowledgeyour
requestbut still do not pay,or do not answerat
all,then you can make a secondrequest.As
with flrst requests,you should includecopies
8t
t Agreeingtomore
o
E time
I Thisisa replyto the ==
--- ==_:
previousletter.Herr DVBIndustries
GmbH -=
::- --
Schubert accepts the -
requestandasksfor
paymentassoonas Correnstrasse
z5o
D-4oooo M0nster
possible.
Tel:(+49)z5t-866t3
Fax:(+49)z5l-goz7r
Email:schubd@dvb.co.de

20January20-
6
MsD.vanBasten
L
o Director
I, D.vanBastenS.A.
3
4
Heidelberglaan2
E
|!
Postbus80.115
x
ul NL-3508TC
Utrecht

DearMsvanBasten

Thank you foryour letter of 15January regarding oru November statement

and Decemberinvoice No.7713.
We were sorryto hear aboutthe difficulties youhavehad, andunderstand
the situation. However,we would appreciateit if you could clearthe
account as soon as possible,as we ourselveshave suppliersto pay.

We look forvvard to hearing from you soon.

Yourssincerely

Diptu Schnbut
DieterSchubert
Director

90
 Requestfor an !
!,
ertension 3
o
L. Franksenplc F'lt'l re of \tal es R oad ln this letterthe
5

5lreffield customerasksfor his

s94E x bill ofexchangetobe
Tefephcrne,44 1o\74z z 4789
extendedfor another
lax +44 lo) 742 z5tca sixty days.
E mai l f ranksenl ( i ' r.rk co rrf

19May20-

MrD.Bishkin
ZenithS.A. 6
Haldenstrasse118
3000Bern22 tn
x
SWITZERTAND c,
3
9o
DearMrBishkln ID

I regret to inform you that I will not be able to meet my bill, No.B/E 7714,for o

35,498.00SF due on 6 June.

My government has put an embargo on all machine exports to Zurimba,

and consequentlywe have found ourselvesin temporary diffi.cultiesaswe
hadthree major cashconsignmentsforthat country.However,Iam at
presentdiscussingsaiesof theseconsignmentswithtwo large Brazilian
importers,and am certainthat they will take the goods.

Could you allow me a further 60 daysto clear my account,and draw a new

bill on me,with interestof, say,6%addedforthe extensionof time?

I would be most grateful if you could help me in this matter.

Yourssincerely

LeoFranJ:r,vt
LeoFranksen
Director

Whatexpression HowdoesMr Whatsolutiondoes Whichwordsin the a not permanent rO

c
doesMr Franksenuse Franksen intendto hesuggest to the letterhavea similar b large o
g
insteadof payl getthe moneyforthe p ro b l em? meaning to the c a quantityofgoods o
(e.g.a bill 5
Whatisan embargo? cargohecannotsell following? d prepare
to Z u ri mb a ? of exchange/
cheque)

9r
tr Ullltol.t
o
E L,)llll'lrllll \r'

iE
4 I n this ca seMr Bish ki n,
t he sup plie r,ha sth e
ZerritlrS.A.
legalright to presentthe
billto his b an kfo r
payment,thenif it is not
paid,callalawyerto
pnoresrthe bill,i.e .
23May20-
oreventMr Franksen
ot sno no un truc it
(denyingthat it was Mr L.Franksen
presentedfor payment). L.Franksenplc
6 Thecostsofthis Princeof WalesRoad
procedureare paid by Sheffield59 4EX
tu the customer.However, UK
the customerin this case
s
so. has not saidthey will not DearMr Franksen
pay,but cannot pay at
E BiIl No. B/E 7714
G oresent.lf Mr Bishkin
x
ul forcedMr Franksen to
I was sorryto learn about the embargoyour governmenthas placedon
pay,theresultmight be
exportsto Zurimba and of the problemsthis has created.However,the
bankruptcy, and all Mr
B ishkinwou ld g et is a abovebill already allows credit for 40 days,and although I appreciateyour
percentageof his offer of an additional 6%interest on the outstanding 35,498.00SF, it is
customer'sdebtslikethe impossible for me to ailow a further 6o days' credit as i myseif have
other creditors.This commitments.
couldbe as smallasfive
per cent of the tota I
I think the following solution might help us both.
debt.5ohe doesnot Youneednot add intereston the presentamount,but I have encloseda new
want to forcethe bill on dr aft (B/ E773t) f or 17,7 which is half the out standin g b alance,and
49.0OSF,
Mr Franksen yet.On the
will allow you 4o daysto pay it. But I expectyou to pay the remaining
ot her h an d.h e ha s
t7,749.ooSFby banker's draft .
waited long enoughfor
his money,andcannot Pleaseconfirm your acceptanceby signing the enclosedbill and sendingit
be expectedto wait to me with your draft by return of post.
anothersixtydays,even
with the interest I hope that your negotiations with the Brazilian importers have a positive
offered.Inhis replyto Mr outcomeand trust that this setbackwiII soonbe resolved.
Franksenhe offers a
Yourssincerely
compromtse.

N.Bishkin (Mr)
Director

Enc.BiIl B/E7731

l sM r B is hk in Why does he say he Doeshewantthe six Howwillhe know

sympatheticto Mr cannotwait a further percentinterest that Mr Franksenhas
Franksen's problem? sixty daysfor addedon? acceptedhis offer?
payment?
Whatcompromise
doeshesuggest?

92
 Flnt requot F
-3
o
=
54-y9 f lvrrl&, (rrdlfl <rr uw
Ti l ?phon? ++l (o)29 20 {97r!
Jar: +44 (ol r9 :o 49937
Imai l : rcl i ffFhomGmJl crl (om
l ogi rterrd N o (r|5151

20 November 20-

R.Hughes& SonLtd
2lMeadRoad
Swansea 6
West Glamorgan 3ST1DR
I||
x
!,
3
g
DearRobert o
|D
I am writing conceming our invoice No. H931for L919.63,a copy of which is
o
enclosed.It appearsthat this invoice has not yet been settled.

I seefrom our recordsthat sincewe began trading you have clearedyour

accountsregular$ on the due dates.That is why I wondered if any problems
have arisen which I might be able to help you with? Pleaselet me know if I
can be of assistance.

Yourssincerely

Rirllud,
RichardCliff
Director

93
 E
o
f.plytofi?rt
E nqurt
t!
4 YouwillseefromMr lR.llughes
Hughes'replyto Mr
Cliffsletterthatthe & $olt l,Jd
invoicehadbeenpaid,
not bycheque,which n tcrd lpad, Swrnrar
wasMr Hughes'usual Strt G,lamorgaNl lrr lor
methodofpayment,but teh#.tone: +44 (oh t9t fil r
bycredit tra nsfer.lf Mr for:9*ansea +4+ (oh7gz 591::
f,nrorl r hughcr@hugonco ul
Clifihadlookedat his
bankstatement,he
wouldhaveseenthat 24th November 20-
6 the moneyhadbeen
credited.However,asMr MrR.Cliff
L
o Hughes changed his HomemalcersLtd
c, methodof payment,he 54-59 Riverside
!E shouldhaveinformed Cardiff CFrlJW
hissupplier asbanksdo
E
o
x not alwaysadvisecredit DearRichard
tll
transfers.This isa good
exampleof whyyou I was surprised to receive your letter of 20 November in which you said you
shouldnot assumethat had not receivedpayment for invoice No. H931.
a customerhasfailedto
payanaccount. I instructed my bant, The Welsh Co-operativeBank,Swansea,to credit yow
Rememberthat this account in Barnley'sBank,Cardiff, with the f 919.63on 2nd November.
typeofcorrespondence
As mybark statement showedthe moneyhadbeendebitedto my account,
is besthandledby letter,
I assumedthat it had been credited to your account aswell. It is possible
notemailorfax.
that your bank has not advised you yet. Could you please check this with
Bamley's,andif there are anyproblems let me know, sothatl canmake
enquiries here?

Yours sincerely

Wbe* u"/*
RobertHughes

vrt io rg r)fr 3O

94
 J.cond r.qu6t !
t,

Thisisanexample of a -o3
I NGENIEROS secondrequestfor
payment, butyouwill
=

\ \
I NDU ST RIALES
Errrlodc lbfctr r/n [-tooo9
seethat,eventhough
this isa secondletter,
trn 9cb$lrrn
5rCostello stillavoidsan
unfriendlytone.

fcl (r 1f 913 rrrtoo tc(h. 30August20-

fer (r14f91361899o tu rtf
Imerl r <orlclloOrn8cnerot(o 6 llr rel 6t3t02

Sig.D.Giordianino I'|
OmegaS.p.A. x!,
ViaAgnello 2153 3
!
20121Milano o
Italy
6-
o

Dear Sig.Giordianino

With referenceto my letter of 10August, I enclosecopy invoiceswhich

made up your lune statement,the balance of which still remains
outstanding.

Having dealt with you for sometime, we are concemedthat we have

neither receivedyour remittance nor any explanation asto why the balance
of €6,000.00has not beencleared.Pleasewouldyou either replywith an
explanation or send us a chequeto clear the accountwithin the next seven
days?

Yourssincerely

R. Cortelln
R.Costello(Sr)
Credit Controller
Encl.

95
E Replyto second
o - -.
E requesr
G
Omega5.p.A.
a HereisSig.Giordianino's VialeMortidio5t269l-torz5Torino
replyto5r Costello's TeIefono (+3$-r - 598t46t
letter. Telefax(4$-l-62835r
Em ai I giordi and@omega.co.it
www.omega.it
vs.rif. 613/O2
Ns.rif.SG/DA

Date l September 20-

SrR.Costello
6 CreditController
IngenierosIndustrialesSA
o
Barriode Ibaetas/n
g
g E-20009SanSebastian
a
E
|E DearSrCostello
x
t{
First let me apologizefor not having clearedour June statement or replying
to your letter of 10August. However,I am surprisedthat you did not receive
our circular letter informing all our suppliersthat we were moving from
Milan to Turin. I have checkedour post book.and find that a letter was sent
to you on June30.

As you will seefrom the copy enclosed,we warned suppliersthat there

might be some delay in clearing accountsand replying to correspondence
asthe move would involve employing new staff who neededtime to get
usedto our accountsandfiling systems.

Youwill be pleasedto hear that we have now settled into our new offces
and will have a fully trained staff bythe end of next month. Mdanwhile, I
am enclosinga chequefor €2Q000 on account,and will senda full
settlement of your June statement within the next few days.

