Through them, the consumer can denounce a possible infringement or irregularity in the product or service received, or they can demand from the company that provides the service the restoration of the service or product in the conditions initially agreed, or the compensation for damage or injury.

The competent Administration will open proceedings, in order to verify possible reported violations, or process claims that are settled through conflict resolution systems, such as mediation or arbitration.

In Spain, these complaint forms are issued by the Autonomous Communities since it is a decentralized country and the powers had been transferred from the central government to the Communities. Hence, there isn’t one single model in Spain; it varies from one community to another. Similarly, abroad we will find different models, although they always maintain the same characteristics.

Normally, the complaint forms are made up of a unitary set of carbonless forms made up of an original sheet of white color, which will be sent to the Administration by the consumer. There is a second pink copy, which will be for the establishment or service provider in question; and a third copy in green, which will be the proof that the consumer or user must keep. The request for a complaint form is a consumer right and the presentation of it is an obligation on the part of any establishment.

If you don’t want your claim falling on deaf ears and you want it processed properly, it is vital that you complete it correctly. Take into account the following process, step by step:

1. Read the instructions on the back of the claim form.
2. Fill in all the requested fields.
3. The language used should be as standard as possible, avoiding technicality. The facts claimed must be expressed in a simple and clear way.
4. After completing and submitting the claim form at the establishment, the consumer must wait ten business days for them to answer their claim in writing.
5. To process the claim, the consumer must deliver the original to any municipal consumer information office. Keeping the green copy.
6. It is preferable to deliver photocopies and keep the originals.

This is an example of a complaint form:

Download complaint form

Some of the basic terms that we will use when dealing with any complaint or claim that may come to us from our clients are the following:

When you are dealing with complaints, you should listen carefully; be polite; and, except when it is absolutely necessary, don't comment until the customer has finished. Then, make a short, clear apology. After that, you should repeat the complaint. This is to make sure that you have fully understood the problem and that there are no misunderstandings. When possible, you should also note down what the customer has said.

Next, you should decide who will deal with the complaint. If it is not a serious one, you can deal with it yourself. You should explain to the customer the action you plan to take and tell him when it will be done. If you decide that a manager should handle the complaint, you should first inform him and then arrange a meeting between him and the customer.

Some complaints are more serious than others and some customers complain more than others. It is often the responsibility of an individual member of staff to deal with the problem. Sometimes, of course, it is necessary for the staff member to refer an unhappy customer to someone else, such as a manager. Most businesses take complaints very seriously.

If you are dealing with people who are upset, angry or have an apology try this way of handling the situation:

• "I'm sure that we can sort it out."
• "I'm glad that you have brought this to our notice."
• "I'm sorry that you have a problem."

Sometimes it is necessary to reply to a complaint by writing a letter of complaint. If you must do that, below there are some expressions you can use.

The sentence structure in complaint letter or email is divided into paragraphs:

• First paragraph: Thank for previous email or letter and make general apology.

  • We very much regret having given you a cause for complaint.
  • I am sorry to hear that...
  • I am writing to apologise for all the inconveniences...
    • caused by...
    • that arose during your stay/ holiday at...
  • We are sorry that you have had a problem with this product.
  • Please, accept our sincere apologies for this delay and the trouble it has caused you.
  • I would like to apologise for the error made by our company in. (verb+ing)

  • While we can understand your frustration ....

• Second paragraph: Make specific apology and give explanations or reasons for each complaint.

  • Concerning..., I would like to explain that...
  • With reference to..., I must sat that...
  • Regarding... , I was surprised to hear that... ; we are looking into the matter and hope to give you an explanation as soon as we find out what happened.
  • While we understand that... was inconvenient/ not to your satisfaction, we must remind you that.../ we must tell you that we are not responsible for...
  • I would like you to accept our apologies for (the lack of... the poor standard in...).

  • We understand how disappointing it can be when your expectations are not met.

• Third paragraph: offer some kind of compensation (if applicable), investigate the complaint, accept our responsibility, give an immediate solution

  • Offer some kind of compensation (if applicable):
    • We apologise for the delay and enclose compensation.
    • As a sign of our concern, we would like to offer...

    • Although it is difficult to compensate you for the inconveniences suffered, we would like you to accept...

  • Investigate the complaint:
    • Steps are been taken immediately to ...

    • Your claim has been passed on to our .... department who will get in touch with you soon.

  • Accept our responsibility:
    • After investigating your complaint, we have ascertained that an error was made in our dispatch department.
      
    • We agree that the usual high standards of our products/services were not met in this instance.
      
    • As a result of our investigation, we found that ...
      
    • The error was caused by ... /was due to ...
    • Apparently, the problem was the result of ...
    • The cause of / reason for the mistake was ...
    • Steps are being taken to ensure that such mistakes do not occur in the future.
    • We have implemented a system to ..
  • Give an immediate solution:
    
    • A replacement for the faulty equipment was dispatched today.
      
    • As a gesture of our regret, we are prepared to .../ we are willing to .../ we would like to ...
      
    • To show goodwill, we will offer ...
      
    • I´m sorry but we cannot assume any liability as the delay was out of our control.
    • We therefore suggest you to contact ...
    • To prevent a recurrence we have set up a verification procedure.

    • We assure you that this will not happen again.

• Fourth paragraph: Repeat apology/promise it will not happen again and farewell.

  • We would like to apologise again, and can assure you that such situations will not occur in the future.
  • We have detected the problem, and have taken immediate action to ensure it does not happen again.
  • We look forward to receiving your further orders, and assure you that they will be met correctly/promptly.

