12.

THE LETTER OF COMPLAINT AND LETTER OF ADJUSTMENT

1. Letter of Complaint
- A letter of complaint may be written to register any question or grievance regarding
defective goods or inadequate services. (p. 197)
- It has a two-fold purpose –
a. To inform a manufacturer or supplier of one’s dissatisfaction and
b. To cause a present or future change in the situation.
- The following are guidelines in writing this kind of letter:
1. It should give a clear description of the grievance with a detailed evidence of the
damage.
2. It should state the writer’s immediate response to the situation, such as
withholding the payment or returning the goods.
3. It should suggest a remedy to avoid the unsatisfactory situation in the future,
like asking for a discount, for a replacement, and for a change in procedure or
policy.

2. Letter of Adjustment
- A letter of adjustment may be written to give a solution or a remedy to the customer’s
complaints on the products delivered, services rendered, and errors in policy or
procedure. (p. 197)
- It has these essential elements:
1. Thanking the customer for calling the seller’s attention to the error
2. Specifying the figures or amount of the claim or adjustment being sought
3. Expressing feelings of regret about the customer’s inconvenience,
dissatisfaction to show courtesy, and felicity
4. Giving a brief and polite explanation of the cause of the error or damage to the
products to mitigate or lighten the customer satisfaction
5. Emphasizing willingness to stop further recurrence of dissatisfaction
- The nature of a letter of adjustment depends on who is to blame for the error.
o When the seller is at fault, the frank admission of mistakes plus words of regret
should be stated in the beginning of the letter.
o But if the customer is to blame, the seller has the option to refuse the claim or
to give an adjustment.
▪ Whatever the decision is, the seller has to do it in a way that he
maintains good business relations.
o Another party to blame may be the common carrier or the transportation
company.
▪ In this case, the seller may inform the buyer about the receipt from the
common carrier, indicating good condition of the goods at the time of
delivery.
▪ He may also suggest that the buyer file his claim against the
transportation company, not to him, the seller.
▪ Or, the seller himself may accept the responsibility of making
adjustments, then later on, may ask for reimbursement from the
common carrier.
- When the fault is not determined, the seller may immediately inform the buyer that the
investigation is going on to determine who should make the necessary adjustment.

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 - In all these letters of claim or adjustment, avoid negative expressions like: (Parkhurst,
1965)
assert
your claim
we are at a loss
we are surprised
we hope this will be satisfactory
this will never happen again
your letter in which you complain
your complaint has been received
our records show

VOCABULARY (p. 194)

Familiarize yourselves with these business terms that are commonly used in letters of complaint and
adjustment.
1. invoice
- a statement itemizing the goods bought with their prices
2. catalog price
- price printed in a list or catalog
3. specification
- details of a contract, an order, or work to be done
4. rebate
- a deduction or payment back
5. reimburse
- to repay
6. voucher
- a receipt for money paid or a paper certifying the correctness of transaction
7. common carrier
- transportation company
8. bill
- itemized account of the cost of the goods bought or services performed
9. upkeep
- the cost or act of maintenance or repair
10. bona fide
- in good faith
11. consignment
- a shipment of merchandise
12. consignor
- the one who makes shipment
13. consignee
- the receiver of goods belonging to another person
14. in transit
- the transfer or travel of goods from the time of shipment to the time they are received
by the consignee
15. catalog
- list

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MODEL PRESENTATION (p. 195)
Study these sample letters of complaint and adjustment.

1. Letter of Complaint: Defective Goods

Dear Mr. Garcia:

On June 23, 2006, we received ten boxes with defective goods. These were delivered
by parcel post. The items in question and the damage to each is described below:

Items Damages
1. The box of Spanish sardines – 10 are missing
2. The box of Mega Noodles – 6 packs missing
3. The box of Yellow Pad Paper – Wet topmost part
4. The box of ink – 1 bottle spilled

We shall hold the defective goods until we receive instructions from you and shall
withhold payment until the problem is resolved.

Please pay attention to this immediately.

Sincerely yours,

2. Letter of Complaint: Inadequate Services

Dear Mr. Juson:

On behalf of Ben’s Enterprises, I must report our dissatisfaction with the five air-
conditioner units you repaired. The job specifications state that the upkeep includes
replacement of old parts with German-made parts. You violated our agreement by using
Taiwan-made materials.

Please contact me immediately so that we can decide on the correction of the present
unacceptable situation.

Truly yours,

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 3. Letter of Adjustment

Dear Mr. Cervantes:

We regret to learn from your letter of May 12 that the Nissan car you bought from us
last month has been overheating.

If you return the unit to the Maintenance and Repair Department of our company in
Makati, in less than a week, you will have an excellent Nissan Sentra similar to a brand new
car. In case you refuse to return the unit, you may avail yourself of a rebate.

Truly yours,

Dear Sir:

By all means, we will replace the Taiwan-made materials with German-made parts.
Rest assured we shall have fixed all of them before this month ends.

We are sorry that the repair job was given to a newly hired employee who is not used
to our revised form of job specifications.

I shall appreciate your patience in waiting for the necessary adjustment.

Sincerely yours,

THINK OF THESE (p. 196)

What is a letter of complaint? A letter of adjustment?
What is the difference between the two?
How should each letter be written?

LANGUAGE FOCUS (p. 199)

Review the things you learned about prepositions used to form idioms. The following are examples of
idioms using prepositions:
accompanied by (a person)
accompanied with (an object)
according to (rules or records)
accused by (a person)
acquit of (a charge)
agree with (a person)
agree to (a proposal)
agree upon (a plan)
angry at (a situation or condition)
compare with (qualities or characteristics)

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 compare to (illustrate)
correspond to (things)
correspond with (persons)
differ from (opinions or differences)
differ with (a person)
master of (a subject)
part with (property)
part from (a person)
subscribe for (a magazine)
subscribe to (a charitable organization)

Reference

Baraceros, E. L. (2013). Business correspondence (2nd ed.). Manila: Rex Bookstore.

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