12+ Formal Complaint Letter Samples & Formats

Want to lodge a complaint in writing but have no idea how to do that? Well, don’t worry because here in this article, we have 12+ formal complaint letter samples and formats that can help you understand how to write a perfect formal complaint letter. Moreover, these complaint letter samples are available in editable Microsoft Word format so that you can easily edit the contents of the sample of your choice and use it according to your need.

What is a Complaint Letter?

A complaint letter is a formal letter that is used to file or lodge a complaint or to address any type of wrongdoing, offense, or grievance. Such type of letter is written to raise your concern about anything unfair and seek the best possible outcome. The most common type of complaint letter is the one that is written in a situation when you receive a defective product or in case of delayed shipment. However, there are some other types of complaint letters too, like:

• Complaint letter for salary delay.
• A complaint letter to the landlord for repairs.
• A complaint letter to a club addressing an issue.
• A complaint letter to your own organization.
• A complaint letter to the grocery store for billing mistakes.
• Letter to complain about poor internet services.
• Letter to complain about racial discrimination in the workplace.
• Complaint letter about poor conditions of a casualty ward.
• A complaint letter to hotel management.
• Letter to complain about poor workmanship or poor performance.

All of the complaint letters for the above-mentioned types are provided below. Make sure to check out these templates as all of these samples are customizable and can be edited and used very easily.

Get Complaint Letter Samples Here

Complaint Letter to a Hotel Management

To,

[Name of Recipient] [Designation of Recipient] [Hotel Name]

Date:

Subject: Complaint Letter to a Hotel Management

Dear Mr./Mrs. [name of the Recipient],

For celebrating the new year holidays, I booked three double suites number 127, 128, and 129 at your hotel, [name of the Hotel]. I booked these suites for me and my family from 26-12/2018 to 05-01-2019. I would like to lodge a complaint to you as the hotel did not meet our expectations and fell far short of what was described in the brochure.

The rooms were billed as four-star accommodation but honestly, they were even below-the-average accommodations. The furniture, bedsheets, pillow covers were not clean and the sanitary conditions of the attached bathrooms were also quite poor.

The food provided by the hotel was just of average quality. I also lodged a complaint with the front office regarding these issues but no action was taken by them. I am sorry to say this but the stay at your hotel ruined our holiday. So I would like to have a full refund of the amount that I paid as the bill of stay in your hotel. Please find attached with this letter a copy of the original bill and some photographs for evidence purposes.

Looking forward to a quick reply from you.  

Thanks!

Yours Sincerely,

[Sender Name] [Sender Signature] [Sender Address] [Sender Contact Details]

Complaint Letter to Contractor About Poor Workmanship or Poor Performance

To,

[Name of Recipient] [Address of Recipient] [Organization Name]

Date:

Subject: Complaint Letter to Contractor About Poor Workmanship or Poor Performance

Dear Mr./Mrs. [name of the Recipient],

I am writing this letter to file a complaint about poor workmanship and poor performance from you and your workers.

Before hiring, I made contact with your references and most of them highly speak of you. So I hired you and entered into a contract with you on [mention Date], for [mention the details and brief description of work]. As per our contract, you were required to finish this work by [mention Date], which is already delayed by [mention number of Days].

The overall performance of you and your team was very unsatisfactory. Your employees are quite lazy at work and most of them don’t attend to their work on a daily basis. As per the current situation, I am concerned and question your ability to finish the job and fulfill your obligations of the contract.

So I request you to give me a call or reply in writing about how you plan to finish the work. If you fail to contact me within [mention Days], I will be forced to cancel the contract and hire a new contractor. Then I will meet you in court to claim my damages.  

Thanks a lot!

Yours Sincerely,

[Sender Name] [Sender Signature] [Sender Address] [Sender Contact Details]

Complaint Letter to Grocery Store for Billing Mistakes

To,

[Name of Recipient] [Designation of Recipient] [Name of the Grocery Store]

Date:

Subject: Complaint Letter to Grocery Store for Billing Mistakes

Dear Mr./Mrs. [name of the Recipient],

I would like to file a complaint to you about a billing mistake I encountered at your grocery store. Two days ago I was at your grocery store, [name of the Grocery Store], for my monthly grocery purchasing. The total bill amounted to $600 and I paid it through my credit card.

