Below is a model IELTS complaint letter which is estimated at band score 9. People taking the GT writing paper will be expected to write a letter for their writing task 1. That letter should be over 150 words. Complaint letters are one of the most common types of letters that you can be expected to write. This letter topic has appeared a number of times in the IELTS test.
You bought a TV a week ago but when you got home you discovered it did not work properly. You called customer service to report the problem but you have not yet received any help.
Write a letter to the company and in your letter:
- introduce yourself
- explain the problem
- and state what action you would like from the company
Model IELTS Complaint Letter Band 9
The letter below will show you how to organise information into paragraphs and extent information to create a high band score IELTS complaint letter. Note that this is a long letter. People who are below band 9 should not aim for this. It is usually better to aim between 170 and 190 words. Long letters also don’t increase your score. However, I wanted to show you examples of how ideas can be expanded and for this reason, this sample letter is longer than normal.
Dear Sir or Madam,
I am writing this letter to report the faulty TV that I purchased from your company on Tuesday last week.
My name is John Davidson and I am one of your frequent customers. I live in Woodstock and have been using your services and buying your products for the last 11 years.
On Tuesday, 12th June, I visited your store to purchase a TV. I bought a Toshiba LED TV which has the code 40L675B40. On purchasing this TV, I was assured that this was the latest model and the best there was to buy. However, when I got home I discovered that not only did the remote controls not work but also the quality of the picture was not as good as promised, in fact it was quite blurry. I called your customer service department immediately on Tuesday and they assured me that my TV would be replaced or fixed within two days. I am disappointed to say that this has not happened and I have received no communication since then.
I am exceedingly displeased with both the quality of the product I purchased from your company as well as the poor service I have received since. I hope this problem will be resolved promptly. I expect to receive a replacement TV or have my current TV repaired but only if it could be fixed within a day.
I look forward to hearing back from you immediately.
Yours faithfully,
Mr J H Davidson
Recommended for GT IELTS Writing Task 1
Click below:
Essential Tips for IELTS GT Letters: Writing Task 2
Practice IELTS Letters to practice at home
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Hello Liz,
I wrote my IELTS examination few days ago. This question about a damaged TV came out. I was elated when I saw it. I was over the moon…Lol (Let me use the Idioms I learned). I had studied the model letter days before and took another look at it on the morning of my exam. I had to make conscious effort not to write the exact thing in the letter because I remembered without much effort. It helped me create a detailed letter for Task 1.It also helped me with speed in the writing test.
I can’t explain how grateful I am for you and the great work that you have poured into your website.
Thank you so much.
That’s wonderful!! It’s great when people get the same questions in the test. I often say that questions and topics are repeated so it’s worth paying attention. I’ll keep my fingers crossed for your results 🙂
Dear Sir,
I’m writing this letter to report the faulty TV that i bought last Friday.
I am Sara Johns and i am your regular customer buying all my home applicances from your store since forever, I never encountered any issue. I bought from your stored near Brooklyn Road, it is the latest model that i purchased.
The issue is that when i turn on the TV its screen starts flickering, the images gets distorted. T have to turn off the TV and then have to turn it on again, doing this several times fixes the problem. But the issue appears again after few minutes.
I called your online helpline center and registered my complain. But unfortunately its been two days no one reached me out from your company.
I want you to check which person was on duty that day and why he hasn’t contacted me yet. Secondly, I want you to send your company staff member to my house to replace this faulty TV with the new one within two days. Or else i will complain my file for refund.
I hope you will consider and solve most urgent. Looking forward to hear from you.
Yours faithfully,
Mr John.
Although my website does not offer a feedback service, I do have time for a few comments today:
1) Your first main body paragraph has some issues with grammar and vocabulary. Lets review it:
“I am Sara Johns and i am your regular customer buying all my home applicances from your store since forever, I never encountered any issue. I bought from your stored near Brooklyn Road, it is the latest model that i purchased.”
This should be:
I am Sara Jones and I have been a regular customer at your store for a very long time. (at no point should you use “since forever” because it is informal. Most language that is exaggerated is informal). During all the time I have been a loyal customer, I have never once encountered any problems with the items I bought. However, my most recent purchase, the latest model of TV that I bought from your Brooklyn Road branch was faulty.
