Letter Sample #22 – You ordered a small item online but it was unusable

GT Writing Task 1 (Letter Writing) Sample # 22

You should spend about 20 minutes on this task.

You recently ordered a small item online but when it arrived it was unusable.

Write a letter to the company that sold you the item. In your letter:

  • give details about the order you made
  • explain what was wrong with the item
  • tell the company what you want them to do about it

Write at least 150 words.

You do NOT need to write any addresses.

Begin your letter as follows:

Dear Sir or Madam,


Model Answer 1:

Dear Sir or Madam,

A week ago I ordered a wallet from your online store. I was thrilled when it arrived but very disappointed to find that it was not made of genuine leather and was poorly produced. I am hoping that you would replace it or refund my money.

In relation to the specifics of the order, I purchased this leather wallet through your website called shoppers.com on May 8th using my VISA credit card. The order number is 365148 and I am attaching a copy of the receipt.

The issue with the wallet is that it is not a leather product despite the claim on the product details page. I am unable to store my credit cards inside securely as the placeholders are smaller. The description and picture of the item on your website clearly shows it is a much larger wallet and have two ID window slots, 4 card slots, 2 hidden slots and 2 cash pockets. But the product does not have these features. Finally, the making of the wallet is poor in quality and I am sure this is a manufacturing flaw.

As a solution, and because I really like the design of the wallet I saw on your website, I am hoping that you will agree to send me a leather-made wallet for free with the exact match with the description on the website. Otherwise, I would like a full refund and I will be contacting my bank if I do not hear back from you in regards to this within a week.

Thank you for giving the matter your attention and I hope to hear your reply soon.

Yours faithfully,

David Muller


Model Answer 2:

Dear Sir or Madam,

I have recently received a mobile phone bag from your company after ordering it online. However, the product I ordered does not match with the one I was delivered. I am hoping you would replace it soon.

I ordered for a specific colour (dark brown) mobile phone bag on 18th April 2019 from your online store www.mobilegadget.com and I wanted it to carry my 6-inch mobile phone. But, after receiving it, I found that the bag didn’t quite meet the specifications, which were requested by me. Besides, the width of the bag doesn’t seem to be standard either.

However, I was quite ready to use the bag despite those defects, but I decided against it after noticing a couple of big scratches at the bottom of the synthetic leather bag. So, I guess, it is fair to say that I am really disappointed in your product. Of course, you can change my negative impression of your company by sending me just what I requested online.

But, should you fail to deliver what I requested within the next week, I would expect a full refund, including the charges of using my credit card online, at your earliest convenience. I am sure that you won’t really have anything to disagree with my advice.

Yours faithfully,

John Willow

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