• Skip to primary navigation
  • Skip to main content
  • Skip to primary sidebar

IELTS with Fiona

IELTS Made Easier

Members Academy
Log in

  • Home
  • Resources
  • Lessons
  • My courses
  • FAQs
  • About me
  • What’s New

IELTS GT Writing Task 1: How to write a letter of complaint

By ieltsetc on December 30, 2019 2

IELTS GT Task 1 How to write a letter of complaint

Some common letters of complaint in the IELTS test are to…

  • a neighbour 
  • a landlord
  • a shop
  • a bus company 

It’s important to get the tone right and remain polite, however angry you are.

Here’s a basic template you can follow.

Get the full lesson and worksheet in The Members Academy.

You are a student at an English language school in London and you have been experiencing some problems in the flat. Write a letter to the landlord. In your letter

 

  • State your reason for writing
  • Describe the problems and explain how you feel
  • Propose a solution and ask the landlord to take action

1. Greetings

How would you start this letter?

This totally depends. I would guess that you know your landlord‘s (first?) name, but it’s probably safer to use Dear Mr/Mrs Smith.

The same goes for your neighbour – this could depend on age/how well you know them, so the rules are quite relaxed.

But for a bus company or shop, use ‘Dear Sir or Madam’.

2. Reason for writing

  • I am writing to complain about..
  • I am writing regarding…
  • I am writing to express my dissatisfaction with…

You may also need to introduce yourself (see model – it’s a good time to use Present Perfect e.g. to say how long you’ve been renting).

3. Introducing the complaint

Start by saying something positive if you want to, and then lead into the problem e.g.

I was extremely happy with the (phone/flat) when I (bought it/moved in). However, I soon started experiencing a number of problems. 

4. The first complaint

  • Firstly/First of all
  • The first problem/complaint/concern is…
  • The first thing I would like to draw your attention to is…

You may not have any other complaints, but it’s good to give further evidence to  justify your complaint.

5. And another thing!

  • Secondly/ Also/ In addition (to this),
  • Furthermore…
  • To make matters worse,
  • Not only was it (cold), it was also (noisy).

Take great care when you start with ‘Not only‘ – it causes ‘inversion’ as you can see here.

Normal word order: IT WAS cold.

Inversion: Not only WAS IT cold,…

6. Mentioning the consequences

  • I’m afraid that…
  • Unfortunately,
  • … which means that(I can no longer work from home)
  • As a consequence, (I was late for class).

7. Reporting what's been said

This is a whole other lesson (coming next), as there are many ways of reporting what you were told by the shop manager or by the bus driver.

Here are a few patterns you can use:

  • I was promised a refund.
  • The shop assistant promised me a refund.
  • Your sales manager promised to get in touch.
  • You promised me that you would fix the heating.

Notice the tense change from:

Direct speech: ‘I’ll fix it’.

Indirect speech: ‘You said you would fix it’.

8. Expressing dissatisfaction

  • I am very disappointed (with the phone).
  • I am not at all pleased (with/about the outcome/decision).
  • I am deeply unhappy (about the way I was treated).

9. Asking for action

  • I suggest that you replace the item.
  • I therefore suggest that I be given a full refund.
  • I would be grateful if you could give me a full refund
  • I would like to request that you send me a replacement
  • I would ask you to fix the problem as a matter of urgency.
  • To resolve the problem, I would appreciate it if you could
  • Unless the problem can be fixed in the next few days, we will be forced to (find alternative accommodation/contact the council/report you).

10. Ending the letter

  • I look forward to hearing from you.
  • I look forward to receiving (a full refund/a replacement/ an apology/ your explanation).
  • I look forward to your reply and a resolution to my problem.

Yours sincerely, … (you know the name of the person you are writing to)

Yours faithfully, ... (you don’t know the name)

Regards or Best regards is also totally acceptable.

Click here for a model answer

Dear Mr Smith

I am one of the tenants at your property in Brick Lane, and am writing to complain about the fact that we do not have any hot water or heating in our house.