Yesterday I received my credit card statement and an amount of $600 was deducted two times on the same date and same time. I am sure that there must be a mistake while billing as the guy at the counter was having some problems while using the credit card machine.

So I request you to kindly credit an amount of $600 to my account that was charged twice by mistake. Please find attached with this letter the copy of the original bill. For any queries or details, feel free to contact me at any time.

Thanks a lot!

Yours Sincerely,

[Sender Name] [Sender Signature] [Sender Address] [Sender Contact Details]

Complaint Letter to Landlord for Repairs

To,

[Name of Recipient] [Address of Recipient]

Date:

Subject: Complaint Letter to Landlord for Repairs

Dear Mr./Mrs. [name of the Recipient],

I am your tenant residing in your property, [full address of the Property]. I am facing a major plumbing and leakage issue in the attached bath of the bedroom. I waited to inform you about that as I thought it is a minor leakage and would stop but it did not. It’s been over a month now and sometimes, the water from the bathroom even flows out towards the room.

As per our tenancy agreement, it is your responsibility to carry out any major repairs. I have never asked for anything else because there has been no issue here since I live, except this one. I hope that you will take action to resolve this problem within the next week. However, if my request is ignored then I will be forced to employ a plumber to get the problem fixed and will deduct the cost from my monthly rentals.  

Thanks a lot!

Yours Sincerely,

[Sender Name] [Sender Signature] [Sender Address] [Sender Contact Details]

Complaint Letter to Principal About Teacher’s Behavior

To,

[Name of Recipient] [Designation of Recipient] [Institute’s Name]

Date:

Subject: Complaint Letter to Principal About Teacher’s Behavior

Dear Mr./Mrs. [name of the Recipient],

I am John Swift, a student of 8^th Grade at Apple International School. I am writing this letter, on behalf of my whole class, to file a complaint about the bad behavior of our Science teacher, Mr. Austin.

No doubt he is an excellent teacher of his subject and we respect his capabilities but as far as his behavior with us students is concerned, I am sorry to say that he is quite a rude person. He does not show respect towards the students and whenever someone asks a question, he starts to shout and degrade the student who asked the question.

I hope that you understand that being students if we are not allowed to ask questions then what we will learn. Thus, his discouraging behavior towards the students shakes their morale and lowers their confidence to question.

All of us belong to good families who taught us to respect our teachers. We love and respect all of our teachers just like our parents. But I am afraid, this kind of rude behavior from Mr. Austin or any other teacher can be disastrous for the reputation of the school.

So, on behalf of all my class, I request you to kindly inquire and resolve this issue as soon as possible. I am afraid if Mr. Austin does not change his behavior towards the students, we will not be able to continue our studies here and will be forced to change the school. I hope you will take some prompt action in this regard.

Thanks a lot!

Yours Obediently,

[Student Name] [Student Signature] [Student Class Details]

Complaint Letter About Poor Conditions of Casualty Ward of a Hospital

To,

[Name of Recipient] [Designation of Recipient] [Hospital Name]

Date:

Subject: Complaint Letter About Poor Conditions of Casualty Ward of a Hospital

Dear Mr./Mrs. [name of the Recipient],

I am writing this letter to file a complaint to you and bring to your attention the poor and chaotic conditions of the casualty ward of your hospital, [name of the Hospital]. I was shocked to see such a poor situation in one of the well-known and famous hospitals in the city.

Yesterday, I brought a victim of a ‘hit and run’ road accident case with me. I requested the doctors in the casualty department to attend to the patient as he was continuously bleeding and his condition was getting worse. Instead of offering help and taking quick action, they preferred that the case should be first attended by the local police. Furthermore, I was also asked to submit an amount of [mention the Amount] at the counter so that they could admit him and start preparing for his treatment. I did not know what to do at that moment as I did not know the victim and I just helped him just out of a sense of humanity.