Couldyou pleasenote our new addressfor future reference?

Yourssincerelv

D. Qi"oril"a"tu*t"o
D.Giordianino (Sig.)
Accountant

Enc.Bank Draft No.427322for€20.000

p I Whyhadn'tOmega 2 WhathasSig. 3 Whathasheasked

€ cl ear edt heir J un e C i o rd i a n i n o d o n e S rC ostel l otodoto
I statement? aboutthe ensurethat letters
{t outstanding account, getto him?
andwhatwill hedo in
the nearfuture?

96
 Thirdrequcrt !
!,

DeltaComputersLtd (finaldcmand) 3
o
BradfieldEstate I
BradfieldRoad
Wellingborough
Northamptonshire
rur84xe
Telephone +44 @\ 99 t64l / zl j /4
t.:a TYGA/C Fax+44(o)r933zoor6
EmailmiIlarj@delta.com
www.deltacom

9 December 20-
P.Theopolis SA 6
5613rd SeptemberStreet
GR-I0432 tn
x
Athens !,
3
E.
o
DearMr Theopolis o
*
Account No. TYG99014 o

We wrote to you on two occasions,21Octoberand 14November,concerning

the aboveaccount,which now has an outstanding balance of t3,54I.46 and
is made up of the copyinvoicesenclosed.

We have waited three months for either a reply to explain why the balance
t has not been cleared,or a remittance, but have receivedneither.

We are reluctant to take legal action to recoverthe amount, but you leave us
no alternative. Unlesswe receiveyour remittance within the next ten days,
we wiII instruct our solicitors to start proceedings.

Yourssincerely
, . t ll

J. Mulal
-

J.Millar(Mrs)
ChiefAccountant

Enc.invoice copies

qe6 Engl and r 8l 1713

v ar 24r 9 62u4

Whatisenclosed How long hasthe DoDeltaComouters 4 Whatphrase isused |o

c
with the letter? balanceremained planto takelegal w hi chhasa si mi l ar t
u npaid? action? meaningto takelegal 0
action? 3
5

97
 Points
to remember
c 1 Invoicesare recordsof transactionsaswell
o
E asrequestsfor payment.An invoicemay be
a!
4
accompaniedby a short coveringletter or
email.
2 Proforma invoicesare usedin the caseof
pre-payment,when they are neededfor
documentation, or to inform the customer
ofthe price.
3 Statementsof account are sent monthly or
quarterly, and include details of all
transactionswithin the period.
4 There are various methods of payment
6 available through banks and the PostOffice.
5 Lettersadvising and acknowledging
payment tend to be short and routine,but
they may be usedto proposenew terms of
payment orto make complaints.
6 If you are asking for more time to pay,you
should apologizefor not having clearedthe
account on the due date,explain why you
have not paid, and when and how you
intend to clearthe balance.Remember,your
creditorsare more interestedin when they
will get their money than in goodexcuses.
7 Threestepsare usually taken by a supplierto
recovera debt. The first is to write a polite
letter which acceptsthat there may be a
good reasonwhy the account has not yet
beencleared.The secondis a more insistent
request which refers to the letter you have
alreadysent,and enclosescopiesofinvoices
and statements.Youcan.in the second
request,statethat you expectpayment or a
reply within a reasonabl.e time. A final
demandmust be handledwith restraint.
Reviewwhat has happened,explain the
balancehas beenoutstandingfor a long
period,and if necessarythreaten legal action
if the accountis not paid within a specified
period.

98
 1 OO UNJUST IFIE D C OMP LA IN TS
n
lOO
1oo
M AKING GE N E R A L C OMP TA IN TS
Opening o
1oo
lor
Thelanguageof complaints
Explainingtheproblem
3
1o1
101
101
Suggesting
a solution
REPT YING TO LE TTE R SOF C OMP LA IN T
Op e n i n g
g
ro l As k i n g fo rti metoi nvesti gatethecompl ai nt g,
1o2 E x p l a i n i n gthemi stake -O
1o2 S o l v i n g theprobl em =
toz Rejectinga complaint
F+
1o2
t x AM p L E s 1 o 3
Closing
C o mp l l i n t about w rong del i very
(n
1o4
1o5
R e p l yto compl ai ntaboul w rong del i very
C o n rp l a intabout damage
o,
1g)5 Replyto complarntabout damage =
1o7
108
C o mp l a i ntabout badw orkmanshi p
R e p l yto compl ai ntabout badw orkmanshi p
o-
t0 9 C o n rp l a intabotrtnon-del rvery 0,t
t1o
1 ' I1
Replyto (omplaint a bout wrong delivery
ACCOUNT IN G E R R OR S A N D A D JU S TME N TS
1r1 Debitnotes
o-
l-o
111 Creditnotes
r.x AMp L E s 1 1 2 D c b l tn o te
c(n
113
114
Credit note
C o n rp l a intabout l ccountrngerrors
e+
115 Replyto complaintabout accountingerrors
3
116 Pointsto remember
o
=
r+
tn

tr U N J U S T IF I ED C OMP T AIN Ts
o but a letter shouldbe usedfor larger or more
E
Beforeyou complain,make absolutelysure
I
b- your facts are right.
r!
T' If you haveto respondto an unjustified
tr
G complaint,be polite and rememberthat
tr anyonecan make a mistake.Belowaretwo
! examplesof unjustified complaints,andthe
CL
E repliesto them. Noticehow restrainedthe
o
tJ repliesare
- Dear Sir
I stronglyobjectto the extra chargeof [9.oo
7 whichyou haveaddedto my statement.
WhenI sentmy chequefor t z56.oo lastweek,
I thought it clearedthis balance.NowIfind ...
- DearMrAxeby
Wereceived your lettertoday complainingof
an extra chargeof fg.oo on your May
statementI think if you checkthe statement
you willfnd that the amountduewas
f,z65.oonot [,256.oowhich accounts for the
f9.oo drfference.Ihave encloseda copyof the
statementand ...
- Dear Sir
I couldnot believeit whenI readthatyour
priceshavenow beenincreasedby f3o.oo.To
haveto pay t55.oofor an articlethat was
f,z5.ooonly afew monthsago is outrageous!
Thegovernmentisfghting inJlation. .
- DearMr Richardson
Thankyoufor your letter.I checkedthe item
you reJerredto,the ScrivaPen,catalogueNo
c14on our price-Iist.Thepriceof the pen has
beenincreasedfromtz5.oo to fjo.oo, not by
f,jo.oo,and Ithinkyouwill agreethatfor a
fountain penthisis not anunreasonable
increaseconsideringthatthe costofour
materialshasdoubledinthe pastfew
months.
MA KIN G GE N E R A TC OMP TA IN TS
When sendinga complaint,you will needto
decidewhether it is appropriateto usefax or
email,where privacycannotbe guaranteed,or
to write a letter.Somecomplaints,e.g.a
mistake in a small payment or in the number
ofgoods despatched,can be faxed or emailed,
seriouscomplaints.
Do not delay.Complainas soonasyou realizea
mistakehas beenmade;delayweakensyour
caseand can complicatethe matter as details
may be forgotten.Thereis no needto openby
apologizingfor the needto complain (We
regrettoinformyou...,1amsorrytohaveto
write to you about . . ) asthis alsoweakensyour
case.Simplybegin:
- Wewould liketo informyou...
- I am writingto complainabout...
- I am writing with referenceto OrderNo.ejz,
which we receivedyesterday.
Emotionalterms like disgusted, inJuriated, or
amazedhaveno placein business.Youcan
expressdissatisfactionby saying:
- Ihis is the third time this mistakehas
occurredand we arefar from satisf.edwith
the serviceyou ofer.
- Unlessyou canfulfiI our orderseficiently in
thefuture we wiII haveto considerchanging
to anothersupplier.
- Pleaseensurethat thissort of problemdoes
not ariseagain.
Do not be rude or personal.In most cases
correspondence between companiestakes
placebetweenemployeesin various
departments.Nothing is gainedby being rude
to the individual you are writing to You may
antagonizesomeonewho has probablyhad
nothing to do with the error and,rather than
getting it corrected,he or shecouldbecome
defensiveand diftcult to deal with. Therefore,
do not usesentenceslike:
- Youmust correctyour mistakeassoonas
possible.
- Youmadean erroronthe statement.
- Youdon't understandthetermsof discount.
Wetoldyou to deductdiscountfrom net
prices,not ctt prices.
Usethe passiveand impersonalstructures
mentioned earlier seepage87.
- Themistakemust becorrectedassoonas
possible.
- Thereappearsto bean erroron the statement.
- Thereseemsto besomerhisunderstanding
regardingtermsof discount.Discountis
deductedfromnetprices,not ctr prices.
Do not usewords like/ault $tourfault,our
fault) or blame$rouaretoblame)-these
expressionsarerude and childish.Do not write:
- It is not ourfault It isprobablythefault of
your despatchdepartment.
Instead,write:
- Themistakecouldnot haveoriginatedhere,
and mustbeconnected with the despatch
of
the goods.
Never blame your own staff, and flnally, while
writing the complaint rememberthat your
supplierwill almost certainlywant to help you
and correctthe mistake.Suppliersarenot in
businessto irritate or confusetheir customers
but to offerthem a service.
If youthink you knowhowthe mistakewas
made,you may politely point this out to your
supplier.Sometimes,when a mistakeoccurs
severaltimes,you may be abieto work out why
it is happeningmorequicklythan the
companyyou aredealingwith.
- Couldyou teIIyour despatchdepartmentto
take specialcarewhen addressing
consignments? My nameand address are
C.I. Schwartz,
Bergstr.rct Koln.But thereis a
C.Schwartz,Bergstruo Koln who alsodealsin
electricalfttings.
- Couldyou askyour accountsdepartmentto
checkmy codecarefullyinfuture?My
accountnumberis246-642,but they have
beensendingme statementscoded642-246.
- I think the reasonthat wrongsizeshavebeen
sentto me is becauseI am orderingin metric
sizes, andyouaresendingmesizesmeasured
inJeetand inchesI would appreciateyour
Iookinainto this.
a1
o
3
E.
If you think you know how the mistake can be q,
=
corrected,let your supplierknow
- If I sendyou a debit notefor €984.oo and o,
=
CL
deductitfrom my next statement,that 9J
shouldput the matter right.Thebestsolution -*
c
would beJor me to return the wrong articles,
:t
o
chargingyou P&P. J
- Ratherthan senda creditnoteyou couldsend
six replacements,which wouldprobablybe
easierthan adjustingour accounts.
7
R E P TY IN GTO TE TTE R S
OF C OMP TA IN T
Acknowledgethat you havereceivedthe
complaint,and thank your customerfor
i n fn vm i n a rrnrr
- ThankyouJoryour letterof 6 August
informingusthat ..
- Wewould liketo thank youfor informing us
of our accountingerrorin your letterof7 lune.
- Weare replyingto your letterof rc March in
whichvou told usthat ...
Sometimesyou cannot dealwith a complaint
immediately,asthe matter needsto be looked
into Do not leaveyour customerwaiting but
tell them what you are doing straight away.In
this case,an email or fax messageis
appropriateasthe customerthen knows
immediately that you havereceivedthe
complaint and are doing somethingabout it.
- Whilewe cannotgiveyou an explanationat
present,we are lookinginto theproblem and
will contactyou again shortly.
- As we aresendingout orderspromptly,I think
thesedelaysmay beoccurringduring transit.
I shallget in touchwith the haulage
contractors.
- Wouldyou pleasereturn samplesof the items
you aredissatisfiedwith, and I will sendthem
to ourfactory in Dfisseldorffortests.

