Format Example: Business Complaint Letter

This lesson works through a complete model of a business complaint letter, part by part, so that you can see how each element of a formal letter is used when goods or services fall short. It ends with guidelines for writing complaints that are firm, polite and effective.

A complaint letter is written when goods arrive damaged, short, late or wrong, when a bill is incorrect or when a service is poor. It follows the structure of a formal business letter: sender's address, date, receiver's address, subject line, salutation, body, complimentary close, signature and enclosures. The lesson presents a full model letter from a bookshop to a paper company about damaged and short-supplied notebooks, explains what each part of it does, and then sets out the do's and don'ts of complaint writing and how the same format adapts to delays, wrong goods and billing errors.

When a complaint letter is written

A business writes a complaint letter when a supplier or service provider falls short: goods arrive damaged, short in quantity, late or different from what was ordered; an invoice is wrong; or a service is unsatisfactory. The aim is not to vent anger but to get the problem put right while keeping a useful business relationship.

The model letter

The letter below is shown in full-block form, with every line starting at the left. In the layout used earlier in this course, the sender's address and the date may instead be placed at the top right.

Sunrise Book Depot,
14, Station Road,
Jaipur – 302006

12th June 2025

To
The Sales Manager,
Everfine Paper Products Ltd.,
Plot 7, Industrial Area,
Kota – 324007

Subject: Damaged and short supply of notebooks against Order No. 245

Dear Sir/Madam,

We refer to our Order No. 245 dated 2nd June 2025 for 500 dozen ruled notebooks at ₹300 per dozen. The consignment reached us on 10th June 2025 with your Invoice No. EP/1187 for ₹1,50,000.

On opening the cartons in the presence of the transporter's representative, we found that only 480 dozen notebooks had been packed, 20 dozen fewer than ordered and invoiced, and that 40 dozen notebooks in two cartons were soaked with water and their pages had stuck together.

The new school session begins on 1st July, and we need the notebooks urgently. We therefore request you to send 60 dozen notebooks, 40 dozen to replace the damaged ones and 20 dozen to make up the shortage, by 20th June 2025. If this is not possible, please send us a credit note for ₹18,000. The damaged notebooks have been kept aside for your inspection.

We have always valued our dealings with your company and trust that the matter will be settled promptly.

Yours faithfully,
for Sunrise Book Depot
(Signature)
R. Mehta
Proprietor

Encl.: (1) Copy of Invoice No. EP/1187; (2) Copy of the delivery receipt with the transporter's remarks; (3) Photographs of the damaged cartons

How each part does its job

1. Sender's address and date: identify the complaining firm and fix the date from which the matter can be traced.
2. Receiver's address: addressed to the official who can act, here the Sales Manager, by designation.
3. Subject line: names the problem and the order number, so the letter reaches the right file at once.
4. Salutation and complimentary close: "Dear Sir/Madam" is matched with "Yours faithfully".
5. Opening paragraph: identifies the transaction, with the order number and date, the invoice number and the date of receipt.
6. Main content: states exactly what is wrong, with quantities, and shows how the facts were verified, in the presence of the transporter's representative.
7. Closing paragraph: states the remedy, a replacement or a credit note, the deadline and the reason for urgency, and offers the goods for inspection.
8. Goodwill sentence: keeps the relationship friendly.
9. Signature block: "for Sunrise Book Depot" shows that Mr Mehta signs on behalf of the firm, followed by his name and designation.
10. Enclosures: copies of the evidence that support the claim.

The figures agree with one another: 500 dozen at ₹300 a dozen is ₹1,50,000, and the 60 dozen to be replaced or credited, 40 dozen damaged and 20 dozen short, are worth 60 × ₹300 = ₹18,000.

Guidelines for complaint letters

Do:

• write promptly, while the facts are fresh and any time limit is still open;
• quote order, invoice and delivery details;
• describe the problem precisely, with quantities and dates;
• state a clear, reasonable remedy and a time by which you expect it;
• stay polite and firm, and keep copies of everything;
• enclose copies of documents, never the originals.

Do not:

• use rude, sarcastic or threatening language;
• exaggerate the problem or blame individuals by name;
• leave out the reference numbers the reader needs to trace the matter;
• mix unrelated grievances in one letter.

Adapting the format

• Delay in delivery: state the agreed delivery date, the present position and the loss or inconvenience the delay is causing.
• Wrong goods: state what was ordered and what was received, and ask for an exchange.
• Billing error: quote the invoice, show the correct calculation and ask for a revised invoice or a credit note.
• Poor service: describe the service request, the dates of visits or calls, and what remains unresolved.