Fortunately, I met one of my relatives there who was an advocate by profession. He asked the doctors to begin with the treatment and warned them that as per the law, the case could go against them if they do not proceed with the treatment immediately or waited for the police inquiry. Only then did the doctors agree and started preparing for the victim’s treatment but it was already too late and sadly, the victim actually died. The negligence of doctors in such a sensitive situation took the precious life of a person.

I hope that you will personally inquire about this matter and take strict action against the guilty so that any such incident that destroys the name of such a reputable hospital or defames the sacredness of such a noble profession, may never happen again in the future.     

Thanks a lot!

Yours Sincerely,

[Sender Name] [Sender Signature] [Sender Address] [Sender Contact Details]

Complaint Letter About Poor Internet Service

To,

[Name of Recipient] [Designation of Recipient] [Service Provider Name]

Date:

Subject: Complaint Letter About Poor Internet Service

Dear Mr./Mrs. [name of the Recipient],

I am writing this letter to file a complaint to you about the poor internet service and poor internet connection. I am a customer of your reputed broadband company, [name of the Company] having the customer ID number, [mention Customer ID number]. I have to face the problem of a slow internet connection many times during the day. Every time I have to restart the modem and then after some time, the internet browsing speed starts getting dead slow.

I have lodged many complaints on the helpline number but the issue still remains unresolved. So, it is my humble request to you to kindly take immediate action on my complaint and resolve this issue as quickly as possible.

Thanks a lot!

Yours Sincerely,

[Sender Name] [Sender Signature] [Sender Address] [Sender Contact Details]

How to Write a Perfect Complaint Letter?

As mentioned earlier, a complaint letter is a formal letter and that’s why it should be written and drafted professionally. The sample complaint letter formats are provided for that purpose so that you can easily use a complaint letter for personal purposes. However, if you want to know how to write a perfect complaint letter from scratch, then make sure to follow the given below steps:

• Make sure to address the letter to a specific person. It is better if you mention the name of the recipient in full.
• The most important thing to remember while writing a complaint letter is to keep in mind that mostly the errors or mistakes, for which a complaint letter is written, are unintentional. Most businesses try to resolve complaints quickly so as to have satisfied customers and to maintain brand reputation.
• Before writing a complaint letter, make sure to organize your facts so as to make your complaint legitimate.
• Keep the overall tone of the letter positive although you might be angry or offended but still, it is important to stay positive.
• Make sure to keep your letter brief and to-the-point. Write short paragraphs so as to make it easily readable and understandable for the reader.
• Avoid the use of any kind of aggressive, accusing, or abusive language.
• While writing a complaint letter, be direct, honest and straightforward so that your claim or complaint stands legitimate.
• Warn the reader about taking legal actions only if you can practically follow through with it.
• Don’t forget to include your contact details in the letter.
• Send only the photocopies of the original documents and retain the original.
• Also keep a copy of your complaint letter for record.
• Before finalizing your letter, make sure to review and recheck it for any grammatical and spelling mistakes or errors.

Complaint Letter About Racial Discrimination at the Workplace

To,

[Name of Recipient] [Designation of Recipient] [Organization Name]

Date:

Subject: Complaint Letter About Racial Discrimination at the Workplace

Dear Mr./Mrs. [name of the Recipient],

I, Joe Daniels, the Assistant Finance Manager at [name of the Company], am writing this letter to formally file a complaint against my manager, Mr. David White. In a meeting held on July 26, 2018., Mr. White passed on some hurtful remarks saying that “Joe is not going to get any promotion because we don’t promote Blacks here”. It hurts me to mention that he actually used the ‘N Word’. This racist comment was also heard by Nina Williams from the Accounts Department and Richard Summers from the Sales Department. You can also verify from them as they will surely confirm this for you.

This is a clear case of racial discrimination and it really hurt me emotionally and mentally and affected my productivity too. Therefore, I am asking for your support and help and to take the best possible action against Mr. White so that he never passes such types of comments ever again, at least at the workplace.

Feel free to contact me any time. Looking forward to a quick response from you.  

Thanks a lot!