tr
!,
E
If the complaint is justifled,explain how the
t
TI mistakeoccurredbut do not blame your stafi.
o
! Youemployedthem, soyou areresponsiblefor
tr
a! their actions.
- Themistakewasdue to afault in one of our
.=
lE
machines,which has now beencorrected.
CL
E - Thereappearsto havebeensomeconfusionin
o
IJ our addressingsystem,but this hasbeen
sortedout.
- It is unusualfor this type oJerrorto arise,but
the oroblemhas now beendealt with
7
Having acknowledgedyour responsibilityand
explainedwhat went wrong, you shouldput
mattersright as soonaspossible,and tell your
customerthat you are doing so.
- Wehavenow checkedour accountsandfnd
that we havebeensendingyou the wrong
statementdueto a confusionin namesand
addresses.The databasehasbeenadjusted
and thereshouldbeno moredificulties
Pleasecontactus again if a similar situation
arises,and thankyou againforpointingout
the error.
- Thepaintwork on the bodyof the carsbecame
discoloured because of a chemicalimbalance
in thepaint usedin sprayingthe vehicles.We
havealreadycontactedour own suppliersand
are waitingJor their reply.Meanwhilewe are
taking thesemodelsout of productionand
calling in all thosethat havebeensupplied.
- Thefabricyou complainedabout hasnow
beenwithdrawn.Thefault wasin the weaveoJ
the cloth,whichwas dueto a programming
errorinthe weavingmachines.This hasnow
beencorrectedand replacementfabricwill be
sentto you.
- Wehavecloselycomparedthe articlesyou
returnedwith our samplesand canseeno
differencebetweenthem Therefore,in this
casewe are not willing eitherto substitutethe
articlesor to ofer a credit.
- Ourfactory hasnow inspectedthe unit you
returnedlast week,and they inform us that
the circuitswereoverloadedWecan repair
the machine,but it wiII be necessaryto charge
you as incorrectuseofthe unit is not covered
by our guarantee.
It is usefulwhen closingyour letter to mention
that the mistake,error,or fault is an exception,
and it either rarely or neverhappens.You
should also,of course,apologizefor the
inconvenienceyour customerexperienced.
- In closingwe would liketo apologize for the
inconvenience, and alsopoint out that this
type offault rarelyoccursin the Omegazooo.
- Finally,may wesaythat this wasan
exceptionalmistakeand is unlikelyto occur
again.Pleaseacceptour apologies Jor the
tnconvenlence.
- Replacements for thefaulty articlesare on
their way to you, andyou shouldreceivethem
tomorrow.Wearesurethat you will be
satisfiedwith them and there will be no
repetitionof thefaults. Thankyou for your
patienceinthis matter,and welookforward
to hearingfromyou again.

if you think the complaint is unjustified,you

can be f,rm but polite ln your answer.But even
if you deny responsibility,you shouldalways
try to give an explanationof the problem.
 Complaintabout al
o
wrongdelivery 3
!
!l
Thereplyto thisemail =
message >pagero4,will 5DI
explainwhycomplaints 54
shouldbecarefully l,

writtenandMr Hughes -* tr
6
shouldnotassume that 3
Mr Cliffisresponsiblefor o
=
the mistake.The 6

companies concerned
herehavedealtregularly
with oneanother, soan
emai message
l i squit e
Dear Richard appropriate,asthisis
not particularly tn
I receiveda consignmentof dressingtables,Cat. No. DT154,to the aboveorderyesterday. xll
confidential. 3
Howeve6the deliveryconsistedof six heavymahogany-finished dressingtablesinsteadof g
the lightpine-finishedunits I askedfor. o
o
3
As I havefirm ordersfor the design I askedfo[ | would be gratefulif you could send my !l
=
consignmentas soon as possible,and collectthe wronglydeliveredgoods.Thankyou in
advance.

RobertHughes

t o3
 6
C
rryf toonflaht
o
E rDoutml6
h
t
dchtrt
b-
r! Noticethe contractions
!
tr l'll andthere\,andthe
o
5 informalstylein this
E message. However,it is
! still politeandefhcient RobertHughes
E
E in tone.Inthis caseit is
E importantthatthe
mistake,regardless of
whosefault it is,is Re:Wrongdelivery(orderNo.1695)
correctedassoonas
t
possible. Andnoticethat
the invoice- an DearRobert
t! importantdocument in Thankyoufor yesterday's
emailconcerningtheabovewrongdelivery.
E
o thistransaction - issent
cq with the next delivery I havelookedintoit andfindthatourcurrentwintercatalogueliststhe dressingtablesyou
E andthe catalogue issent wantedunderDT189.I thinkyoumusthaveusedlastsummer's catalogue.
|! by separatepost,neither
x
lr|
ofthem asattachments I haveinstructedoneof ourdriversto deliverthe pine-finished
dressingtablestomorrowand
totheemail message. pickuptheotherconsignment.
Ratherthansendingyoua creditnote,l'llcancelinvoiceNo.D4451andincludeanothe[
No.D4487,withthe delivery.
There'salsoa wintercatalogueon itswayto you,by post,in caseyouhavemislaidthe current
one.

RichardCliff

t:
WhydidMr Hughes t WhyisMrCliffnot t Whi chw ordsi nthe
receivea wrong goingto senda credit emailhavea similar
delivery? note? meaningtothe
WhatwillMrClifido I HowwillMrCliffhelp following?
aboutit? Mr Hughesnot to r investigated
makethe same b told
mistake
again? c collect
d lost
t04
 Complaintabout n
o
Head Offire d a ma g e 3
F. Lynch & Eo. Ltd N essonH ouse
T'
!,
N ew el i S treet Youhavealreadyseena ='
5
B ttnrtngl rsry1 complaintabout !,
B J JE I. breakages in I
CI
MacK enzi e' s l to
emai !,

Tel ephone:+44 (rol zt'zt6 657l ClastonPotteries -*

t

' page85.Thisletteralso
Faxt+44(o)2r23685t12
3
E mai l :pcrane@l ynchco.uk dealswith damage. o
=
w w w l ynch com

your ref:

Ourref: OrderNo.L4478
Date: 15August 20- 7
SatexS.p.A.
ln
Via di PietraPapa x
o,
00146Roma 3
|o
ITAIY o

Attn. Sig.Daniele Causio

E
o

Dear Sig.Causio

Our OrderNo.14478

I am writing to you to complain about the shipment of sweaterswe

receivedyesterday against the aboveorder.

Theboxesin which the sweaterswere packedwere damaged,and lookedas

if they had beenbrokenopen in transit. Fromyour invoiceNo.18871we
estimatethat thirty garmentshavebeenstolen,to the value of f 550.00.
Becauseof the rummaging in the boxes,quite a few other garments were
crushedor stainedand cannot be soldas new articlesin our shops.

As the salewas on a CIFbasis and the forwarding companywere your

agents,we suggestyou contactthem with regardto compensation.

Youwill find a list of the damagedand missing articlesenclosed,and the

consignmentwiII be put to one sideuntilwe receiveyour instructions.

Yourssincerely

Peter A'a*w
PeterCrane
ChiefBuyer
Encl.

Ho w d i dthedam age Why doesMr Crane What doesMrCrane Whichwordsin the ,O

occur? suggestthat Mr intendto do with the letterhavea similar
Whycan'tmanyof Causiohasto deal damaged meaning to the o
the garments
be with comoensation? consignment? following?
a duri ng
sold? What is enclosed
with the letter?
transportation
b assess
c getintouchwith
105
 h
Replyto <omplaint
E
o about damage
E

it|!
t BecauseSatexsells S a te x S.p .A. Tei ei ono:+39 (o)6 7ti 99to
goodsto their retailers Telefax: +39 (o)5 68r5473
!
on a crF b asis,a ndin this Vla d l i rretr,lFapa,oor4o l trrrn.r Er'rral | : c eusiod @satc;r.co.it
c
t!
casethere was no
E specialinstructionto t s.rif.:Order14478
t!
-c sendthe goodsin a ,'r rl " Ns.rif.:D/1162
r
E particularway,they will
o
I haveto find out what 24August 20-
happenedand whether
they can get Mr L.Crane
compensation.
7 Sig.Causiocouldhave
ChiefBuyer
F.Lynch & Co.Ltd
askedMrCraneto keep
t he u nd ama ge d
NessonHouse
o
garmentsand return Newell Street
o
o those which could not Birmingham833Et
o. be sold.However,he UNITEDKINGDOM
E
t! wantsthe ship pin g
ul
x
companytoinspectthe
whole consignmentin Dear Mr Crane
casethey do not accept
that the damagewas Thank you for informing us about the damageto our consignment (Inv.No.
causedbythieves. 18871).

From our previous transactions you will realizethat this sort of problem is
quite unusual. Nevertheless,we are sorry about the inconvenienceit has
causedyou.

Pleasewould you retum the whole consignmentto us,postageand packing

forward, and we will askthe shipping company to inspect the damage so
that they can arrange compensation.It is unlikelythat our insurance
companyneedsto be troubled with this case.

