- •Introduction
- •1 Business letter writing
- •2The letter heading and the layout
- •2.1. The parts of the letter
- •2.2. Style of american firms
- •3. Structure and presentation
- •1. Read the following statements and decide which are true t and which are false
- •2. Put the verbs in brackets into either the present simple, (e.G. He works), or the present continuous, (e.G. He is working).
- •3. Put the following names and addresses in order.
- •5. Complete the following letter of enquiry with the correct prepositions.
- •Veto Sport ag
- •3.1. Content and Style
- •1. Read this letter from a computer company to a company trainer, and fill in the blanks with the correct verb taken from the list below.
- •2. Put the phrases below in the correct order to form a letter requesting information.
- •3. Rewrite the following request for payment in a more polite form.
- •4. Other methods of communication
- •4.1. Competition
- •Curriculum vitae
- •Interests/hobbies
- •4.2. Forms
- •4.4. Faxes
- •4.5. Notices
- •4.7. Memoranda
- •5 The enquiry
- •Requests for catalogues and price lists
- •General enquiries and replies
- •Enquiries cliches
- •Enquiries
- •1. Fill in the missing words:
- •3. Match these words from Exercise 2 with their definitions
- •4. Rewrite the following questions in a less direct form, beginning with the words given.
- •5. Make words from the jumbled letters and match them with the definitions in the sentences below.
- •6. John Phillips is telling his secretary what to write when she types out the day's letters. Change his instructions into an acceptable form for business correspondence.
- •7. Complete the following letter of enquiry with the correct prepositions.
- •8. Read this reply to a letter of enquiry. Underline the words in the letter which correspond to the words and phrases below.
- •Glaston potteries Ltd
- •Reply to an enquiries (offers)
- •Replies to enquiries cliches
- •Replies and quotations
- •1. Read the following reply to a letter of enquiry. Mr. Fest refers to specific questions asked by Mr Whang. Which of the items below did he request information about?
- •6. Invoices and adjustments
- •Inform the buyer of the amount due.
- •Invoice
- •Invoice
- •Debit and credit notes
- •Varying the terms of payment
- •Useful expressions
- •7. Letters requesting payment tone
- •Late payments
- •Collection letters
- •Second application letters
- •Third application letters
- •Final collection letters
- •Checklist
- •8. Complaints and adjustment
- •Complaints concerning goods
- •Complaints concerning delivery
- •Checklist
- •Useful expressions
- •Complaints and adjustments
- •In the following sentences, the word in italics is not very appropriate for formal correspondence. Choose a more suitable alternative from the list.
- •British Suppliers plc
- •9. Credit and status enquiries
- •Lending restrictions and bad trade
Final collection letters
If all three applications are ignored, it is reasonable to assume that the customer either cannot, or will not, settle the account. A brief notification of the action that is to be taken must then be sent as a final warning.
Specimen final collection letters
Final letter, following (a)
Dear Sir / Madam
We are surprised and very much regret that we have received no reply to the further letter we sent to you on 28 July regarding the long overdue payment of £105.67 on your account
Our relations in the past have always been good. Even so we cannot allow the amount to remain unpaid indefinitely. Unless the amount due is paid or a satisfactory explanation received by the end of this month, we shall be reluctantly compelled to put this matter in the hands of our solicitors.
Yours faithfully
Final letter, following (b)
Dear Sir/Madam
We are disappointed not to have received any response from you in answer to our letter of 16 March concerning non-payment of the balance of £105.67 outstanding on our December statement.
As our business relations in the past have always been pleasant and friendly, we are now making a final request for payment in the hope that it will not be necessary to hand the matter over to an agent for collection.
We have decided to defer this step for 7 days to give you the opportunity either to pay or at least to send us an explanation.
Yours faithfully
Final letter, following (c)
Dear Sir/Madam
We are quite unable to understand why we have received no reply to our letter of 7 April, our third attempt to secure payment of the balance of £826.62 still owing on your account with us.
We feel that we have shown reasonable patience and treated you with every consideration. However we must now regretfully take steps to recover payment at law, and the matter will be placed in the hands of our solicitors.
Yours faithfully
Checklist
Use a tone which is firm but understanding
Mention when the payment was originally due
State the amount owed
State the penalties if any
Mention the grace period
Give a new deadline
Indicate the consequences
USEFUL EXPRESSIONS
First applications.
Openings
We notice that your account which was due for payment on ..., is still out standing.
We wish to draw your attention to our invoice number ... for £... which remains unpaid.
We most remind you that we have not yet received the balance of our ... statement amounting to £..., payment of which is now more than a month overdue.
Closes
We hope to receive your cheque by return.
We look forward to your payment within the next few days.
As our statement may have gone astray, we enclose a copy and shall be glad if you will pass it for payment immediately.
Second applications
Openings
We do not appear to have had any reply to our request of... for settlement of £... due on our invoice ... dated ...
We regret not having received a reply to our letter of...
We are at a loss to understand why we have received no reply to our letter of requesting settlement of our ... statement in the sum of £...
Closes
We trust you will attend to this matter without further delay.
We must ask you to settle this account by return.
We regret that we must ask for immediate payment of the amount outstanding.
Third applications
Openings
We wrote to you on… and again on … concerning the amount owing on our invoice number…
We have had no reply to our previous requests for payment of our… statement…
We note with surprise and disappointment that we have had no replies to our two previous applications for payment of your outstanding account.
Closes
Unless we receive your cheque in full statement by… we shall have no alternative but to instruct our solicitors to recover the amount due.
Unless we receive your cheque in full settlement by the end of this month, we shall be compelled to take further steps to enforce payment.
We still hope we will settle this account without further delay and thus save you the inconvenience and considerable costs of legal action.