Yours Sincerely,

[Sender Name] [Sender Signature] [Sender Designation] [Sender Contact Details]

Complaint Letter for Delay in Sending the Order/Consignment

To,

[Name of Recipient] [Designation of Recipient] [Recipient’s Company Name]

Date:

Subject: Complaint Letter for Delay in Sending the Order/Consignment

Dear Mr./Mrs. [name of the Recipient],

I would like to lodge a complaint to you for the delay in sending the order/consignment to me. On [mention Date], I ordered 100 HP 1201 Color Printers for my office. The order was to be delivered on [mention Date of Delivery] but it got late by 5 days already and we have not received my order yet.

This late delivery of the order from your side caused us a lot of trouble in carrying out our daily administrative tasks. Kindly check whether or not the order is actually shipped or if it is shipped, then why it is not delivered to us yet. I will be looking forward to a reply from you. Feel free to contact me any time.

Yours Sincerely,

[Sender Name] [Sender Signature] [Sender Address] [Sender Contact Details]

Complaint Letter for Receiving Damaged Goods

To,

[Name of Recipient] [Designation of Recipient] [Recipient’s Company Name]

Date:

Subject: Complaint Letter for Receiving Damaged Goods

Dear Mr./Mrs. [name of the Recipient],

Two days ago I ordered a custom wooden clock from your website, [name of Business/website]. I paid [mention amount] through credit card and today I received my product. Unfortunately, the wooden clock was broken into several pieces as if it got crushed by something heavy.

So, I request you to kindly replace this broken clock with a new one as I would still like to have it. I am returning the broken pieces to your address and I hope that you will deliver a new one for me as quickly as possible.

Thanks a lot!

Yours Sincerely,

[Sender Name] [Sender Signature] [Sender Address] [Sender Contact Details]

Complaint Letter for Receiving a Defective Product

To,

[Name of Recipient] [Designation of Recipient] [Recipient’s Company Name]

Date:

Subject: Complaint Letter for Receiving a Defective Product

Dear Mr./Mrs. [name of the Recipient],

I ordered an iPhone 13 Pro Max from your online store, [name of the Online Store], and made a payment of [mention Amount] through my credit card. I would like to file a complaint that the phone you delivered is defective. It does not have the complete features of the original product and its screen has some small scratches too.

So it is my humble request to you that kindly replace the product as soon as possible. However, if you are not able to replace it, make sure to refund me the amount that I paid to you. Looking forward to a quick response from you.

Yours Sincerely,

[Sender Name] [Sender Signature] [Sender Address] [Sender Contact Details]

Complaint Letter for Salary Delay

To,

[Name of Recipient] [Designation of Recipient] [Organization Name]

Date:

Subject: Complaint Letter for Salary Delay

Dear Mr./Mrs. [name of the Recipient],

I am writing this letter to file my complaint to you about the delay in my monthly salary. It is already [mention Date] and I have not yet received my salary. I am working for the company for about five years and have never faced any such issue, except for the last six months, my salary is often credited lately to my account. I also complained about this to the Accounts Manager, Mr./Mrs. [name of the Manager] but all in vain.

I am a dedicated employee of this company who has always worked hard and finished all the projects assigned to me on time. As per my employment contract, the company will pay my salary on [mention Date] of every month.

I hope that you will personally take this matter into consideration and will take steps to ensure that this will not happen again and all the employees receive their salaries on time.

Thanks a lot!

Yours Sincerely,

[Sender Name] [Sender Signature] [Sender Designation] [Sender Contact Details]

Complaint Letter to a Club or Organization

To,

[Name of Recipient] [Designation of Recipient] [Organization Name]

Date:

Subject: Complaint Letter to a Club or Organization

Dear Mr./Mrs. [name of the Recipient],

I just want to recall that our club, [name of Club] was founded solely for promoting books and book reading. Our purpose was to meet once a week and encourage book reading and talking about different and interesting new and old books. However, from the last few months, I have observed that some club members are continuously indulging in time-wasting political debates and trying to impose their political views or the political narrative of their beloved parties on others by force.

As you know I have nothing against discussing politics or current issues but I don’t want to ruin the sole purpose of the formation of this club. I just wanted to let you know about my thoughts and I hope that in our next meeting, you will discuss this matter and some serious actions will be taken in this regard.

Thanks!

Yours Sincerely,

[Sender Name] [Sender Signature] [Sender Address] [Sender Contact Details]