If youwant us to sendyou another shipment asperyour orderNo.14478,

pleaselet us know. We have the garments in stock and it would be no
trouble to sendthem within the next fortnight.
I
Yourssincerely

i ' ,' i l al ' .r, r .i . I r tr'

DanieleCausio
SalesDirector

ro5
 Complelntabout o
..t
5uperbuysLtd badworkmanrhlp 3
S u p e r b uH
y ouse E.
t,
WolvertonRoad Whenbadworkmanship I
5
London isinvolved the customer t
s w 1 67 D N canonl ycompl aias n th e t
cl

Telephone +44(o)zo8327rti5r faultsarise, butthey 0,

.El
Farumrle +44(o)zo8327r935 shoul dsti l lcomol aiasn tr
Emai I k bellon@su
perbuys.com soonaspossible. In 3
earliercorrespondence o
www.superDuys com =
)Pages4-z4and59, u
5uperbuys, a
Date. TthJuly 20-
supermarket chain,
Mr P.Lane
asked Wembley
Wembley Shopfitters ltd
Shoofitters to refitone 7
WycombeRoad of theirshops.The work
Wembley wascompleted, but tn
x
ql
MiddlesexHA9 6DA somemonthslater 3
faultsbeganto appear. g
o
DearMrLane o
'Superbuys',443 Halton Road,London SE43TN o

I am writing to you with referenceto the abovepremiseswhich you refltted

Iast February.

In the past few weeks a number of faults have appearedin the electrical
circuits and the flooring which have been particularly dangerousto our
customers.

With regard to the electrical faults, we have found that spotlights have
either failed to work, or flicker while they are on, and replacing the bulbs
has not correctedthe fault.

The flooring which you laid shows signs of deterioration, and some areas
are worn through to the concrete,creating a hazard to our customers.
I would be grateful if you could come and inspect the damage and arrange
for repairs within the next week. The matter is urgent as we can be suedif
any of our customers are injured. I would also take this opportunity to
remind you that you have guaranteed all your f.xtures and fittings for one
year.

I look forward to hearing from you soon.

Yourssincerely

Kelth, Be.llon,
Keith Bellon
Managing Director

Reg No 94fl6 Loildon

vrr No 516 84ro 3o

t o7
 R i :p ly t o c s r r rpla i l rt
tr
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l rb ot r t b. r d
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l vo r k lr r . rn s lr i p
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,v\r(i(11{,,( )1
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so,
E
o 10July 20-
\,
Mr Keith Bellon
SuperbuysLtd
SuperbuyHouse
7 WolvertonRoad
LondonSW167DN
c,
g DearMr Bellon
g
r 'Superbuys',443
Halton Road,LondonSE43TN
E
|!
x The damageyou describedin your letter of 7 July has now beeninspectec.
tlt

Thefaults in the wiring appearto havebeencausedby dripping water from

the floor above.The electricalcontractor,who put the wiring in in February,
tells me that the wall was dry at the time he replacedthe old wires.
However,wewill arrangefor repairsto be made and sealoff that section,

Duraflooris one of the most hardwearingmaterialsof its kind onthe

market and we were surprised to hear that it had worn away within six
months,sowe made a closeinspection.We noticedthat the floor had been
cut into and this seemsto havebeenthe result of draggingheavymetal
boxesacrossit. The one-yearguaranteewe offer on our workmanship is
against'normal wear and tear',and the treatment the floor appearsto have
beensubjectedtodoesnot comeinto this category.I am quite willing to
arrangefor the suffaceto be replaced,but we will haveto chargeyou for the
materialsand work involved.If I may,I would like to suggestthat you
instruct your staff to usetrolleyswhen shifting heavy containers.

I am sorry about the inconvenienceyou have experiencedand will tell the

fltters to repair the damage as soon as I have your conflrmation that they
canbeginwork.
Thefloor repairsshouldnot cometo more than f 890 andthe work can be
completedin lessthan a day.Perhapsyou couldring me to arrangefor a
convenienttime for the work to be carriedout?

Yourssincerely

' i ,.,t,
PeterLane
Director

WhatdoesMr Lane What doeshe think HowdoesMr Lane Whichwordsin the

th inkc aus ed
t he causedthe problem suggest thedamage letterhavea similar
faultywiring,and with the flooring,and to thefloorcan be meani ngto the
whatdoesheintend what doeshe sayhe avoided? following?
to doaboutit? willdo about it ?
H owl ongw i l lthe lookedat
repairsto thefloor durabl e
take? everyday use
movrng
ro 8
 Complaintabout o
at

non-dclivery 3
g
LeverFgtai e g.
UTHIGTES
PtG S rar bc.o L,B h
Y orkch're
Inthi scasethe
customer, Forham
=
6
c,
y.11 Vehicles.makeslorries =
JB ' A.
for export.They placed !,
Tel t"phorrea 44 (o)17: j 16c l
Fax +44 (o)r7238r953
anorderwithE.F. Baden -*
tr
h

- ;,
to suppl ythem w i th 3
E mai l :m.bl ackbsl yl (afs1l i .:.;,
sixtydynamosfor a o
=
shipment of lorriestobe
Date:20June20-
exported to Greece.
Badenhaveneither
HerrR.Zeitman delivered theordernor
E.F.BadenAG repliedto Forham's 7
ZiilpicherStr.10-20 previous letterurging
D-40000Diisseldorf11 themto makedelivery, !n
x
!,
soForham senda strong 3
DearHerr Zeitman complaint. E.
o
o
OrderNo.VC58391
o
We are writing to you with referenceto the aboveorder and our letter of
22May in which we askedwhen we could expect delivery of the 60
dynamos (Artex model 55)you agreedto supply on 3 Junefor an export
order.We have tried to contact you by phone,fax, and email but no-one in
your organization seemedto know anything about this matter.

It is essentialthat we deliverthis consignmentto our Greekcustomerson

time asthis was an initial order from them and would give us an opening in
the Greekmarket.Our deadlineis 28June,andthe lorrieshavebeen
completed exceptfor the dynamos that need to be fitted.

Unlesswe receivethe componentswithin the next flve days,our customers

will cancelthe order and place it elsewhere.We would like to make it clear
that we are holding you to your delivery contract, and if any lossresults
becauseof this late delivery we will take legal action.

Yourssincerely

i :.t;'r,,
,u it iu,e/.,B/a,.C
Michael Blackburn
Director

R es F ngl .r nd 8q69r l 5
v b\ 462j 2117

t og
 6
Replyto
tr
o complaintabout
E Zi l l pi cher5tr. rc-2o, D -4,oooo
6 non-delivery D i .i l sel dorfl l
I
t'G Tel+49 rrr j 8 34 06/09
Notehowthis letteris
! Fax r4c1zr 18 14z7'r
tr apologetic butfirm. [:rrrrr!i zertman@baden.co
de
G
ThoughE.F. Baden
.E acceptresponsi bilityfor 29June20-
!
e the problems Forham MrM.Blackburn
E Vehiclesfacein ForhamVehiclesplc
o
L' delivering their LeverEstate
consignment to their
ScarboroughYOll3BS
Greekcustomers, Herr
Zeitmanrejectsthe DearMr Blackburn
th reatof legaI actionby
drawingMr Blackburn's Thankyou for your letter of 20 Juneconcerningyour order(No.VC58391),
o attention to a clause in which should have been supplied to you on 3 June.
theircontract stating
-c thatthecompany will First,Iet me apologizefor your order not being deliveredon the due date and
-g
CL
notberesponsiblefor for the problems you have experiencedin getting in touch with us.Both are
E
G
x unforeseen the result of an industrial dispute which has involved our administrative
ul
circumstonces.However, staff and employeeson the shop floor, and has held up all production over
HerrZeitmanisflexible the pastfewweeks.
enoughto realize he
mustnotantagonize his The dispute has now been settled and we are back to normal production.
customer, soheallows Thereis a backlogof ordersto fill, but we areusing associatecompaniesto
Mr Blackburn the help us fulfil all outstanding commitments. Your order has been given
opportunity to cancel priority, so we should be able to deliver the dynamos before the end of this
theorderif hecanmake week.
otherarrangements.
Thisletterillustrates May I point out, with respect,that your contract with us has a standard
two mainpoints:fi rst,do clausestating that delivery dateswould be met unless unforeseen
notcommityourselfto circumstancesarose,and we think you will agreethat an industrial dispute
contracts unless youare is an exceptional circumstance.However,we understand your problem and
absolutely certainthey will allow you to cancelyour contract if it wiII help you to meet your
canbefulfilled; second, commitmentsto your Greekcustomers.But we wiII not accept
always try andbeas responsibility for any action they may take against you.
flexibleaspossible with
customers or associates Onceagain let me say how much I regret the inconveniencethis delay has
evenif youarein a caused,and emphasizethat it was due to factors we could not have known
strongposition - it will about when we acceptedyour delivery dates.
improveyour business
reputation. Pleaselet me know if you wish us to complete your order or whether you
would prefer to make other arrangements.

I look forward to hearing from you.

Yourssincerelv
t/-
K0T -/-txJ.U4r'j.Y,
RolfZeitman
Managing Director

t10

A CCO U N T IN GE R R O R SAN D
A DJ US T M EN T S
Many lettersof complaint ariseout of
accountingerrors,which canbe correctedby
adjustments Debit notesand credit notesare
usedfor this purpose
D eb itnotes
Dnr r r u o rrs a rea s e c o n d c h a rg e fo r a
consignmentand becomenecessary
customerhasbeenunderchargedthrough a
mistakein the calculationson the original
invoice.An explanationfor the chargemust
be includedon the debit note:
- Underchargeon invoicecz93.to Units
@ftz.6zeach= f,tz6.zo,Nor f.16.20
- InvoiceNo.p.32,one line omittedviz. toomn
Zip Disks@f8.4o each= f84o.oo
- var shouldhavebeencalculatedat ry.5%,
wor ry% Difference= f8t.86
Oncea buyer has settledan account,it is
annoyingto be told that there is an additional
payment An apologyshouldalways
accompanya debit note.
- Wewould liketo apologize for the mistakeon
invoiceNo.czgj,whichwasdueto an
oversight.Pleasecouldyou sendusthe
balanceof €795.oo?
- I am sorryto troubleyou,particularlysince
youwere soprompt in settlingthe account,
but I would begrateful if you would let us
havethe additionalamount of €34o.ooas
itemizedonthe enclosed debitnote.
- I regretthat we miscalculatedthe var and
must now askyou toforward the difference
of f 5t.86.
A creditnote may alsobe issuedwhen a a rl
!
I
o
depositis refunded(e.g on the cartonsor cases 3
9
which the goodswere packedin) or when ll
5
goodsarereturnedbecausethey were not
9J
suitableor were damaged. 5
q
- Received 3 returnedcaseschargedon Invoice t,
No.t4j6 @E7.ooeach= tzt.oo. -*
tr
- Refundfor4 copiesoflnternational
3
Commercef,t6.5oeach(returneddamaged)= o
5
t66.oo
As with a debit note,inthe caseof mistakes
if a a coveringletter ofexplanation and apology
shouldbe sentwith a credit note. 7
- I havepleasurein enclosinga creditnotefor
€z4o.oo Thisis dueto a miscalculationon
our invoicedatedtz August.Pleaseacceptour
apologiesfor the error.
- Pleasefindenclosedour creditnote No.c4for
€t65.6owhich is a refundfor the overcharge
on invoiceNo.tz8j. Asyou pointed out in
your letter,the tradediscountshouldhave
beenp%, not rc%,of the grossprice.We
apolog izefor the inconvenience.

