The Complaint Letter With the Wrong Appeal
You bought a copy of the Oxford School Dictionary from a local bookshop on 3 May for ₹295. The bill number is 2147. When you reached home you found that pages 201–232 were missing and pages 233–264 were bound twice. The shopkeeper says that books once sold cannot be replaced and tells you to write to the manager. You decide to write a formal letter of complaint. Your first draft includes the sentence: 'My father is a farmer and I am very poor, so please help me.' It also includes the line 'You people are cheats and I will go to the consumer court.' Your teacher says the letter must be 120–150 words, must state the facts and the remedy you want, and must remain polite even when you are firm.
1. Decide what to do with the sentence about your father and your poverty: keep, cut, or rephrase. Justify your decision in terms of the purpose of a formal complaint.
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Cut it. A formal complaint is judged on facts and on the remedy requested, not on the writer's personal circumstances. Introducing poverty invites pity rather than action and may embarrass the reader. If hardship is genuinely relevant - for example, if you cannot afford a second copy - state it in one neutral clause, not as an appeal: 'As the book was bought for my school work, I request a replacement.' The angry sentence about cheating should also be cut or rewritten because threats weaken the letter's credibility and may make the manager defensive.
2. Name the three facts from the bill that must appear in the letter and explain why the date of purchase and the bill number matter.
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The three facts are: bill number 2147; date of purchase 3 May; and the price paid, ₹295, or the title and the defect. The bill number identifies the transaction and prevents confusion with other sales. The date fixes the purchase within any return period and supports the claim that the defect was discovered soon after purchase. Without these details the manager cannot check the record, and the complaint becomes an unsupported story.
3. Rewrite the angry sentence 'You people are cheats and I will go to the consumer court' as a firm but polite request for action.
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Instead of the angry sentence: 'I am sure you will agree that a book with missing and repeated pages cannot be used. I therefore request you to replace it or refund the amount within seven days.' This keeps the facts and the demand but removes the insult. 'I am sure you will agree' presumes good faith; 'therefore request' is formal; 'within seven days' sets a clear limit without threatening. If no action follows, a consumer complaint can be mentioned later, but it should not be the opening move.