As you see, there are some issues with sentence formation and grammar (particularly verb tenses).
2) Also note, that if your name is Sara Johns, you can’t sign off with Mr John – Mr is for males, not females, and you’ve spelled the surname incorrectly by missing the “s”. It should have been “Miss Johns” or “Mrs Johns”. All these issues will really lower your score.
3) Other issues:
I hope you will consider and solve most urgent. = I hope you will act promptly to resolve the issue.
Or else I will complain my file for refund. = Otherwise, I will file a formal complaint and demand a refund.
Dear Sir,
I am writing this letter to complain about the TV I purchased from your company last week Monday.
My name is Felix Ann. Even though I am not a first time customer, I am quite disappointed this time this time around.
I bought a Tochiba TV of product number 23346T, it was tested in my presence and I confirmed the TV was working fine until I got home and tried to switch on the TV but it did not come on. I immediately called the customer service and I was assured they’d get back to me but up till now, I still haven’t gotten any response.
I would like a replacement or a refund within two days since there’s a 6 month warranty on the product.
I look forward to your immediate positive response.
Yours faithfully,
Miss Ann Felix
Although my website does not offer a feedback service, I will give you a quick comment. The instructions in IELTS writing task 1 are to write over 150 words. Most letters will be between 170 and 190 words. Writing under 150 words will make it hard to get a high score. See all tips, advice and model letters on this page: https://ieltsliz.com/ielts-writing-task-1-lessons-and-tips/#GT-letter
Dear Sir/Madam,
My name is Oluwafunbi Temitope, I am a huge fan of your electrical appliances and I have been patronizing the company for some period of time , from my college days up until now I have made it a personal duty to advocate for the durability of these products.
I recently purchased your 64 inches Led Television a week ago, 14th of September to be precise. After unboxing it and mounting it on the wall, I decided to put it on using the power button on the TV, It did not come up , after which I read the manual to see if I had done anything wrong, I discovered the power button which allows me to put on the TV was no where to be found, It is a black button just below the TV. I did a research online and discovered it is possible for it to come off the main body of the TV, I checked the box in which it came in, but could not find it.
I have called the customer service agent to report this however, I was asked for my email address and was told I would receive an instruction on how this will be resolved, I have not received an email or advise as regards this. I would like a replacement for the TV if possible or a refund, as I will not be able to make use of it knowing fully well, all the parts are not intact.
Warm Regards,
Oluwafunbi
My website does not offer a feedback or marking service, but I will give you a few pointers.
1) This is a formal letter. You should avoid informal language, such as “a huge fan” or “Warm regards”.
2) The introduction required relates to yourself as a customer. The idea that you advocate for the durability of products is not normal for a complaints letter.
3) This is a formal complaints letter so writing “Warm regards” for a complaint letter is not suitable. And you must sign off with a full name and title.
Otherwise, you offer a good range of language with some great examples of topic based vocabulary.
Review all essential tips for IELTS letter writing: https://ieltsliz.com/ielts-letter-writing-essential-tips/
Kindly help review this
Dear Sir,
I write to complain to you about a TV I purchased recently from your store in Lincoln. I had previously phoned the customer support desk to complain about the gadget but I am yet to receive a reply hence I decided to send in this letter.
My name is Azimi Yakub, I am a frequent shopper at your electronic shop in Lincoln where I have purchased several gadgets. I could be contacted at xy.z@yahoo.com.
Last week Tuesday, I bought a 72-inch plasma TV with purchase ID P0002346 for the sum of $250. However, upon using it, the TV does not come up immediately it is switched on, I would have to press the power button a couple of times or hit the TV at the back with my palm before it powers on.
While I understand that electronic gadgets can sometimes be damaged from the factory, I kindly request a retrieval and replacement of the TV as my warranty on it is still active for a year.
I appreciate your kind consideration and look forward to your reply.
Yours faithfully,
Azimi Yakub
Hi Liz, may I request you to have a look at the letter I wrote. Any feedback will be highly appreciated and will help me a lot in my prepration.
Thank you for your youtube lessons.
Dear Sir or Madam,
I am writing to complain about the Samsung TV, which was bought three days ago from Walmart.
I will start by first introducing myself. My name is Ram Prasad, a resident of the city of Mississauga. I am currently a student at Sheridan college, pursuing Business administration finance course.
