Choosing the Right Register for a Complaint
Your landlord has not returned your 600-euro deposit three weeks after you moved out, despite a written promise to pay within 14 days. You have his mobile number and you know him socially. You need the money within ten days to pay a new deposit. You are writing in Croatian and must choose between a short informal message and a formal letter. Your Croatian is good but not native, and you want to avoid a tone that damages the relationship while still being firm.
1. Which form - informal message or formal letter - should you send first, and why? Justify with reference to the purpose and the relationship.
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Send a short, polite but firm written message first (SMS or email), not a formal letter. Reasons:
- Purpose: you want the money quickly. A formal letter signals escalation and may slow things down; a clear reminder often resolves an oversight within days.
- Relationship: you know him socially, so an aggressive formal letter could damage goodwill you may need for a reference.
- Record: a written message still creates a dated record, unlike a phone call.
The message should state the facts (deposit of 600 euros, promised within 14 days, now three weeks overdue), the deadline (ten days), and a polite request for a payment date. Keep a formal letter ready as a second step if he does not respond. This sequencing is the judgement the task tests: firmness without premature escalation.
2. Draft the key content of the first message in Croatian, and explain two register choices you made.
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Model content:
"Poštovani gospodine [ime], javljam se u vezi s jamčevinom od 600 eura za stan. Dogovorili smo se da će biti vraćena u roku od 14 dana, a prošla su tri tjedna. Molim Vas da mi javite kada možete izvršiti uplatu, jer mi je novac potreban u roku od deset dana za novu jamčevinu. Hvala unaprijed."
Register choices:
- "Poštovani" + "Vi" capitalised - polite but not stiff; appropriate for someone you know socially but with whom money is at stake. Using "ti" would be too casual for a payment demand.
- "Molim Vas da mi javite" instead of a direct accusation - it assumes an oversight rather than bad faith, which protects the relationship while still setting the ten-day deadline.
Avoid: emotional language, threats of legal action, or apologising for asking. The facts and the deadline do the work.
3. If he does not reply within five days, what should your next step be, and what should the formal letter contain that the message did not?
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Next step: send a formal written letter (and keep a copy), still before the ten-day deadline expires, so there is time for payment.
The formal letter should add what the message lacked:
- A precise chronology with dates: move-out date, the written 14-day promise, the date the message was sent.
- A formal demand with a final deadline (e.g. payment within seven days of the letter).
- A stated consequence if payment does not arrive - for example, that you will seek legal advice or contact the relevant authority.
- Your bank details and a request for written confirmation of payment.
It should be in a formal register ("Poštovani", full name, date, signature) because it may later serve as evidence. The message was a reminder; the letter is a documented demand.