Creditnotes
Cnr prr NorE s aresentbecauseof accidental
overcharges:
- to copieso/lnternational Commerce@
ft6.5o = ft65.oo Nor 8ry5oo
- Invoicet283.Discountshouldhavebeenn%,
not 8%.Credit= Y5,140oo.
 6
E
Ihblt note
o
E Thisnoteis necessary
5 becausethe suppliers,
=t

!
G Seymore Furniture,have
madea mistakeintheir
Furniture
Ltd DebitNete
t NO.311
G
O
calculationsandhave
€ g undercharged their +44 (o)r62826755
Telephone: TibStreet
g customer,C.R.M6ndez.
o Fax:+44(o)t62826756 Maidenhead
E Email:accounts@seymore.co.uk Berkshire
o
\, Registered
No.t85t439rLondon s 165oz
vAr No.231
61883r UK

3lMay 20-
C.R.M6ndez S.A.
o Avda del Ej6rcito 83
6E E-48015Bilbao

5
o
! 5May2G- Invoice No. L 8992.UNDERCH.A,RGE.
o
E
E The extension should have read:
o 6 Chairs@f 35.00each= f210.00
x
II
NOT
6 Chairs@f,25.00each= f150.00

We apologizefor the error and ask if you

wouldplease paythe difference of f,50.00. f50.00
 Creditnote 6
o
3
Seymore Furniture E
havemadea mistake E.
5
on anotherinvoice and 6
t
NO. C517 mustnowsenda credit =
CL
note.Notethat the form !,

Telephone:+44 (o)r62826755 TibStreet for a creditnoteisthe -*

g
G
Fax:+44@)t62826756 Maidenhead sameasthat for a debit
note,exceptfor the
3
o
Email:accounts@seymore.co.uk Berkshi re 3
RegisteredNo.r85r439rLondon s L 65 D 2 heading. Creditnotes, I

ver No.z3r61883r UK however,are often

printedin red.
20May20-
C.R.M6ndez S.A.
7
Avda del Ejercito 83
m
E-48015Bilbao xc,
g3
o
10May 20- Invoice No.t899 5.OVERCHARGE. 6
o
a
The invoice should have read:
L5Y"off grossprice of f800.00 = f120.00
=
o
NOT o
10%offgross price off800.00 = f80.00

Refund= f 40.00.PleaseacceDtour
apologies. [40.00

r 13
 #
6
E
Complelntrbout
o eccountlngc?nort
E tol n,. xllrlr|. & lrFt.l
I
5 M. Lancelot(abuilders' SARL
IrI. LAD|GELOT rt.oooffoatpelhr
t'|! a
supplier)hasreceived
! statementwhich lahpl'roo.
E
G .y3)4843to3t
5 containsseveral
fdccopie
.E accountingerrors.
. ]] r ful toll
!
E Imerl
E *r.tr(c ():iEl.t'\(clOl (O tt
o
tJ

5August20-

f MrK.Winford
K.Winford & Co.Ltd
o PrestonNewRoad
g
o Blackpool
n4 LancashireFY44UL
E
|!
ul
x
DearMrWinford

I have receivedyour July statement for f 3,280.54but notice it contains a

number of errors.

I Invoice Y1l46for t256.O0has been debited twice.

2 No credit has been listed for the wallpaper (Cat.No.\MR114) which I

retumed in JuIy.Your credit note No. CN118for f19.00 refers to this.

3 Youhave chargedfor a delivery of paintbrushes,invoice No.Y1162for

f52.00, but I neither orderednor receivedthem. Could you checkyour
deliverybook?

Ihave deductedatotal of f337.00fromyour statement andwil iendyoua

draftfor t2,943.64once I have your confirmation of this amount.
Yours sincerely

Ma*u'ire Lanrt/ot
MauriceLancelot
Director

il4
 Replytocomplaint n
o
Telephone aboutaccounting 3
+44 @)tz53 6t 2go/ ' t / 2
Fax
K.tTinlold errors
!
t
I
+44@112536978
Email
wink@winford.co.uk
&Go.Hd t
o
-
!J
.El
tr
3
o
=
P restonN ew R oad s
B l ackpool
Lancashi re
FY 44U L
t

7 August 20-
tn
M. Maurice Lancelot x0,
Director 3
M. LancelotSARI E.
o
703rue Metairie de Saysset o
F-34000Montpellier o

Dear M. Lancelot

Thank you for your letter of 5 August in which you pointed out that three
mistakes totalling f 337.00had been made on your statement.

I apologizefor the errors.Thesewere due to a software fault which has now

been fixed. I have enclosedanother statement for July,which showsthe
correctbalanceof.L2,943.64.

Yourssincerely

rc.wtnforoL
K.Winford

Enc.Statement

R eg N o 3i l 62531
vAr No 83r4ooj 36

rt5
 Pointsto remember
5
1 Minor complaints can be faxed or emailed,
E
o but use letters when dealing with more
E
a senousones.
I
t-G 2 Beforewriting a letter of complaint, make
! sure you have got your facts right.
C
o
5
3 Complaints are not accusations,they are
E
g requeststo correct mistakes or faults, They
B should be written remembering that the
o
E
v supplier almost certainly wants to put
things right.
4 Never make the complaint personal (e.g.

T your mistake,your fault,you are to blame).

Usean impersonaltone (e.g.themistake,it
must have happenedbecause...,the enor).
5 Whenansweringacomplaint,thankyour .
customer for pointing out the problem. If the
complaint is justified, explain how the
problem occurredand how you intend to
dealwithit.
6 If you need more time to investigate the
complaint, tell your customer.
7 If the complaint is unjustified, politely
explain why, but sympathize about the
inconvenienceit has caused.