I bought a Samsung 32’ inch LED TV three days ago and when I came home and tried turning it on, I noticed that the television does not respond to the remote control that comes with it. I tried putting in new batteries and even bought a new TV console, but the problem still remains the same.
I called customer service the same day and they opened a service ticket (59487) for me, and I was promised a technician would be here the following day to fix the issue. I still have not heard anything back from them and the service number is always busy. Could you please have a look into this matter and send a technician at your earliest convenience, as my parents are visiting me next week and father is fond of watching TV.
I look forward to hearing from you.
Yours sincerely,
Ram Prasad.
I don’t usually give feedback. But I will mention too points. If the instructions ask you to introduce yourself, the introduction information is in relation to the aims of the letter and the person you are writing to. It is of no importance at all to someone dealing with customer service complaints what subject you study. That information is irrelevant.
Also check your understanding of the passive voice. When you write “the TV, which was bought three days ago”, the use of passive voice here means that the person doing the buying (which is yourself) is not important in the sentence. But that is not the case at all. It is essential that you make it clear – you bought the TV. So, the use of the passive voice is actually a grammar error.
Thank you for the feedback much appreciated!
Dear Liz,
Greetings from sunny Romania. We are a class of 11th grade students and you have helped us immensely. It might be sunny outside, but because of you, it’s even sunnier in our hearts. We wish to express our gratitude for your teachings. In moments of difficulty and sorrow, we turn to you. Thank you and multumesc from the bottoms of our sun-filled hearts.
P.S. don’t reject our comment or we’ll cry. 🙁
How can I miss such a sweet comment? I’m glad my lessons bring some joy. I want people to enjoy learning because it’s such a positive thing to do in life. And I don’t think preparing for IELTS should be stressful, it should be challenging but enjoyable. Greetings to your class and to all in Romania – such a lovely country 🙂 Wishing you all the best, Liz 🙂
Dear Sir or Madam,
I am writing this letter to express my disappointment about my last purchased TV online order which was received two days ago under my name, Mohamed Ali, loyal card ID number 32133.
First of all, I was taken aback when I unpacked the Sony TV carton, The TV LED screen was cracked at the top left corner with clear internal damage. Additionally, it has been shipped without a remote control device and some invaluable accessories such as a wall mount bracket and holders plus the power cable.
By no means certain that the TV would function well, not only do I think this is because of its dysfunctional, but also because of its old brand version and availability of the needed spare parts. Therefore, I contacted your after-sales services to stake a claim and report the incident. Unfortunately, no one responded to my calls and e-mails as promised in your advertisement to cover any warranty claims.
It should not be taken for granted that your company would prioritize its customer satisfaction and fulfillment anymore. Consequently, you are kindly requested to refund my money as I have already shipped the TV back to your address with the DHL tracking number DW25328764.
Thank you for your prompt attention to this matter and I look forward to hearing from you soon.
Yours faithfully
Mohamed Ali.
Hey Elizabeth,
I just wanted to ask that if we have to write a letter to our friend but the name of the friend is not mentioned in the question. What we will write in our very first line of letter e.g Dear ??
I will be very thankful to you if you can answer that.
You should imagine a name: Dear Tom
See this page: https://ieltsliz.com/ielts-letter-writing-essential-tips/
Dear sir
My name is Louis Fateza and I am your loyal customer I since 3 years when I am purchased your brand products and yours products have a better quality since 9 months but now in your brand quality has some issues.
And now I bought a Tv two months ago form your shop it’s model has LG DEo DF 278 PRMZ I am extremely disappointed to purchased your TV When , I opened Tv the tv screen given blurred and looked like a greeny screen the speaker of Tv is also not working properly I called your customer service department the better reply is not found within two or three days .I am disappointed to say that this not happened .
I hope this problem solve immediately and provides a better reply form yours I except to receive a replacement or have my current TV repaired.
Thanking you
Yours faithfully
Louis Fateza
Dear Sir,
My name is Jacob, and I am a technical manager. I am writing this letter to inform you regarding a defective TV that I had ordered from your company’s website a week ago.
