Letter of Complaint About an Unrepaired Mobile Phone

You have bought a new mobile phone and in a few days after purchase it has stopped working. You spoken to the company representative a week ago but the phone has still not been repaired. Write a letter to the company. In your letter – introduce yourself – explain the situation – say what action you would like to company to take.

Annotated response

1 correction note

Showing 1 correction note.

Dear Sir or Madam,

I am David Fisher, writing to express my concern about a recent purchase I made from your company. Even after contacting your company a week ago, I am yet to get any solution. I am hoping that you will take the necessary action to resolve the issue.

On 12th November, I purchased a new Samsung Galaxy mobile phone . The invoice number of the purchase is BR#0040124. While I was initially very pleased with the phone, unfortunately, it malfunctioned just a few days later. The phone now refuses to turn on, and even if it does sometimes, the touch screen remains unresponsive. This is particularly inconvenient as I rely heavily on my mobile phone for both personal and professional communication.

Following the initial malfunction, I contacted your customer service department on 20th November and spoke with a representative named Carter. I was informed that the repair process could take up to a week. Unfortunately, a week has now passed since I contacted your customer service team, and I have not received any updates on the status of the repair!

Given the significant inconvenience caused by this malfunction, I would like to request a prompt resolution. Ideally, I would appreciate it if you could issue a replacement phone of the same model or refund the full amount plus compensation for the delay in a week. Otherwise, I will contact the Consumer Rights Protection Service and lodge a formal complaint.

Thank you for your time and attention to this matter. I look forward to your prompt response and a satisfactory resolution.

Yours faithfully,

David Fisher

Overall assessment

Why this response received Band 8.0

The letter's strongest aspect is its complete, well-organized coverage of all three bullet points with realistic supporting detail such as dates, invoice number, and the representative's name. The main limitation is a small number of imprecise wordings, such as 'purchased...from your Brownshire Road' and 'compensation for the delay in a week,' which slightly reduce precision.

IELTS criteria

How each score was decided

Task Achievement

8.0

The letter directly achieves its communicative purpose, covering introduction, a clear explanation of the malfunction and unanswered complaint, and specific requested actions, all in an appropriately formal tone with convincing detail.

Coherence and Cohesion

8.0

Ideas progress logically through paragraphing that mirrors the bullet points, with well-managed cohesive devices such as 'Following the initial malfunction' and 'Given the significant inconvenience.'

Lexical Resource

7.5

Vocabulary is generally flexible and precise for a formal complaint, though occasional imprecision such as 'from your Brownshire Road' and 'compensation for the delay in a week' limits full accuracy.

Grammatical Range and Accuracy

8.0

A wide range of grammatical structures, including complex conditionals and relative clauses, is used with flexibility and control, with only rare, non-impeding slips.