Important nuances of preparing and drafting a claim letter

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The GOST R ISO 10002-2020 standard "Quality management. Customer satisfaction. Guidelines for complaints management in organizations", adopted on April 4, 2021, defines the concept of a complaint as follows:

A complaint is an expression of dissatisfaction:

products;

work of the organization;

directly by the complaints management process in situations where an answer or decision is expected, explicitly or implicitly.

In the event that one company makes a claim against another, it is important that the business partner has actually violated something: a contract, agreement, terms of delivery, rules, regulations or law. Then your claim will be justified, since you demand compliance with the violated obligations.

This is extremely important. When preparing a document, it is necessary to clearly define which rights were violated, which clause of the agreement was not observed, which condition was violated. Otherwise, your claim (complaint) loses its meaning.

How to prepare a letter of complaint

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Another helpful tip: write the letter immediately after the breach of obligations is recorded. This is important for several reasons:

If the guilty party admits their guilt and is willing to correct the situation, there is a very high probability of resolving the problem with minimal losses.

If guilt is denied, the dispute may drag on and albania email list 215428 contact leads escalate into litigation, so the sooner you start it, the better.

Before drafting your letter, make sure you have all the necessary factual information and documentation. This could be a contract or agreement with the offending party, court orders requiring you to take appropriate measures, etc. Prepare copies of all these documents and attach them to the main letter. If you need to refer to articles of regulatory legal acts, prepare all the necessary references in advance.

Even if you are overwhelmed by strong emotions at the moment of writing, it is important to keep the text style businesslike, concise and neutral. It is necessary to avoid rudeness and threats. Perhaps your problem is the result of a misunderstanding, and your partner will be ready to make concessions. In such a situation, it is important to maintain polite communication in order to maintain a good relationship.

At the beginning and end of the text of the complaint, polite formulations are especially important, which create an atmosphere of constructive dialogue.

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Acceptable phrases in the text of the claim:

Phrases at the beginning and end of the claim text Formulations
At the beginning of the text
We are sending you a claim for…

We are making a claim against you in connection with…

We are making a claim against you regarding...

We are sending you the expert report dated _____ No. _____, from which it follows that...

Our customer makes a claim to you regarding the quality of…

A shortage was discovered in a batch of goods shipped...

Upon acceptance of goods received on (date) under consignment note No.… a shortage was found… etc.

At the end of the text
We ask you (offer you) to replace the defective product with a new one (send us a new batch of goods).

We ask you (offer you) to supply the missing goods.

We ask you (offer you) to reimburse the cost of the damaged goods.

We ask you (offer you) to compensate us for the losses we have incurred.

We ask you (offer you) to provide a discount on the price in the amount of ___%.

We ask you (we suggest you) to transfer the amount of ____ to our bank account.

We ask you (offer you) to compensate expenses in the amount of ____, etc.


Typical mistakes when drafting a claim letter
The following mistakes are often encountered when consumers file claims.

No specific requirement

A simple expression of dissatisfaction or a mention of the intention to go to court is not a sufficiently correct presentation of a claim. The claim must contain a specific stated requirement, as provided by law.

Submitting a request for diagnostics or examination

This is similar to the previous error. The responsibility for checking the quality of the goods lies with the seller in the event of a dispute about discrepancies and defects. Therefore, the consumer's request for diagnostics or examination is meaningless in itself.

Lack of a set deadline for correcting deficiencies

Often, consumers demand that defects be corrected, but do not set a specific deadline for this. However, it is the consumer who must indicate to the contractor the time frame for correcting the defects. If the deadlines are not specified, such a claim has no practical value.

Deadline for rectifying defects

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Claim for compensation for moral damages

The decision to award compensation for moral damage is made only by the court. The amount of compensation is also determined by the court. Indicating the need for compensation for moral damage in the claim may indirectly lead to an understanding of your unpreparedness and frivolity. And this opens the possibility of misleading you and manipulation by the defendant.

The text of the claim is a kind of mirror of its author. It is important to formulate the demands clearly and justify them, referring to the rules of law, in order to give a complete picture of yourself as a person who knows the laws and can apply them. The style of presentation allows the defendant to draw a portrait of the applicant and calculate possible scenarios.

Errors in claims are, in fact, a gift to the other party in a dispute, since they:

allow us to judge the personality of the author of the claim (knowledge of his rights as a consumer or frivolity, the ability to manipulate them);

provide an opportunity to prepare for a further dispute (forge, correct documents, correct your mistakes);

they may leave your request unanswered and without any consequences;

provide the opportunity to formally reject the stated claim;

allow the claim review process to be delayed.

To avoid such mistakes, you should entrust the drafting of the claim letter to a profes