On January 15th, I had ordered a 75” Samsung Ultra-OLED TV on your company’s website, and got it delivered in a seal-packed carton, yesterday. However, upon turning on, it has turned out to be a defective piece. Upon turning it on, black checker-boxes appear, and only the green colour appear. Upon checking at your website, I found out that this is a usual defect in this series and needs repair or replacement. I called and even wrote to the customer-service, but the team has refused to create a Service Request
Hence, I request you to urgently look in this matter and assist me as the refund period is expiring. I seek immediate replacement or refund. I shall request for a revert within next 72 hours failing which, unfortunately, I shall have to raise this matter with the local consumer court and seek additional penalty for the sub-par service. The details are enclosed.
Yours Faithfully,
Jacob
Dear Sir,
I am Adam Gill, who is long time loyal customer of your company’s product. I am writing to complain about faulty TV set which I bough last week on 5th October from town plaza shop.
I bought 52-inch smart Magma TV and requested for home delivery which got delivered next day. After I turned ON the TV, I found that it was not able to connect to Wi-Fi because of some software issue. I immediately called to the customer care and followed their instruction to reset the TV, however it didn’t resolve the issue. After this they told me that they will send the technician to fix this issue, but its more than a week and no technician showed up yet.
I didn’t expect this type of service from a reputed company like yours. I want to request you to either exchange this faulty TV with the new one or refund the money without any further delay. If no action is taken from your end to resolve this issue, I will be bound to take this matter to court.
I hope to hear back from you soon.
Yours faithfully,
Adam Gill
Dear Sir or Madam,
I am a lifelong customer of the Samsung Brand. I am writing to complain about my recent purchase of a Samsung 36-inch TV, model number 9XWRV.
When I opened the box reaching home, I found some minor scratches on the TV screen. As I plugged in the supply I found a dark spot on right down corner. At first, I ignored that but as I used it for two days, the dark spot started expanding, and now it almost has covered ten percent of the TV screen. I complained about the problem to your customer service one week before, they told me that our technician will come there to fix the problem, but still I have not found any progress.
I would like your kind office to prioritize my complaint and fix the issue, I would recommend to provide me new TV rather than fixing the old one.
I look forward to hearing from you.
Dear Sir/Madam,
My name is Peter Darson and i m your loyal customer since 5 years from now and enjoyed your products and service since then
I m writing this letter to you to complain about the TV which I bought from your store last week on Sunday.
It was a latest LG Smart TV P6758 with smart Wi-Fi and other smart features.This TV was purchased on offer price when the offer was valid. I was very happy that I got a latest model with smart features in such a low price. But to my surprise, TV starts to blur in 3 days from the date of purchase and also some of the smart features are also not functional. I tried everything to fix it myself but failed to do so after number of attempts following catalogue/manual instructions. Then I contacted Technical Supports Department to help sort out the issue on prompt basis and comforted me that they will fix it in a day. Nevertheless, I did not heard back from then since then. I m now very disappointed with your services and the products which you offer.
Kindly do the needful to fix this problem in a day or two or else replace it with a new one before this matter gets escalated to the higher management.
Hope the concern will be solved on urgent basis.
Yours Sincerely
Peter Darson
Dear sir
I am writing in connection to a TV purchased one week ago, most exactly on 27th June.
let me introduce myself, my name is Lina Munoz, one of the frequents and loyal customers, I have been in your establishment during 5 years since I moved to this area, because I really like the the variety and the quality of the products which you provide.
As I mentioned before I bought a TV which was the last LG generation with high quality according to the seller was one of the best options in the market, I was pretty happy because that was just that I was looking for. However, when I got home, and I try to use it, it works well, but after 10 minutes on, half of the screen became completely dark, I reboot it but when it was on again the screen looked the same, so I decided to call immediately to your technique support to report the issue and they promised me to repair it and give it back in 3 days, but I have not received any response from them.
So I would like to ask you if you can fix it or change it for a new one as soon as possible, and make sure this issues will not happen again.
I look forward a prompt solution from you.
yours faithfully,
Lina Munoz
Hi Liz, can you tell me please if looks good or if I missed something? thank you
Dear Sir or Madam,
I am writing this letter to report a problem regarding the TV that I purchased from your showroom last week.
My Name is Nasir Nawaz, your frequent customer for almost a decade. I have purchased various electronic households from you but never had such a bad experience.
