A complaint letter is written when it comes to address a wrongdoing, offence, grievance regarding a product, service, or experience. Writing a formal complaint letter is a way to seek resolution in a professional and structured manner. If you have experienced a wrongdoing or offence then write a complaint letter to raise concerns to the concerned authority and seek a positive outcome.
At some point in life, we all feel dissatisfaction or have negative experience after using a product or services. In such a case, you have rights to write a formal complaint letter to express how you feel about your negative experience. Raising a complaint towards injustice is the first step to seek justice.
Writing a formal complaint letter does not come naturally to most of us. For the convenience of people, we have shared a few editable sample letters here. Create a complaint letter in minutes by using an editable sample letter.
Does Complaint Letter make a Difference?
Yes, a well structured complaint letter with evidence or proof does make a difference and helps to get justice. Following are some of the several reasons why you should write a complaint letter if you’ve had a negative experience using any product or services,
- A written formal complaint letter can act as a proof and comes in handy when legal action is required.
- Through this letter, businesses or service providers get to know about the issue so they can address it and provide a solution.
- A complaint letter protect the rights of a consumer and hold businesses accountable for their faulty services or products.
- This letter may acts like a feedback for businesses, allowing them to improve their products or services.
Writing a well structured complaint letter with evidence or proofs is a professional way to raise a complaint against businesses for their bad products or services. As a consumer, you must know your rights and learn how to write a well structured complaint letter.
This is how a formal complaint letter looks like:
Download Formal Complaint Letter Template
What’s included in a Complaint Letter?
A complaint letter has multiple elements, a consumer must understand each element in order to write a professional and formal complaint letter,
- Start a complaint letter by providing the Sender’s Information such as your name, address, phone number, and email at the top of the letter.
- Make sure to mention the date on which the letter is written. Many a times, we skip the date. Do not skip it because it’s used for record purposes as well.
- Write down the Recipient’s Information i.e. name, designation, company name, and address, etc so that the letter will reach the correct person.
- Ensure to enter a clear and concise “Subject Line” such as “Complaint Regarding Damaged Product – Order #54321”
- Use a professional greeting, such as: Dear [Recipient’s Name],
- Start the body of the letter by state the purpose of writing a letter. Make sure to clearly mention what the complaint is and provide relevant details such as product name, order number, or service date, etc.
- Ensure to provide a clear and detailed explanation of the problem. You need to include, what’s the issue? when and where the issue has happend? what attempts have made to resolve the issue?, etc.
- Include an evidence or proof. You can attach relevant documents with the letter such as receipts, photographs, warranty details, etc to support your claim.
- Ensure what you expect as a solution i.e. refund, replacement, etc.
- End the letter formally such as Sincerely,
Ensure to maintain a formal and professional tone throughout the letter. Yes, you must be angry or frustrated but that should not show up in the letter. Keep the communication very formal and polite while emphasizing your expectation for a resolution.
Different Types of Complaint Letters
Consumer Complaint Letter: This is one of the most common letter that is usually written by consumers to address the issue related to the products or services received from a company.
Medical Complaint Letter: This one is used when it comes to raise a complaint or report dissatisfaction with healthcare services received at hospitals or clinics.
B2B Complaint Letter: This letter is written by a company to another company in order to address issues related to the supplies or services received.
Workplace Complaint Letter: Written by an employee to report the harassment, discrimination, or unfair treatment at the workplace.
So these are some of the common type of complaint letters.
Writing a complaint letter is a right of every consumer in order to make the offender liable and responsible for their actions. The offenders will keep on doing offence if they are not stopped, therefore, it’s your fundamental duty to raise a voice against injustice and make offenders liable to a Punishable Court Proceeding.
Avoid Following Mistakes While Writing a Complaint Letter
Writing a formal letter is not everyone’s cup of tea and mistakes can happen. Following are some of the common mistakes that you must avoid while writing a complaint letter;
- Never Use an Aggressive Tone, chances for a resolution or solution reduces if you use an angry or aggressive tone. So be polite and formal.
- Lack of evidence or proof. Your complaint will hold no value if there are not enough evidence to support it.
- Not Addressing the Right Person, there will be unnecessary delays if you send a letter to the wrong department.
- Many people skip relevant documents i.e. proof of purchase, etc that weakens the claim.
Conclusion
Writing a formal complaint letter is one of the best ways to address issues that you’ve experienced with products or services. No one wants to spend money and receive a faulty product or services, if you’re in such a situation then raise a complaint by writing a well structured complaint letter. For the convenience of people, we have already shared editable complaint letter samples here for FREE download. Download a sample letter today to write an effective complaint letter in minutes.