n6
 accountrendered Unpaid amount recordedin a
statement of account, details of which were in
L a previous statement. [6]
ru
(r')
advicenote Document or messageinforming a
customer that a consignment rs on its way to
them. [5,rr]
rn advisingbank Bank in a seiler'scountrythat
o advisesthe sellerthat a letter ofcredit has been
lssued in their favour, and may also guarantee
it.Is]
u agency Company that provides a service.[ro]
agent Personor company that acts on behalf of a
principal,buying or selling goodsforthem. [r,ro]
agent bank Bank representing seller (exporter)
usually in the buyer's (importer's) country. The
agent bank will hand the shipping documents
over to the buyer either when the buyer pays
the bank in a documentsagainstpayment
transaction (D/P)or when he or she 'accepts',
say,a bill of exchangein a documentsagainst
acceptance(D/A) transaction.Agent banks are
also used in ietters of credit transactions in a
f"" l
^i".it^,-..^-.vv4y,
Drfrrff4r Lrrl
air waybill Document that givesinformation
about goods sent by air, and stateswhether the
buyer or selleris responsiblefor insurance [5,rr]
all risks(an) Type of insurance policythat
provides cover against all risks except those
listed in the policy. lrr,rzl
and (&) Co. Abbreviation f or and company,tsed
ln companynames. [r]
appendix Sectionof a document, e.g.a report,
that contains additional information and is
attached to the end. Ir4]
an Abbreviation for all risks.[rr]
arbitration Settling a dispute by means of a third
party who is independent ofthe others rather
than by a court of law. [ro]
asat Uptothisdate.f6l
asper Accordingto.[S]
assessor Personwho estimates the value of
damage to property for insurance purposes [rz]
asset Anything of value ownedby a company
that can be sold off. lrrl
attachment Separatedocument attached to an
email message.Icons indicating attachments
form part of the header information. [r]
attention line Phraseindicating who a letter is
f.or,e.g For the attention of the Managing
Director. j.l
averageadjuster Assessorspecializingin marine
insurance claims. [rz]
backlog A number of jobs waiting to be done,
and which are late, e.g.orders to be filled. [7]
288
bad debt Debt that is not likelyto be paid. [8]
balance Differencebetweenthe totals of money
coming into and going out of a bank account. 16]
Baltic Exchange An intemational exchangefor
freight and shipping, based in London. [rr]
bankcharges Feeschargedbyabankfor
handling transactions.[9]
bank draft Chequethat a bank draws on itself
and sellsto a customer.[6,8]
bank transfer Movement of moneyfrom one
bank account to another. [6]
b,c.c. Abbrevi ation for blind carb o n copy, used
at the end of copiesof a letter or in the header
information of copiesof an email messageto
indicate that they are being sent to other,people
without the named recipient knowing. [r]
s/e Abbreviationfor bill of exchange.l3,6l
beneficiary Personwho receivesmoneyfrom,
e.g.an insurance policy or pension scheme.lrz]
benefit payment Payment made from a pension
fund or a life assurancepolicy. [rz]
bill of exchange(e/r) Method of paymentwhere
the sellerpreparesa bill in the buyer'sname
ordering them to either pay the amount when
the bill is presented, or a specified number of
days,e.g.thirty or sixty days,afterwards [6,8,9]
bi ll of lading (a/l) Shipping document that gives
details of a consignment, its destination, and the
consignee.It entitles the consignee to collect the
goodson arrival. Ir,rr]
blind carboncopy (b.c.c.) Similar to carbon copy
(c.c),onlythere is no indication onthe copy of
the letter or messagesent to the named
recipient that copies are being sent to other
people.[r]
e/L Abbreviation for bill of lading. ft,r.l
blockedstyle Style of writing, e g. an address,in
which each line starts directlybelowthe one
above.[r]
box number Number given in a newspaper
advertisement as part of the address to which
replies shouldbe sent. [3]
brochure Similar to a catalogue,but usually
shorter. [3]
broker Personor organization that buys and sells
goods,shares,or insurance,for others. [ro]
budget PIan of income and expenditure for a
particular period of time, e.g.a year. [r4]
build ing society Type of organization originally
set up in the UK to provide mortgages, but now
offering a wide range of services similar to
those offered by commercial banks. 19]
bulk buyer Businessor organization that buys
goods in large quantities, e g. a supermarket
chain [3]
bulk carrier Ship that carriesvery large
quantities of freight without packing, e.g.
grain, coal [n]
bulk consignment Consignment of goods carried
in large amounts and without packing, e.g.
f., l
^-^i-
5r4rrL, ^^-l
LV4r Lrrl
bu llion market Market dealing in gold or silver in
bars. [9]
buying agent Agent who buys goods on behalf of
a principal and receivesa commission, Buying
agents can also act as forwarding agents,
clearing goodsthrough customs and sending
them on to their clients [ro]
buyinghouse Groupofbuyingagents [ro]
cabotagelaws Laws that allow a means of
transportation, e.g ship, aircraft, to pick up
goodsfrom one country and transport them to
another for trade. [rr]
cAD Abbreviation for cashagainst documents.
l+,sl
careersummary Short proflle or description of
the subject at the beginning of a cv. [r5]
carbon copy (c.c.) Exact copy of a letter or email
messagesent to people other than the named
recipient. They are listed at the end of a letter
or in the header information of an email
message.[r]
c.c. Abbreviat ion f or carbo n copy, us ed al the end
of a letter or in the header information of an
email messageto indicate that it is being sent
to other people.[r]
carriageforward (cr) Condition of saiewhere the
customer pays forthe transport ofthe goods.[4]
carriagepaid (ce) Condition of salewhere the
seller pays for the transport ofthe goods [4]
cashagainst documents(cno) Atransaction
when the agent bank (acting for the
seller/exporter) in the buyer's country presents
shipping documentsto the buyer and askshim
or herto payforthe shipment before the
shipping documents are handed over to the
buyer [4,5]
cashcard Cardissued by abank orbuilding
society to an account holder that enables
him or her to withdraw cash from a cash
dicnpncpr fol
cashdiscount Amount taken offthe usual selling
price of goodswhen they are paid for by cheque
or cash.l3l
cashon delivery(coD) Condition of salewhere
the buyer pays immediatelythe goods are
delivered.[6]
catalogue Book or booklet giving details of goods o
or services offered by a company, usually with a o
price list [3] t
certificateof origin A document that shows
where goods were made. [9,rr]
c/r Abbreviation for carriag eforward l4l
c rs Abbreviat ion f or co nt aine rfr eig ht st atio n. ltt]
chamberof commerce Association of business
people formed to protect thelr interests and
provide services,e.g.supplying information
and setting up recognizedstandards oftrading.
lr,ro]
charter To hire a means of transport, e g a ship or
aircraft. lrrl
charter party Contractfor chartering a ship. [u]
chequecard Cardissued by a bank or building
societyto an account holder guaranteeing that
their chequeswill be honoured up to an agreed
limit [9]
c rrvr Abbreviation for rail co n sig nm ent not e ltr)
circularletter Letter,either advertisingor offering
a product or service,circulated to a large number
of companies or individuals [3]
claimant Personwhomakesa claimfor
compensation from an insurance company. [rz]
claused Termusedon abillof lading to indicate
that goodswere damaged or incomplete when
takenonboard [n]
clean Term used on a bill of lading to lndicate
that goodswere taken on boardin good
condition Irr]
cleanbill Bill of exchangewithout any
accompanying documents. [9]
clear (A) To pay an account.(B)To pass goods
through customs [6 (senseA); rr (senseB)]
clearingagent Personor organizationthatclears
goodsthrough customs frr]
clearingbank Another termfor commercial
banklsl
closedindent Order that statesthe sourcefrom
which the buying agent must buy. [ro]
caan Abbreviat ion f or r oa d co n sig nm ent n ot e. lttl
CoD Abbreviationfor cashon delivery.16]
combinedtransportbill of lading Anotherterm
f or mult im od aI b ill oJIa ding. [tt]
commercialagent Personor companythat acts
on behalf of a manufacturer, selling their goods
to retailers. lro]
commercialbank Type of bankthat deals mainly
withprivate customers and small companies in
domestic and international transactions l9]
commercialinvoice A document that will include
the name and addressof the seller and buyer,
the terms of delivery and payment and a
description ofthe goodsbeing sold.There is a
289
 standard s Irp Ro document, which exporters
t!
can use. [1,1r]
o commission Chargefor handling a transaction.[ro]
I commissionagent Another term for com mercial
agent.lrol
commodity market Market inwhich raw
materials and certain manufactured goods
(e.g.coffee,copper) are bought and sold in large
quantities by brokers and dealers.lro]
compensation Money paid by an insurance
company for damage,loss,or injury. [7]
compliments slip Small piece of paper with a
company's details on it, and possibly the name
ofthe person sending the slip. Used as a
coverlng note for a longer document. [5]
complimentaryclosePhraseusedatthe end of a
letter, before the signature,e.g.Yoursfaithfully,
Yourssincerely.lt]
comprehensivecover Insurance cover against
most risks [rz]
confirmed letterof credit The seller's/exporter's
bank (acting as an agent bank) in the
importer's/buyer's country conflrms to the
sellerthat they will guarantee payment for the
goods,thus reducing the risk ofthe buyer/
importer not paying the seller/exporter.Ir,rz]
confirming bank Another termfor advising
bank.lgl
confirming house Agencythat receivesorders
from overseas,placesthem, and arrangesfor
packing, shipping, and insurance. [9, ro]
consequentiallossinsurance Insurance against
loss of money as the result of an accident.[rz]
consignee Personor organization to which goods
are sent by a consignor.[rr]
consignment O_uantityof goods sent to supply an
order. [r]
consignment basis Basison which an agent is
employed to resell goods for a commission, e.g.
as a distributor. [ro]
consignment note Document sent with goods,
giving details ofthe goods and sender.It is
signed by the person who receivesthe goodsto
provetheyhave arrived 15]
consignor Personor organization that sends
goodsto supply a customer'sorder. Irr]
consolidation When small consignments fiom
different exporters are Ioaded into a single
container. h1]
consolidationservices When shippers or
forwarding agentsload small consignments
from different exporters into a single container.
lnl
consularinvoice Invoice,or stamp on a
commercial invoice,issuedby the consulate in
290
the importingcountrywhich givespermission
for goodsto be imported [9]
consulateBranchof an embassythatprotectsthe
commercialinterestsof the countryit
rpnrecenl-c [r nl
containerVerylargemetalboxin which goods
arepackedfor transportation.[rr]
station(crs) Containerdepotfor
containerfreight
imports [rr]
containerwaybill Documentthat gives
informationaboutgoodssentby container,and
stateswhetherthebuyeror selleris responsible
fnr incrrrenrp [rrl
contract Agreement, with legal force,made
between two or more people.[7]
correspondentbank Bankthat acts as an agent
for another bank. [6]
counterfoil Part of a cheque or paying-in slip
which can be detached and kept as a record.[9]
courtesytitle Title such asMr, Mrs, or Dr used
before a person'sname. Ir]
cover (n) Insurance;(vb) Provide insurance
Iro,rz]
covernote Document that provides coveruntil
the insurance certificate is prepared Irz]
coveringletter Letter accompanying a document
or goods,explaining the contents [5]
c/p Abbreviat ion for carri ag e paid. l4l
credit (n) Sum of money paidinto abank
account; (vb) To record in a bank account a sum
of money paid in. [9]
credit card Card,issuedby a bank or flnance