I purchase a Television set from your shop last tuesday, 2nd April. It was Sony LED with product code L40367898. while I was purchasing, I was informed of its high defintion picture quality. However, as soon as I reached home and switched-on the TV, the picture was quite blurry and experience was miserable. SInce it was provided with warranty and upon contacting your helpline, I was assured to pick it from my place and get it repaired in a day’s time but I have been waiting since then.
I want an immediate action from your end in order to replace the faulty TV set or get it repaired by tomorrow. Else I would be compelled to escalate it to your company headquarters as well as post my experience on social media also. So, i urge you to act on urgent basis to fix this matter ASAP.
I will be looking forward to hear from you soon.
Yours Faithfully,
Nasir Nawaz
Dear Sir/Madam,
I am writing this letter to express my utter dissatisfaction for the online purchase of play station on Tuesday Last week.
To begin with, I have ordered this product on 25th March 2021 and got delivered at my home on 31st March. Along with the dispatch order I also received the invoice for this for which I also got the warranty for 5 years on this from the date of the purchase.
Unfortunately, on purchasing this I was assured that this was the latest model and the best there was to buy. However, when I tried to install this with my android Tv, I discovered that the quality of the product was not that good as promised.
Lastly, at the time of purchase its clearly mentioned on the portal that it should support all platforms but now its not working. Finally, I would like to request please either refund my money or exchange this at the earliest and deliver it to home.
Hope you will take my complaint in to consideration and will get this resolved ASAP.
Looking forward to hearing from you soon.
Yours faithfully
Rohit Dogra
Dear Sir or Madam,
This is Kyle Wong, and I am writing to report a problem with a TV that I purchased from your store last week. I bought a Sony Bravia, model X27 on 12 October 2020 from the store on Charing Cross road. My invoice number is SBO10769.
I am sorry to inform you that the TV’s volume functionality is not working properly. The TV, by default, starts on maximum volume and the ‘volume down key’ is unable to lower it. I am able to switch between multiple channels and the remote also seems functional. Therefore, I suspect that something is wrong with the internal volume control circuitry of the television.
I noticed this problem on the same day that I purchased the TV and immediately called customer service to report it. I was promised to be paid a visit by one of your technicians. A week has passed since then and I have not yet received any assistance. Therefore, I would like to request you to send customer service personnel for help as soon as possible. I look forward to hearing back from you immediately.
Yours sincerely,
Kyle Wong
Dear Sir/Madam,
I am writing this letter to inform you regarding a failure on a product that i purchased from your company.My name is Linda Luxwell and I have bought a 55″ Samsung HD television from your Glenroy store on last Wednesday 22nd of November.My invoice number is DC7475858 and on that day my sales assistant was Jamis.
The television was not there in original condition as I have noticed.Oftenly I request to open the packaging in front of me before I acquire something valuable.However I trusted your well known brand name and the goodwill of your company.In addition to that the audio and visual cabals which should connect with DVD player ,have been broken. It is very sad to ought to say that I attempted in several times to get contacted with your customer service department and seek a reasonable response ,However they repeatedly neglected this complain and eventually telephone line was disconnected by them.
In order to rectify this faults , I would like to request to allocate a member of your maintainance section immediately.I have not been able to watch the television for last seven days even after paying a significant amount of money.
Hence I appreciate if you could replace another tv from same category until I get this repaired.
It is crucial to give your prompt attention on this issue, If not I will have to take necessary legal actions against to your company.
yours faithfully
Mashi Peters
Dear Sir / Madam,
My name is John, and I am writing in to seek a resolution on a defective product I bought last week (October 12th) at your Victoria Road outlet.
Having purchased the Samsung LED Smart TV, I proceeded to follow the manual to set it up. The TV seemed to be working fine until I tried switching to ‘Movie Mode’ when the screen blanked out completely. I could still hear the audio in the background without any visuals appearing.
I have been trying to get hold of Customer Support since then, but I have not heard back despite following up with multiple emails to the Samsung Service Centre and calls to the Automated Customer Support line.
Since ‘Samsung Purchase Warranty’ extends for a month from purchase – till November 12th – it would be helpful if you could replace the defective product with a new one.
Additionally, I am enclosing herewith a copy of the receipt that contains Purchase Date, Product Code and Invoice Number along with the Warranty card with the validity period clearly outlined.
I am earnestly looking forward to a favorable response to this disappointing experience.