Sometimes the difference between resolving a consumer complaint and not doing it rests heavily on how you complain.

Here you have a sample of a complaint letter template.

Here is the main part of a letter of complaint to British Corporation.

Here is the reply from the Manager.

Here you have a sample fo a complaint email template.

Telephoning can be the most difficult communication skill, and dealing with negative situations such as problems and complaints is the trickiest situation that most people come across. Dealing with complaints on the phone is therefore a double challenge.

Leading up to complaints on the phone: The most important part of smoothly making and dealing with complaints is how you start. As in complaints by email and face to face communication, this generally means starting complaints as slowly and indirectly as you can.

Making complaints by telephone: The easiest and most common way to do this is to first of all give the topic of the call without saying that there is a problem associated with it yet, with phrases like:

• “I’m calling / I’m phoning about the latest batch of books.”
• “I need to speak to someone about my desktop computer”
• “You remember that I ordered some samples of the new model last week?”
• “Have I phoned at a good time?”
• “So, did you see my email about…?”

Especially with important business relationships, you can lead up to the topic of the phone call with polite phrases like:

• “Sorry to ring again so soon but…/ Sorry to trouble you again but…/Sorry to phone so early in the morning/ so late in the evening/ at lunchtime”
• “I’m sure you’re very busy, but…”

When you get down to the actual complaint, it is quite common to start with giving bad news language. Although it is almost certainly not your fault, these phrases are quite similar to apologising phrases, e.g.

• “I’m sorry to say that…”
• “Sorry to inconvenience you but…”
• “I’m afraid…/ Unfortunately…”
• “I regret to (have to) say that/ inform you that…”

Typical words and phrases to explain the actual complaints include:

• “there is something wrong with…/there has been a problem with…/ there is an issue with…”
• “we’re having some trouble with…”
• “… didn’t arrive (on time).”/ “…hasn’t arrived (yet).”
• “… isn’t (quite) what I ordered.”
• “… doesn’t (exactly) match…”
• “… wasn’t (quite) what I expected”
• "I’m not very happy with…”
• “I was given the wrong information about…”
• “…is/ was delayed / late / is missing.”
• “… isn’t suitable for / doesn’t work (properly) / isn’t compatible with…”
• “… is out of date.”

Responding to complaints on the phoneOnce the complaint has been made, the receiver will generally reply with at least a sympathetic phrase to show their concern and that they understand the feelings of the caller such as (in approximate order of usefulness):

• “I’m (very) sorry to hear that.”
• “That sounds awful/terrible/ like a (right) pain”
• “Hmmm, that is a problem!”
• “That must be very  annoying/ inconvenient/ You must be very worried/ stressed”
• “You surprise me! / No? Really?”
• “Wow. I wonder how that could have happened.”

Nice phrases for apologising:

• “I’m (really/ so/ very) sorry about that/ for the inconvenience.”
• “Please accept my/ our (sincerest) apologies (for any inconvenience caused/ for…)”
• “I really am (very/ terribly/ most terribly) sorry (about that).”
• “I do apologise/I apologise wholeheartedly/ unreservedly”
• “I cannot say/ express how sorry I am (about that).”
• “I (of course) take full responsibility for…”
• “Can I just check (what the problem is)? / Can I ask (what aspect of it you aren’t happy with)?”
• “Could you tell me (when you were expecting it to arrive)?”
• “I just need to check (if you mean)…/ I just need to know (a few more details)”
• “Would you mind telling me (the order number)?”

Before or after finding out more details:

• “If you send it back, I’ll be happy to give you a full refund.”
• “I’ll check what has happened to the order and phone you right back.”
• “Would you like me to send you a replacement?”
• “Shall I get an engineer to come round and check it?”

Positive replies to requests for action include:

• “Of course. I’ll do that straightaway.”
• “That’s no problem. I’ll deal with it right away.”
• “It’s the least I can do. I’ll make sure it happens (by close of business) today.”
• “Sure. I was just about to suggest that myself.”
• “That is no problem at all. I’ll investigate it fully and get back to you by the end of this week.”

Polite negative replies to requests for action include:

• “Hmm, that might be a bit difficult.”
• “I’m afraid in this kind of situation we usually…/ I’m sorry but for that you’d need to talk to…”
• “Unfortunately, it’s not generally our policy to…”

You could also suggest an alternative course of action:

• “However, we can offer you…”
• “Instead of that, how about…?”
• “In that case, how about…?”
• “Can I suggest… instead then?”

Some referring the problem to someone else phrases are:

• “I’ll check with my boss and…”
• “The person you need to speak to about this is… I’ll just get his/ her number for you”

Ending complaint phone callsThe caller can also move towards that point with phrases like:

• “So, I think that’s all I needed to discuss, thanks.”
• “Well, I think that’s dealt with everything, thank you/ Well then, that seems to have covered everything, thanks.
• “Thanks for all your help. / Thanks (again) for letting us know.”
• “I look forward to your call.”
• “Speak to you soon.”
• “Please let me know if there are any other problems.”
• “As I said, I’ll phone back…”

Ending a phone call phrases to match a negative situation, but hopefully not too directly. Include:

• “Sorry I couldn’t be more helpful.”
• “Hope I can be more helpful next time.”
• “Thanks anyway./ Thanks for your patience./ Thanks for your understanding”

Many common function words have both a strong form and a weak form.

For example, them has a strong form /ðem/ but a weak form /ðəm/. Unless the word is specially emphasised, it is usually pronounced in its weak form.

All these words have a strong form and a weak form: can, must, are, was, from, than, of.