company,that guaranteespayment for the
goodsor servicesthe cardholder buys.
The cardholder pays the card issuer at a
later date.[6,9]
credit facilities Means of allowing credit, e.g.
payment by bill of exchange,open account
facilities. [8]
credit note Document informing a customer of
money owed by a supplier for faulty or
returned goods.It can only be used to buy
goodsfrom the supplier. [6,7]
credit rating Evaluation of the creditworthiness
of an individual or company. [8]
credit status Creditworthiness of an individual or
company. [9]
credit terms Rulesinvolved in maklng a
payment, e.g.allowing a certain amount of
time, signing a contract,paying by bill of
exchange.l8,ro]
credit transfer Transfer of money from one bank
account to another. [6,9]
creditworthy Capableof paying offthe credit
offered [8]
crossed Term used to describea cheque or postal
order that has two lines drawn acrossit to show
that it must be paid into an account and not
cashed.[6]
current account Account into which the
customer can pay money, and draw it out,
without giving notice. [6]
curriculumvitae (cv) Document describing a
person'squaliflcations,work experience,and
interests,usually sent with a job application.[r5]
cv Abbreviationfor curriculum vitae. p5]
o/a Abbreviationfor documentsagainst
acceptance.l3l
daysafter sight (o/s) The number of days within
which a bill of exchange must be paid after
presentation 19]
Dc Abbreviationfor documentary cred.it.16]
dealer Personwho buys and sells shares,goods,
or servicesto make a proflt. [ro]
debit (n) Sum of money paid out or owed from a
bank account; (vb) To record in a bank account a
sum of money paid out or owed. [9]
debit card Cardissued by a bank that enables
payment for goods and servicesto be taken
from the cardholder'saccount automatically. [6,9]
debit note Document informing a customer of
money owed for goodsor servicessupplied.[6,7]
declarationform Form used when an open
cover pollcy is in operation to provide details
of individual shipments to the insurer. [rz]
default To fail to do something required by law,
e.g.repay money owed, keep to the terms of a
contract [8]
del credereagent Agent who guarantees
customers'debtsho]
del crederecommission Commissionpaidto an
agent who guaranteescustomers'debts.lro]
delivery note Document sent with goodsto
a customer.It is signed by the person who
receivesthe goods to prove they have arrived
h1l
department of trade Government department
that provides services to industrial and
commercial organizations [ro]
deposit account Type of savings account
that requires notice before money can be
takenout l9l
despatchnote Document sent with a
consignment, giving details of what it contains
and any missing items that wili be sent later [u]
direct debit Similar to a standing order,except
the amount is specifledby the payee [9]
discount (a e/r) To sell abiil ofexchange to a
bank at a percentagelessthan its value. [9]
dishonour Torefusetopay(e.g achequeorbillof o
exchange)becausethere is not enough money o
in the account [6,9] ll
distributor Personor company that buys goods
from a manufacturer and then seilsthem to
rateilerc [r rnl
documentarycredit (oc) Letter of credit that
requiresthe sellerto supply shipping
documentsto obtain payment from a bank 16,9]
document of title Document that allows
someoneto claim the goodsspecifiedon it, e g
r4u!r5 trrl
documentsagainstacceptance (o/n) When a
bank will not releaseshipping documents until
a bill of exchangehas been signed (accepted)by
the personreceivingthegoods 13,9]
documentsagainstpayment(o/e) When abank
will not releaseshipping documents until a bill
of exchangehas beenpaid by the person
receiving the goods.[4,9]
o/p Abbreviationf.or documentsagainst
payment l4l
draw (on) (A) To write a chequethat instructs a
bank to make a payrnent to another person ot
organization (B)Towrite a bill of exchange
demanding payment from a person or
organization frt (senseB)]
drawee Personwho must pay a bill of exchange
(e g,the buyer) l9l
drawer Writer of a bill of exchange,who draws
the bill on the drawee(e g the buyer) [9]
o/s Abbrevialionfor days afier sight l9l
due Arriving or dock[ngln (a destinationport),
e g due Hong Kong ltz)
due date Date by whlch an accountshouldbe
settled [6]
e and (&) oE Abbreviationfor errorsand
omisslonsexcepted 16l
endorse(vb) To transfer a chequeor bill of
exchangeto someoneelseby signing it on the
back [rt]
errorsand omissionsexcepted(r & oe) Phrase
written or printed at the end of an invoice or
statement of account to indicate that the seller
has the right to correct any mistakes in it. [6]
estimate Pricegiven for work to be done or a
serviceto be provided. [r,3]
eurobond market Market dealing in bonds issued
by European governments [9]
eurocheque Chequefrom a Europeanbank that
can be cashedat any bank in the world
displaying a eurochequesign. Ig]
ex- From (a vesselor port of departure),e.g ex-55
Orianna,ex-Hamburg. lt o,e]
291
 excfusiveagent / agency Another term for sole
t!
agent / agency.[to]
executor Personor organization appointed by
-9
t, the maker of a will to carry out its terms. [9]
factor Agent who buys and sells for another
organization,but in his or her own name. [ro]
factoring Processwhereby a companybuys the
outstanding invoices of a manufacturer's
customers,keepsthe accounts,and then
obtains payment. [ro]
rcr Abbrevialion f.orfull container load. [rr]
fidelity bond Guarantee against an employee
stealing moneyfrom a company. [rz]
fi nancialyear Periodusedby companies for
accounting and tax purposes.In the UK, from
6 April to the following 5 April. [r4]
force majeure Term used in insurance policies
meaning an outstanding or unusual event,
e.g.a violent storm, an earthquake.[rr]
foreign bill Term used in the UK for a bill of
exchange drawn, or payable,in another
country. [9]
foreign exchange Money in a foreign currency.
tsl
foreign exchangemarket Market dealing in
foreign currencies.[9]
forwarding agent Personor organization that
conveysgoodsto their destination. Forwarding
agents are involved in the Iogistics of
transportation, finding the most effective and
economical route. [5,u]
freight account Invoice sent by a shipping
company to an exporter. [rr]
full container load (rcl) Consignment from a
single exporter that fllls a container. [rr]
generalaveragesacrifice Term used in marine
insurance to referto cargo that has been
deliberately thrown overboard,e.g flammable
goods in the caseoffire. [rz]
giro Systemfor transferring money from one
bank to another. [6]
grossprice Priceof goods including additionai
costssuch as transport, insurance,and
purchasetax. [4]
groupage Another term for consolidation. Irr]
groupage rates Ratefor container shipments
when different consignments are put together
in a single container. [11]
guarantee (A) A promise that if something goes
wrong with a product, the sellerwill repair it;
(B)A promise to repay another's debt. [7]
guarantor Personwho undertakesto be
responsible for, or to repay, another's debt. [9]
292
handling charge Freight company's chargeto an
exporter for dealing with the documentation
for a consignment. [tt]
houseairwaybill Airwaybill issuedto an
individual consigneewhen consignments
have been consolidated.[rr]
IATA Abbreviation for lnter nat io nal Air Tr ansoort
Association.lttl
Ic D Abbreviat ion for inland clear an ce d ep o t. [tt]
fMo Abbreviationfor international money order.
t6l
Inc. Abbreviation for incorporate d, lsed i^
comPany names h]
incorporated_Americantermfor public limited
company. L1l
Incoterm Term establishedbythe International
Chamber of Commerce (tcc) indicatingwhich
price is being quoted to the customer > see
Pager 51-52.[2,4]
indemnify To promise to protect someone
against money lost or goods damaged [rz]
indemnity A promise to protect someoneagainst
money lost or goods damaged.[ro]
indent Order fiom another country. [ro]
inherent vice Term used in insurance policies
meaning something inthe content ornature
of goodswhich causesdeterioration, e.g.flsh
or fruit can go bad, metal can oxidize. [rr]
inland bill Termusedinthe UKfor a bill of
exchange payable in the country in which it is
drawn up. [9]
inlandclearancedepot (tco) Depot where
goods are collectedand sent on to their flnal
destination. [rr]
insideaddressAddressofthepersonaletteris
written to. [r]
instructionsfor despatchform Consignors
fill out this form for transport companies
or forwarding agents so the details of the
consignment, e.g. contents,packing,
measurements, and its departure and arrival
dates and placescan be put on the relevant
transport documents, e.g.the waybills or
consignments notes.
insurancecertificate Document that an insurance
policy is written on. [5,r2]
insuranceof interest Insurance against making a
businessmistake [rz]
insuranceof liability Insurance of responsibility
for loss or damage,e I a company's
responsibility to compensateemployeesfor
injury at work. [rz]
intermodaf Another term f.ormultimodal. lrtl
InternationalAir TransportAssociation(tara)
Association of major airlines that meets
regularlyto agreeon routes and chargesfor
their services.lrr]
internationalbank draft Chequethat abank
draws on itself and sellsto a customer,who then
sends it to a supplier in another country. [6]
InternationalChamberof Commerce(tcc)
Association of businesspeople that promotes
and protectstheir interestsin businessaffairs.[4]
internationalmoneyorder(tMo) Moneyorder
bought from a bank to send to someone in
anothercountry 16]
InternationalUnderwritingAssociation(t ua) Body
responsiblefor Institute CargoClauses.Irz]
invoice List of goods or servicesthat stateshow
much must be paid for them. [5,6]
irrevocableletter of credit Letter of creditthat can
only be cancelledwith the agreement of the
seller.14,91
issuingbank Bankthat issuesaletterof credit.lg]
t/c Abbreviationfor letter oJcredit.f6,gl
LcL Abbreviat ion f or less than full cont ain er load. [tt]
lessthan full containerload (rct) Small
consignment that does not flll a container and
can therefore be shipped in the same container
as other consignments. [rr]
letter of credit (t /c) Document lssuedby abank
on a customer's requestthat orders an amount
of moneyto be paidto a supplier [6,9]
letter of indemnity Letter issued by an exporter
accepting responsibility for goods lost or
damaged during shipping [rr]
letterhead Printed addressofthe sender,in the
UK usually at the top of the page. lrl
life assurance Form of insurance providing for
the payment of a specifledsum to a named
beneficlary ifthe policyholder dies.[rz]
limited liability Company in which the
shareholdersare only responsiblefor the
capital they have contributed if the company
goesbankrupt. [r]
line Particular item made or soid by a company
trl
Lloyd'sof London An associationof underwriters
and insurance brokers.Irz]
Ltd Abbreviationfor limited liability, usedin
company names. [r]
long-term credit facilities Credit facilities that
allow a buyer a long period of time to pay. [5]
loyalty discount Amount taken offthe usual
selling price of goodswhen they are sold to a
regular customer 14]
make up To put together, e.g.an order. [5] o
merchant bank Type ofbank that specializesin o
international trade and flnance, and deals !)
mainly with large organizations.[9]
mortgage A loan for which property is the -
security. l9l
movement certificate Usually called a EUR1.This
is a customs certificate completed bythe
exporter and countersignedby Customsto
obtain a preferential duty rate for goods
coming into the EUfrom an outslde country.It
has preferential duty rates with the EU country
e g. countries that were part of the Lomd
Agreement could get a specialduty rate [rr]
multimodal Usedto describeunits for
transportation, e.g.containers,that can be
transferred between different systems,e g
truck,train, and ship [rr]
multimodal bill of lading BiIl of lading covering