Yours Sincerely,
John
Hello Liz,
There’s a visible displeasure in the tone of your letter, which should definitely be the case with regards to a complaint. But I wrote it first without looking at your letter and mine was more of a firm request sans major discontent. Will I be marked less for not showing my emotions aptly?
Not at all. It’s completely up to you if you wish emotions or not in a complaint letter. However, showing displeasure is normal if something that should work doesn’t work causing you problems. So, really, your tone will depend on what the problem is that you are reporting. But remember, this is a complaint letter, not a request letter.
Dear Sir/Madam,
My name is Mahmoud JD. I live in Newyork city, telephone number: **********. I have purchased a television from your storge a week ago, receipt number: 220654R.
I am facing a problem with the television wifi connection, since it is a smart TV, it should have an automatic wifi connection feature, which is already mentioned in the catalog of the TV. Once you operate it you must go through the settings to activate the manual connection option which is I believe there is a problem with the wifi chip and the hard-drive inside the TV.
I have raised a complaint for almost a week. Even though I paid for the insurance and periodic maintenance fees until now no action has been taken from your side. Although I have the right to request an immediate refund in terms of company and consumer policy. I rapidly demand a replacement for this TV otherwise, I will raise a complaint to the top management and request money back.
Best Regards.
Mahmoud JD.
Hi Liz,
i have a question, in your second sentence which goes as
“My name is John Davidson and I am one of your frequent customers. . I live in Woodstock and have been using your services and buying your products for the last 11 years”.
instead of that mentioning the address after the name;-
if i wrote “my name is John Davidson and i Live in Woodstock. I am one of your frequent customers and have been using your services and buying your products for the last 11 years”.
could you elaborate why you have mentioned the address in the subsequent sentence not with name sentence
Because it makes no difference at all in IELTS. If the information is given in the same paragraphing it is fine.
Thank you Liz for your prompt response. i hope you are doing well
Thanks Liz for all the resources available for this writing test 1 lessons.
I would, however, like to ask if it is fine to include address and if this attracts a penalty or adds to the word count.
Isaac
It would add to the word count – all words written on the answer sheet lines are counted. It would be unnecessary information and I don’t recommend you do it.
Dear Smith,
I’m writing to report that the TV set I bought from your shop last week malfunctioned.
My name is Smith and I’m resident at simbock in the yde vi municipality. I have be your regular customer for the past two years and this has never happened.
I purchased a 50inches Hisense tv from your shop last week Tuesday, 22nd July, 2023. Before paying for this tv I was made to understand it’s the best quality I could find in the market but unfortunately when I reached home the remotes didn’t work. in addition to the faulty remote, the graphics were quite poor. I immediately called the customer service line and was told I will be given a different tv that meets my expectations but I as write, I haven’t heard from anyone again.
I would appreciate if the tv is replaced before today ends or I will be happy to return the tv and my money given back to me.
I am looking forward to hearing from you regarding this issue as soon as possible.
Yours sincerely,
Smith
Dear Liz,
We have used as many as 11 times the word “I”
Is it appropriate??
Please reply quickly🙏
Of course it is fine. Some words will be repeated. Not every word needs to be paraphrased. Choose the words you wish to keep the same and paraphrase those that can be easily and well paraphrased.
Hey Liz
You told taht letter to your boss is formal. So we have to use Yours faithfully. But in one of your sample paper, you have used Yours sincerely. I guess you have not makde a clear difference between formal and semi formal letter. Regards
You seem to have misunderstood. Yours sincerely and Yours faithfully are both used for formal letters. See this page: https://ieltsliz.com/ielts-letter-writing-essential-tips/
Hi, Liz, how are you? What do you think of my letter? is it ok if I make a joke, for instance, about my TV not being so smart? Thanks.
Dear Sir/Madam,
My name is Sarah Lynch. I have been a frequent customer of your shop for a very long time and I am always pleased with the services you offer.
Last week I bought a 40 inch LG Smart TV for my daughter´s room but I am sorry to say that the TV doesn´t seem very smart to me. For some mysterious reason it will not connect to the wifi as it should. At the beginning I thought I was doing something wrong but after speaking to customer service and tried all sorts of tricks they told me to, we came to the conclusion that the device is indeed falty and needed to be replaced.