As you know, we have been living in this house since June, and have always paid our rent on time. However, we have now been without heating or hot water for two weeks. This is making our lives very uncomfortable, especially as it is the middle of winter. 

Ten days ago you promised to send a workman to our house within 2 days but no one came. After calling many times, the workman eventually arrived at the house five days later. Unfortunately he said he could not fix the problem because the water heater was too old. We are now extremely unhappy about this situation.

We are unable to go on living in the house in these conditions and we would ask you to fix the problem as a matter of urgency. Unless the heater is fixed or replaced within the next 24 hours, we will be forced to look for alternative accommodation. We also request a 50% refund on our rent for the period we have been without any hot water or heating.

We look forward to hearing from you soon.

Regards,

Fiona Wattam

Listen to the full podcast here

Need help with Formal and Informal Writing?

My 28-Day General Training Writing Course is designed to help you develop your ability to write in both formal, informal and semi-formal styles.

It takes you step by step through both Task 1 and Task 2 with

  • daily videos
  • daily emails
  • daily tasks
  • daily worksheets
  • access to me
  • closed Facebook group

Let me know if you have any questions – please leave a message in the comments below.

online IELTS writing course
  • How to use formal language in IELTS Task 2
  • How long will it take to increase my IELTS score?
  • How to show concession in IELTS Writing Task 2
  • How to use conditionals in IELTS Writing
  • Grammar for IELTS: How to write complex sentences

Want to know what’s new?

If you want to hear all about my new lessons, podcasts, YouTube videos, challenges and courses, get your name on my email list (oh you’ll also get my free 28-Day Planner).

Sign up for the free 28-Day Planner.

Reader Interactions

Comments

  1. Savitha says

    August 20, 2020 at 8:34 am

    I am a beginner of ielts. I want to learn about GT all modules.

    Reply
    • ieltsetc says

      August 22, 2020 at 3:18 pm

      Hi Savitha. Well this is a great place to start! Just click on the ‘TABS’ or ‘CATEGORIES’ in the sidebar to find LOTS of useful material to help you with GT all modules.
      Let me know if you need anything specific,
      Best wishes
      Fiona

      Reply

Leave a Reply Cancel reply

Your email address will not be published. Required fields are marked *

This site uses Akismet to reduce spam. Learn how your comment data is processed.

Primary Sidebar

Would you like to support my website?

In order to make sure you get a fantastic experience on my website I don’t use any advertising, and all the costs are paid for out of my own pocket.

If you’d like to help me keep these materials free for everyone, you are more than welcome to buy me a coffee! Many many thanks in advance.

Buy me a coffeeBuy me a coffee

Categories

  • Academic Writing Task 1
  • Grammar
  • GT Writing Task 1
  • IELTS Advice
  • IELTS General Training
  • IELTS Listening
  • IELTS Reading
  • IELTS Speaking
  • IELTS Vocabulary
  • IELTS Writing Task 2

Tags

Academic Reading P1 Academic Reading P2 Academic Reading P3 Agriculture Animals Buildings choosing from list Civilisation Crime education Finance gap-fill listening gap fill reading Gap Fill with answers grammar GT letters GT Reading GT Task 1 Health History ielts tips informal writing Inventions labelling a diagram Matching Headings matching people Matching Statements multiple choice listening multiple choice reading Nature pronunciation Research Speaking Tables Technology TFNG The Arts The environment The Future Transport travel Water work writing task 2 YNNG

What my students are saying:

IELTS with Fiona reviews Charmian

Charmian

From 6.6 to 8!!! Can you believe it? Thanks for everything!

Members Academy student

IELTS with Fiona
5
2020-01-13T09:09:01+00:00

Members Academy student

IELTS with Fiona reviews Charmian
From 6.6 to 8!!! Can you believe it? Thanks for everything!
https://ieltsetc.com/testimonials/charmian/
IELTS with Fiona reviews Shreyas

Shreyas

I was overwhelmed to receive my IELTS results. I got overall of 7.5 in my IELTS exam. Thank you once...

