English for Practical Purposes—Fall 2004
實用英文

Jo Ho (Thu 9-12am, A-110)  office hour: Tue 2-5pm, C2-338

Letter of complaint

To whom it may concern, 

        I am a loyal customer of Watson』s chain store and have always found your product and prices very trust-worthy.  However, I』m writing to complain about your over-exaggerated slogan 「I swear that our prices are the lowest」.

My most recent shopping experience at your shop was a disappointing case in point.  On Dec. 3rd, 2004 I went to the Watson Shida store in Taipei and purchased a bottle of Head & Shoulder anti-dandruff shampoo 400ml for NT$ 199.  Yet, the next day I was surprised to find the same item selling for only NT$ 170 in Wellcome Supermarket.  Even though the price difference was no big sum, I felt cheated by your slogan.  According to the laws in relation to consumer rights, fraudulent advertising may be subjected to NT$ 200,000 in fines.  I believe that a successful company such as yours would not want such mistakes to damage your well-established reputation.  I strongly suggest that your company make immediate amends to correct the mistake. 

As a loyal customer of your stores, I』m writing to urge you to review your pricing campaign before serious problems evolve.  Pease give the matter your immediate attention.  Thank you. 

Sincerely,

        Anna Wu


Dear Sir:

        As a regular customer of your commodities, I am writing to register a serious complaint about my order (No. xxxx) dated November 29, 2004. 

       Your company enjoys a good reputation due to your devotion to quality service, which is the main reason I have been a loyal customer of your shoes for years.  However, I was dismayed by the delivery of my most recent order.  In fact, one side of the box was pierced through and the shoes inside were damaged to some degree.  

      As it stands, I have great difficulty understanding why a renowned company aiming for the soundest service and quality would treat your loyal customer like me in such a reckless way.  I am returning the shoes to you in two days, and I hope you will take all necessary action to win back this loyal customer.  Thank you.

 

Sincerely,

Dear Sir,

I placed an order to a skirt on (date) at your auction on the internet. According to the rules of your auction, the merchandise should reach me one week after I made the payment through the ATM to your bank account. However, the skirt is now a month overdue and I have only received an e-mail from your staff saying that you have received my payment. But I have not heard anything from you to confirm a definite delivery date.

I would appreciate your looking into this matter and arranging for delivery within the next three days, or I shall have no choice but to seek legal advice from Yahoo in this matter. Thank you!

Sincerely


To whom it may concern:

I am writing to register a serious complaint about the lack of coordination in our administrative procedure concerning campus entry permits for motorcycles. Unfortunately, the resulting confusion has taken a devastating toll on me, a student who has recently suffered a leg injury and is now temporarily in need of a convenient form of transportation

In an effort to acquire a temporary permit to bring my motorcycle on campus so that I can get to my classes more easily, I went, on crutches, to the Office of Student Affairs, Division of Student Conduct and Housing Service, on the afternoon of November 17th, 2004 to file the application. I was told to fill out the required form and to take it to my department for approval and then deliver it to the Front Entrance Security to complete the application. I dutifully followed the instruction and struggled to finish all required procedure on crutches that day. However, when I arrived at the Front Entrance Security, the officer on duty said that the permit requires a certificate of diagnosis from my doctor, which was nowhere stated on the application form. He also added that approvals by individual department offices do not carry any authority or legal power.

As it stands, I am forced to go all the way back—on crutches—to the hospital to acquire the certificate from my doctor, which I could have gotten when I went to the hospital for the first time were it not for the lack of clarity in regulations and the further lack of coordination between the two administrative offices involved. I am dismayed by the fact that I ended up paying a dear price for confusions on the part of the administration. Furthermore, I am also surprised that the signature from my department chair certifying my injury and need of transportation carries little weight for other campus agencies. The integrity and dignity of my department is serious compromised in this case.

I totally understand safety and environmental conerns and the need to control motorcycle entries into campus. Yet I have difficulty understanding why the two offices would have different requirements for this rather simple application. I have even greater difficulty understanding why a university that claims to care about its students would make it necessary for an injured student on crutches to travel back and forth between offices and eventually having to go back to the hospital to get a certificate. As a university that aspires to achieve world-class reputation, NCU obviously has a long way to go yet. As a student who is concerned about the well-being of this university, I am writing to implore you to give this matter your immediate attention. Thank you.


Yours sincerely,


Chia-wen Lee 
English Major
# 90141000 


A letter to XYZ airline complaining about their service 



To whom this may concern:
As a regular customer of your airline for the past five years, I』ve thoroughly enjoyed taking your planes. However, my most recent experience was quite disappointing. 
On June 12, 2004 I took your plane (flight no. 254) from Tokyo to Taipei. Upon arrival at the destination airport, I was astonished to find my luggage pried open. A few valuable items were lost, including a priceless watch given to me by my grandmother. None of your staff at the Luggage Claims department could solve this problem; nor did they provide a satisfactory explanation for this most unfortunate incident. 
I am writing this formal letter of complaint in hope of hearing from you soon. I will wait until next Friday (June 19) before seeking help from consumer protection agencies or the media. Thank you for your immediate attention.


Yours Sincerely, 


Paula Pen 


To Whom It May Concern:

Delayed delivery of Order No. b16626000

I』ve ordered 2 tubes of New Grape &Green Tea Sculpturing Eye Gel and a bottle of Cooling Gel on 2 December, 2004. The official website of your company guarantees that your products would be delivered within two days from the date of the order. However, the goods are now two weeks overdue, and I have heard nothing from you. 

I』ve been a loyal supporter of your products for many years, and I』m always pleased by their quality. As this is the first time that I experienced this problem, I am writing to urge you to review your order progress before more serious problems evolve. 

I』m willing to wait for another 3 days before canceling my order. Please give this matter your immediate attention.

Yours sincerely,