The conversation with customer service was a week ago and although they promised to get in contact again the next day to arrange the pickup and exchange, I still haven´t heard back from them. I would very much like to get this issue sorted so please reverse back to me as soon as possible. You can find my contact details under my frequent shopper ID number 1022457.
I look forward to hearing back from you.
Yours faithfully,
Sarah Lynch (18 min – 194 words)
Dear Sir/Madam,
I am writing this letter in regards to the television I purchased a week ago from the Brentwood store.
My name is Isabelle Franco and I am one of your frequent customers. I live in the Brentwood area and have been using the products of your brand since the last 10 years.
As mentioned earlier, I purchased the television from the Brentwood store, I made the payment in store but had asked for a drop-home service for the television. The television that I chose was working well at the store but to my surprise when I set it up at home the screen displayed black and white vision. I tried contacting the customer service to report the problem regarding the television but unfortunately, I still haven’t received any support till the very moment.
I have been disappointed by the service and product. I request you to get this repaired and if need be it would be the best to replace the product at the earliest. I am looking forward for a prompt help.
Yours faithfully,
Isabelle Franco
Hello Liz
The sample letters written on this blog have no address, is it the style for writing letters for IELTS
It is a language test, not a real letter. You do not need an address or a date or a reference.
Hi Liz,
Firstly, I wanted to thank you for all the tips and knowledge about this test. It’s been really helpful.
I have a question about signing off and name at the end of the GT writing task 1. Are these words counted too in the word count (150)?
Each word you write on the lines of the answer sheet will be counted.
Dear Sir,
A letter of complaint
I am Farls Davidson, a daily customer of your shop. I am writing to draw your attention about the goods that are been sold in the store.
Recently (10th February 2020), I purchased a Television from your shop and I was extremely disappointed to find that it does not function well. Even though, I requested the staff members to open the Television 📺 in the shop, they refused it in a way that never have done, Therefore, I was in a ❓doubt, but since I trusted your quality service, I never expected that such a dissatisfaction would occur.
To make matters worse, when I ☎️ dialed the consumer hotline, I found that the customer service is worst as when I complained about the television 📺, no one paying attention on me as they simply passing the telephone call over one another for fun which was such an embarrassment to me.
Therefore, I kindly to look 👀 in to my matter and I would we grateful if you could refund my 💲money back or else replace the 📺television with a well functioning software operation. In addition, as a loyal customer, I trust the situation would improve if a new set of staff employees are recruited so that future sales 📈 could also be increased. In conclusion, I hope 🙏 we could sort out this matter amicably and I believe that I will not have to take any 📝legal action towards this afore mentioned ⚠️issue.
Thank you.
F.Davidson
Hi!
I would be grateful if you could read this letter writing ✏️ of mine and inform me regarding the errors and the marks that I could possibly recieve.
Thank you for your immense support
Sorry, I do not provide a marking service.
Hi Liz,
In first bullet point it says to introduce yourself and you have written a good sentence to introduce your self. Before reading your sample answer I wrote this letter myself. For the first bullet point I just wrote my name in introductory paragraph and then I wrote a whole paragraph to introduce myself. What do you think of my answer please?
Thanks,
Yasir
The introduction of yourself needs to be appropriate for the aims and style of the letter and also be appropriate for the person you are writing to. A complain letter is formal in nature – this means the introduction of yourself is short, formal and without any descriptive flourishes.
Hi Liz,
Will we be penalized if we go over the word counts for the GT Writing Tasks? What are the recommended word counts for both the GT Writing Tasks?
Thanks
There is no penalty for being over the word count. But it does not help your score at all. It means you might produce more errors in language and deliver a less focused piece of writing – those two points might lower your score. See this page for all information and tips: https://ieltsliz.com/ielts-writing-task-1-lessons-and-tips/
Hi Liz,
You mentioned that “Name” should not be given in the body of the letter. However, I noticed that the very first line of your letter is having the name as – My name is John Davidson.
Could you please help to explain.
Thanks!
There are no fixed rules. You are looking for black and white rules. IELTS have only limited rules about writing and it doesn’t include small detail like that. Mostly it is advice that teachers give you. It is not necessary to have the name twice in a letter.
hi liz
when question say introduce yourself .should we use our real name? or any name.
God bless u.
thanks.
The letter is fictional.