more than one means of transport, e g road
and sea.[rr]
mutual Description of a company or institution
in which there are no shareholdersand in
which all proflts are distributedto
policyholders or members. [9]
negotiabledocument Document, e.g.a bill of
Iading, that can be bought or sold [rr]
negotiablesecuritiesSecuritiesthat canbe
exchangedfor goods,money, etc. [9]
net invoicevalue Value of an invoice without
extra chargessuch as shipping. fto]
net price Pnce of goodswithout additional
costssuch as transport, insurance,and
nrrrcheceiev frl
new issuemarket Market dealing in new share
issues.[9]
non-Conference ship Shipthatis not amember of
the Shipping Conferenceand doesnot travel on
scheduledroutes. frr]
non-exclusive agent/ agency Personor
organization that sellsthe products of a
manufacturer alongside other agents in a
particular country or area.[ro]
non-negotiablewaybill Waybill that cannot be
boughtorsold [rr]
non-recoursefactoring Buying up an outstanding
invoice and claiming the debt from the
customer fro]
on approval Term used for goods sent to possible
customers to look at or use before buying them
lrl
online banking Using the Internet to transact
bankbusiness [9]
291
 on their own account In their own name.fiol
a!
open accountfacilities Account in which a
6
o customer is given an agreedperiod of time,
(:, e.g.three months, to pay for goods.[4,8]
open coverpolicy Type of marine insurance
policy that provides coverfor all shipments
made by the policyholder over an agreed
period, e.g.six months. [rz]
open indent Order that allows the buying agent to
buy from any sourcethey choose.[ro]
option Right to hire a ship. [rr]
out of chargenote Note issued by customs when
goodshave been cleared [rr]
outstanding Unpaid.f5l
overdraft Loan made by a bank to an account-
holder, enabling them to take out more money
than is intheir account [9]
overdraw Totake out more moneythanthere is
in a bank account. [9]
overhead A regular cost of running a company,
e g wages,rent. [9]
packing list list of goods being sent.This repeats
some of the information on a bill of lading, but
is a separatedocument. [n]
p and(&) p Abbreviationfor postage and packing
t6l
paying-inslip Printed form used by an account
holder to record cashor chequespaid into a
bank account. l9l
payload The part of a cargo that earns money for
the shipping company [rr]
pet prc For and on behalf oJ.lrl
pt c Abbreviationfor public limited company,
used in company names [r]
postageand packing(p&p) Chargefor postage
and packing goodsto be sent to a customer. [6]
postal order (ux) Document bought from a post
office that representsa certain amount of
money. It is a safe way of sending money by
post.[6]
p.p. Abbrevialionfor per pro, used before the
sender'sname in a signature block to indicate
that a letter is signed on behalf of someone
else,e.g.a personal assistant signing on behalf
of a manager. [r]
premium Payment made to an insurance
company in return for cover [rz]
primary source In research,sourceofflrst-hand
information such as an interview or
questionnaire h4]
principal Personor organizationthat hires an
agent or broker to buy or sell goodsfor them
Ir,ro]
294
private ban k Similar to a commercial bank, but
owned by one person or a partnership and
therefore a much smaller organization [9]
pro forma invoice Invoice sent in advanceofthe
goods ordered.[5,6]
promissorynote Document inwhich a buyer
promises to pay a seller a certain amount of
money by a certain date. [6]
proposalform Form completed by a person
taking out an insurance policy that stateswhat
is to be insured, how much it is worth, how long
the policywill run, and under what conditions
it is to be effected.[tz]
prospectus (A) Similar to a catalogue,but issued
by a schoolor college;(B)Document published
by a company, giving details of a new share
issue [3,senseA]
protest To take legal action to obtain payment,
e.g of an outstanding bill of exchange 16,91
public limited company (elc) Companywhose
sharescan be bought and sold by the public. [r]
quantity discount Amount taken offthe usual
selling price of goods becausethe buyer is
purchasing a large quantity. [3]
quarterly report Report published everythree
months. [r4]
quarterly statement Statement of account sent to
a regular customer every three months. [5]
quotation Pricegiven for work to be done or a
serviceto be provided. [4,r2]
railconsignmentnote (crM) Consignmentnote
sent with goodsby rail. [rr]
receipt Adocument showing that goods have
been paid for. [rr]
recoursefactoring Similarto non-recourse
factoring, but claiming the debt from the
manufacturer if the customer cannot pay. [ro]
referee Personwho writes a reference
(senseB).[8,r5]
reference (A) Figures (e.g.date) and / or letters
(e.g.initials of sender)written at the top of a
Ietter to identify it, often abbreviated to ref
(B)Written report on a company's
creditworthiness or a job applicant's character
and suitability for the job h(A), 8,rSF)l
remittance Payment. [6]
retailer Personor company that buys goodsfrom
wholesalers or manufacturers to sell to the
public. [3]
revocableletter of credit Letter of credit that can
be cancelled.[9]
road consignment note (cmn) Consignment note
sent with goods by road. [rr]
sAD Abbrevlation for sinqleadministrative
document.ltt]
saleor return Term used when the supplier
agreesto take back any goodsthat the retailer
f^l
-^--^+
LdrrlruL ^^ll
>trrr LJI
salutation Openingof a letter,e g Dear Sir/
Madam.lrl
savingsaccount Account with a bank or building
societyfor personalsavings.lnterestratesare
higher than on other types of account.and
therefore there are usually restrictions on
when money can be drawn out [6]
scP Abbreviationfor simplified clearance
procedure fn]
secondarysource In research,sourceof
information such as a book or a report. [r4]
securities Items or investments,e.g.shares,that
can be bought and sold on a stock exchange [9]
settle (vb) Topayan account.[6]
settlement Payment of an account [5]
ship To send goodsby any method oftransport,
i.e.by road,raii, or air as well as by sea [5]
shipbroker Agent who arrangesthe transport of
cargoby ship. Irr]
shipment Consignment.[7]
shippedbill of lading Bill of lading signedwhen
goods are already on board a ship. [rr]
shippedcleanon board Phraseindicating that the
bill of lading was clean,i e.the goodswere
taken on board in good condition. [rz]
5hi pping Conference International organization
of shipowners that setsprices for transporting
goods or passengerson scheduledroutes. [rr]
shipping documents The documents usedfor
shipping goods,and usually including -
depending on the type oftransport -Bill o;f
Lading (or Airway B|II),commercial invoice,
insurancecertifcate andany other customs
documents that may be required in the
shipment, e.g.Health Certiflcate(for food),EURl
to get preferential tariffs, Certiflcateof Origin,
etc. [5]
shipping mark Distinctive mark put on the sidesof
cratesand boxesindicating who they belong to. [rr]
sight biff Another term for sight drafi.fgl
sight draft Bill of exchangethat must be paid
immediately it is presented.14,6,9]
signatureblock (A) Name andjob title typed
below a handwritten signature at the end of a
Ietter; (B)Sender'sdetails that appear below his
/ her name at the end of an email message.[r]
simplifiedclearanceprocedure(sce) Customs
clearanceprocedureused in the European
Union to make documentation easierfor
exporters and agents.lrr]
singleadministrativedocument (sao) Eight-part o
o
set of customs forms for export declarations,
used in the EuropeanUnion. [rr] o,
soleagent / agency Personor organization that is
the only one allowed to sell the products of a
manufacturer in a particular country or area.[1o]
soletrader Personwho owns and runs a business
ontheir own. [r]
specificindent Anotherterm for closedindent
Irol
specimensignature Exampieof a customer's
signature.usedby a bank to identify
documents as being valid [9]
standardshippingnote Document completedby
the exporter that gives information about a
r nns i onm eni T t i s r r s c d a< a del i r r er r r nnte nr
receipr l11l
standbyletterof credit Bank guaranteeto the
sellerthat they,,,,'illbe paid l9l
standingorder Orderto a bank to pay someonea
s nc r i 6ed r m .r r nT nr r r eor r l :r detc e o on f h e
first of everymonth -91
statement nt I :stof amountspai dand
of accou
nr nr ed c ent hr i a c unnl i er r n r r r r c i om c r [6'l
stockexchange Marketrvherestocksand shares
arebought and sold -ro]
stop (a cheque) To instruct a bank not to honour a
cheque l9l
subjecttitle Phraseindicating what a preceof
correspondence is about.e g c os damagedin
post.In a letter it is placeddirectlyafter the
salutation;in a fax or email it forms part of the
header information fr]
subrogation lnsurer'sright to claim damaged
goodsfor which they have pard compensation
Irzl
subsidiary Company of which at least half the
share capital is olvned by a larger company,but
which may trade under its own name [3]
syndicate Group of people or companieswho
work together to make money. [rz]
take legal action To hand over a matter, e.g non-
payment of a bill, to lawyers 17]
tanker Ship that carriesliquid bulk
consignments,usually oil In]
tariff list of prices chargedfor goods or services
L1U
telegraphictransfer (rr) Quick method of
transferring money to an account abroad The
sender'sbank cablesthe money to the receiver's
bank. l6l
tender Writtenestimate,usuallyforalarge;ob13]
term draft Billofexchangethat mustbe paidon a
particulardateafter goodshavebeen sent [6]
295
 termsof payment Termsthe buyerand seller vAr Abbreviationfor Value Added Tax. [4]
t!
agreeregardingdiscounts, methodsof ValueAddedTax (ver) A UK purchasetax. [4]
6
o payment,shipment,and documentation. [9] valued policy Type of insurance policy in which
c' throughbill of lading Anotherterm for the value ofthe goodsto be insured is agreed in
multimodaI b iIIof Iading ln) advance.[rz]
time charter Charterthat lastsfor a periodof voyage charter Charter for a particular voyage
time,e.g.sixmonths.Irr] carrying a particular cargo. [rr]
title Thelegalright of possession. [r]
to account Termusedwhen part of a paymentis wear and tear Normal deterioration of
made.[6] something as it is used.[7]
to order Phraseusedto indicatea negotiable wholesaler Personor company that buys goods
document.[rr] from manufacturers and sells them to retailers.
tonnagevalue Thecostperton of cargofor tt1
charteringa shipundera voyagecharter.lrrl
tradeassociationOrganizationthatrepresents
andpromotesa particulartrade.[8,ro]
tradediscountAmounttakenoffthe usualselling
priceof goodswhen they aresoldby a
manufactureror wholesalerto a retailer.[3]
tradejournal Publication,usuailyweekly or
monthly,specializingin a particulartrade or
profession.[ro]
tradeprice Pricepaidfor goodsby a retailerto a
wholesaleror manufacturer. [3]
tradereferenceReference in which a personin
onecompanygivestheir opinionasto the
creditworthiness of anothercompanyin the
sameareaof business. [3]
traveller'schequeChequefor a fixedamount,
soldby a bank,that canbe cashedby the buyer
in othercountries.[9]
trial order Order,usuallyfor a smallquantityof
goods,to testthe market.[5]
trustee A personor organization that manages
moneyfor anotherpersonor organization. 19]
rr Abbreviationf or telegraphictr ansfer.16l
tue Unit of containerstowageequalto onezoft
(6.tm)container.Irr]
turnover Totalbusinessdoneby a companyin a
givenperiod,e.g.a year.[3]

underseparate cover In a separateenvelopeor

parcel.[4]
underwriterPersonor organizationthat
examinesa risk and calculatesthe insurance
premiumto be charged.[ro,rz]
unsolicited Not askedfor, e.g.an applicationfor a
postthat hasnot beenadvertised[r5]
unvaluedpolicy Typeof insurancepolicyin
which the valueof the goodsto be insuredis
not agreedin advancebut assessed ifloss
shouldoccur.Irz]
usanceBill of exchangethat is paidaftera period
of time. [9]

296