Academy Member

IELTS with Fiona
5
2020-01-13T09:06:30+00:00

Academy Member

IELTS with Fiona reviews Shreyas
I was overwhelmed to receive my IELTS results. I got overall of 7.5 in my IELTS exam. Thank you once again for all resources.
https://ieltsetc.com/testimonials/shreyas/
IELTS with Fiona reviews Sancia

Sancia

I was stuck in writing with 6.5 and with just 2 weeks of preparation from your notes I scored 7.5....

General Training 28-Day Challenge student

IELTS with Fiona
5
2020-01-13T08:43:00+00:00

General Training 28-Day Challenge student

IELTS with Fiona reviews Sancia
I was stuck in writing with 6.5 and with just 2 weeks of preparation from your notes I scored 7.5. I don't have enough words to thank you.
https://ieltsetc.com/testimonials/sancia/

Ipek

I’ve got a very busy life and IELTS Academy was time-saving for me that it involves everything about IELTS in...

Academy Member

IELTS with Fiona
5
2019-12-03T18:16:09+00:00

Academy Member

I’ve got a very busy life and IELTS Academy was time-saving for me that it involves everything about IELTS in one place. Fiona is an excellent teacher with passion and kindness to all of her students. She helped me a lot with IELTS and I improved my scores significantly in a very short time. Some days I had no spare time for studying and I listened her podcasts when I was driving to work and it also helped me a lot! I strongly recommend this course to all IELTS candidates.
https://ieltsetc.com/testimonials/ipek/
IELTS with Fiona reviews Ipek

Lily S

The Academy gave me clear guidelines, study materials and methods to lead me into a high IELTS performance. As I...

Academy Member

IELTS with Fiona
5
2019-12-03T18:12:42+00:00

Academy Member

IELTS with Fiona reviews Ipek
The Academy gave me clear guidelines, study materials and methods to lead me into a high IELTS performance. As I have a super busy career and family life, my study time is very limited. When I first decided to take an IELTS test, I even didn't know where to start. After studying with Fiona for a while, in the first IELTS test, I got Band 8! Thank you so much for your hard work and your professionalism, Fiona!!!
https://ieltsetc.com/testimonials/lily-s/
5
IELTS with Fiona

Work out your current score

IELTS Band Score Calculator

Popular Posts

  • How to use formal language in IELTS Task 2
  • How long will it take to increase my IELTS score?
  • How to show concession in IELTS Writing Task 2
  • How to use conditionals in IELTS Writing
  • Grammar for IELTS: How to write complex sentences

Recent posts

  • How to write an email to someone you don’t know
  • How to use ‘rise’ and ‘raise’
  • How to use have/get something done
  • What is ‘hedging’ in academic writing?
  • Words ending in -able or -ible

Come and see what’s going on

  • Facebook
  • Instagram
  • LinkedIn
  • Pinterest
  • Twitter
  • YouTube

Products

  • IELTS Speaking Mock Test Speaking Mock Test $45.00
  • IELTS Writing Feedback IELTS Writing and Speaking Assessment $99.00
  • Get 8 IELTS Writing Feedback Videos $200.00
  • IELTS Speaking Course syllabus Speaking Course and Mock Test $99.00
  • IELTS WRITING FEEDBACK IELTS Writing Assessment and Feedback Task 1 and Task 2 $50.00

Looking for something specific?

  • Facebook
  • Instagram
  • LinkedIn
  • Pinterest
  • Twitter
  • Vimeo
  • YouTube
  • About me
  • Contact me
  • IELTS Band Score Calculator
  • IELTS Test 28-Day planner
  • Resources
  • My IELTS 10-minute lessons

Copyright © 2021 — IELTS Exam Training Courses • Privacy Policy • Disclaimer • All rights reserved

This site uses cookies: Find out more.