The purpose of this assignment is to learn how to handle your own complaint and write an appropriate complaint letter. The purpose of the consumer complaint letter is to communicate an important issue over a product or service. It is often the most effective way to resolve an issue and almost always elevates an issue to a position that the company will listen. Keep in mind that there are times when a consumer complaint letter is not the most efficient method such as when a face to face meeting is likely to resolve the problem. A letter can also be used to send a compliment or commendation.
There are some basic rules in writing a consumer complaint letter. First, it needs to be in perfect form. It needs to be professional and neat. Therefore, it should have a letterhead. It is important that this letterhead be yours and not your employers unless you are writing on behalf of your company—conducting legal business on behalf of your employer, and yes a complaint letter is legal business, can get you in deep trouble with your employer. You also need an acceptable typing format such as single spaced, double spaced between paragraphs and left justified or a modified left justification.
The letter should rarely exceed one page; in fact, I would say it never should exceed one page. Remember the person reading the letter is very busy so you need to get to the point.
The most direct consumer complaint letter format contains three paragraphs. The first paragraph gets to the point and is very specific. What is the problem? What is the model number? Where did the product come from? What happened? Be specific and concise. Share all relevant information.
The second paragraph states what your anticipated redress is. What do you want them to do for you? Again be specific. Often, the customer service representative has more latitude to remedy the problem than most people realize. If you don’t know what specifically you want you are not ready to write the letter.
The last paragraph tells what you are going to do next. Give them a timeline before your next action. Make sure to communicate that you know who is responsible for the oversight of the entity to which you are complaining. This is rarely the time to threaten a lawsuit and you should avoid idle threats such as “referring to third party assistance.” That phrase indicates that you have not done your homework. Let them know that if they do not fix the problem you will refer the case to the specific person or agency that regulates their work.
Please do not Plagiarize.