IELTS Formal Letter: Letter to bank manager complaining about missing chequebook (3)

The task

You ordered a new cheque book from your bank two weeks ago, but you have received nothing.

Write a letter to the manager complaining about the bad service. In your letter:

→say when and how you ordered the cheque book
→ask how much longer you will have to wait
→and ask the manager what action he will take over this matter

Write at least 150 words. You do not need to write any addresses. Begin your letter: Dear Sir/Madam,

Model answer

Band 8 sample letter

Band 8178 words. Names and details are invented; write your own.

Dear Sir/Madam,

I am writing to express my dissatisfaction regarding a chequebook I ordered from your branch precisely two weeks ago. Despite the promised delivery timeframe, the documents have yet to arrive at my registered address.

I placed the request on 10th October via your online banking portal, receiving a confirmation reference number: REF-99821. As I have several urgent payments to settle, this delay has caused significant inconvenience to my financial arrangements, and I am concerned that the parcel may have been lost in transit.

Could you please investigate the current status of this order and inform me how much longer I will have to wait? If it has been dispatched, I would appreciate a tracking number to verify its location with the postal service.

Please clarify what steps you intend to take to resolve this failure in service. Specifically, I would like to know if you can expedite a replacement or offer an alternative solution to ensure I can access my funds immediately. I look forward to your prompt response regarding this matter.

Yours faithfully,

Jonathan Sterling

Write your own and get a band

Answer this prompt in a timed General Training writing test and get a band for task achievement, coherence, vocabulary and grammar, with the sentences to fix.

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Examiner's view

Why this scores well

A Band 8 response addresses all three bullet points with specific, logical details and maintains a consistently professional tone throughout. A common Band 6 error is failing to provide a specific action for the manager to take, resulting in an underdeveloped closing paragraph.

→Write to an organisation or someone you do not know: open with Dear Sir or Madam, close with Yours faithfully.
→If you know the person's surname, use Dear Mr or Ms and close with Yours sincerely.
→No contractions, no slang; polite indirect requests such as I would be grateful if you could.

6 phrases

Useful phrases from the letter

dissatisfaction
a feeling of unhappiness because something is not good
timeframe
a period of time during which something is planned
inconvenience
trouble or problems that cause a minor difficulty
in transit
the state of being carried from one place
expedite
to make a process happen sooner or faster
prompt
acting without delay or done immediately

Frequently asked questions

Is this letter formal or informal?+

Formal. Write to an organisation or someone you do not know: open with Dear Sir or Madam, close with Yours faithfully.

How many words should an IELTS General Training letter be?+

At least 150 words, and 160 to 200 is the comfortable range. Spend about 20 minutes on it and leave 40 for Task 2, which carries twice the marks.

What does the examiner look for?+

Keep practising

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