Hi Liz,
I recently attempted one of your questions of an informal letter about staying over with a friend while on a holiday vacation, Kindly help me rate my work.
Dear Sam,
It was a great experience to have stayed over at your place on my holiday trip to London. I had been eagerly waiting to meet you, after we had parted our ways on graduating.
The moment I stepped into your house I felt a sense of joy and warmth as it always did even during our graduation. I had always wanted to experience London as a destination for vacation. My visit to London had been an eventful one. I got to see the great Big Ben, that reminded me of the story of, “Dr. Jekyll and Mr. Hyde”, all thanks to the lovely hop-on bus tour you had booked for me. I especially enjoyed the evenings spent with you at the Tower Bridge. We recounted our funny, witty and embarrassing moments we encountered during our graduation, and the lovely bond of friendship we had developed over time.
As a special gift I am sending a collage, capturing all the lovely moments we had spent during my visit to London for a holiday at your place.
I hope to see you soon.
Your’s
Samantha
Hi Liz
Please rate my letter below – its about forgetting my wallet after a week long trip with a friend
Dear Palak
I must say that the week we spent has actually made me feel refreshed out of my hectic work schedule. All thanks to you for organising it.
The trip was indeed full of adventure and now when it is over I realise how tiring it was. I did not wake up during my entire return journey. But ironically the moment instepped at my home i realised, while unpacking, that i have forgotten my wallet in your hand bag. Needless to say that it is difficult to stay without the wallet as i have all my ID proofs and bank cards in it.
Henceforth I would request you if you can courier the wallet via Bluedart as disclosing the details of the wallet to them. I would be highly great full. I am hereby mentioning my address for your convenience.
Hoping to meet soon.
Yours Lovingly
Richa
Hi, In my opinion, this letter needs to be an informal one , but has a formal tone in the end “I would request”, “for your convenience” . Some spelling errors that can be avoided if you proof read your essay “great full – grateful”.
Your content is good. Good luck.
Hi Liz/Rashmi
Any comments on the below letter
Asking for a reference from a teacher
Dear Kajal Man
Hope you in good hewlth. I am writing this letter to you to inform about my job placement and also request you for acting as a reference
I am placed with an FMCG gaint – a multinational headquartered at Switzerland. I will be a part of their India business in sales team as Sales Officer. As this is going to be my first job I could not find a better reference than you as you are someone with whom i have worked quiet closely during my college days. You would be in a better position to tell them about me.
This reference is extremely important to for various reasons. Firstly it is my first job and it will help me in defining my career path. Secondly this is one of the dream companies I always desired to be associated with. So when asked about a reference i can definitely look up to you.
For reference they can ask you about my performance in college, my personality traits and also about my take on life. I am sure your would give them a positive feedback about me.
Your little contribution would make huge difference to me.
Thanks & Regards
Richa
Hi Liz,
Is it ok to combine the first point with the opening statement?
As in your model letter above, the personal introduction has been included in the opening statement, which, in this case is technically the best way to go at it. But in other cases, is it acceptable?
Also, the first paragraph is rather brief compared to the other two. Could this risk getting a lower band score?
Thanks in advance,
Shailesh
Letters do not have paragraphs of equal length. As long as you add information where necessary and expand in the right places, it’s fine. Sometimes the opening line might contain some of the required information – not common in formal letters though.
That explains it well Liz. Thank you once again.
Cheers,
Shailesh
Hi Liz,
Firstly thank you for your selfless contribution. You are really a saviour for the students like me who want to achieve high score in IELTS but somehow lacks in one or other aspect.
There is a question in my mind- Can there be varying length of the paragraphs as written above?
I am bit confused as this is not the case in task-2.
You do not need paragraphs of equal length in task 1. The marking criteria are not the same for task 1 as they are for task 2.
Hello Liz ma’am
I am confussed about it.
In formal letters,Do we need Subject line to mention.
Salutations should be on right side or left side.
The letter should be written exactly as you see it above. This is a letter for a language test, not a real letter.
Hello Liz….
Have you any mock test sample for preparation.
There’s one free full IELTS test on the British Council IELTS website. My website contains free lessons, tips, model answers, topics etc. Go to the HOME page to learn how to open those lessons or use the RED MENU BAR at the top of the website. My lessons help you develop skills and build essential awareness.