1. Unit 11 Complaints, Disputes and Claims
Introduction
Writing skills
Specimen letters
Words and expressions
Useful sentences
Exercise

2. 11.1 Introduction
disputes
claims
complaints

3. Answer the following questions:
What are the reasons for claims?
What are the two kinds of complaints made by a buyer? What are the reasons for a buyer to make a justified complaint?
What are the reasons for disputes in international trade?

4. 11.2 Writing skills Basic Rules of writing a letter of complaint/claim
Rules of answering a letter of complaint/claim

5. 11.2.1 Basic Rules of writing a letter of complaint/claim
Begin by regretting the need to complain
Make a clear reference to the subject of the complaint and briefly state what the problem is
Describe clearly what exactly has happened and what might happen if the problem isn’t solved
State what action you expect to be taken

6. 1. Begin by regretting the need to complain
We feel regretful that the goods are not in accordance with your samples.

7. 2. Make a clear reference to the subject of the complaint and briefly state what the problem is.
eg. We are writing to complain about the shipment of 2000 sets of bicycles under our contract No.101 received yesterday. After examination, we found the goods are short-delivered by 50 sets.

8. 3. Describe clearly what exactly has happened and what might happen if the problem isn’t solved.
eg. The cargo delivered to us are not in good condition up to standard. We therefore request you to replace these goods immediately, otherwise any further delay will certainly reflect seriously on your credit.

9. 4. State what action you expect to be taken.
eg. As this lot of goods is or no use at all to us, we require you refund the invoice amount and inspection fee of the goods amounting to US$ 10,000.

10. Direct your complaint to the right person Be specific
Other things to notice
Direct your complaint to the right person
Be specific
Supply important details
Be concise

11. 11.2.2 Rules of answering a letter of complaint/claim
The first thing that has to be decided is whether the complaint is justified. If so, then you have to admit it readily; express your regret and promise to put matters right.
If the complaint is not justified, point this out politely and in an agreeable manner. It would be a wrong policy to refuse the claim offhand.
If you cannot deal with a complaint promptly, acknowledge it at once. Explain that you are looking into it and that you will send a full reply later.
All complaints should be treated as serious matters and thoroughly investigated.

12. 1. The first thing that has to be decided is whether the complaint is justified. If so, then you have to admit it readily; express your regret and promise to put matters right.
Eg. With reference to your claim No.11 for a short weight of 1120kg chemical fertilizer, we wish to express our much regret over the unfortunate incident.

13. 2. If the complaint is not justified, point this out politely and in an agreeable manner. It would be a wrong policy to refuse the claim offhand.
eg.We can assure you that the goods in question were in perfect condition when they left here. We have the clean B/L to support what we say. Maybe the damage complained of must have occureed in transportation.

14. 3. If you cannot deal with a complaint promptly, acknowledge it at once. Explain that you are looking into it and that you will send a full reply later.
eg. So we have sent our representative to your end to investigated the matter in detail. We would not give any comment before our representative inspects the goods. We will soon let you know the date of this visit and hope you will give him your best cooperation.

15. All complaints should be treated as serious matters and thoroughly investigated.

16. 11.3 specimen letters
See textbook

17. Letter (1)
Our Order No. 4312
We duly received the documents and took delivery of the goods on arrival of the s. s. “Isabella” at Hamburg.
We are much obliged to you for the prompt execution of this order. Everything appears to be correct and in good condition except in case No. 71.
Unfortunately, when we opened this case we found it contained completely different articles, and we can only presume that a mistake was made and the contents of this case were for another order.

18. Letter (1)
As we need the articles we ordered to complete deliveries to our new customers, we must ask you to arrange for the dispatch of replacements at once. We attach a list of the contents of case No.71, and shall be glad if you will check this with our order and the copy of your invoice.
In the meantime we are holding the above-mentioned case at your disposal; please let us know what you wish us to do with it.

19. Letter (2)
Your Order No 4312 per s. s. “Isabella”
Thank you for your letter of February 10 informing us that the consignment was delivered promptly, we appreciate your straightforwardness in pointing out that case No. 71 did not contain the goods you ordered.
On going into the matter we find that a mistake was indeed in the packing through a confusion of numbers, and we have arranged for the right goods to be dispatched to you at once. Relative documents will be mailed as soon as they are ready.

20. Letter (2)
We have already cabled to inform you of this, and enclose a copy of the telegram.
Please keep case No. 71 and its contents until called for by our Commercial Counsellor’s Office, whom we have informed of matter accordingly.
We were sorry for the trouble caused you by the error and wish to assure you that care will be taken in the execution of your further orders.

21. go into Def: 研究，商谈 在接到你方详细规格后，我方再进一步研究你方定单。
We shall go further into your order after receipt of your detailed specifications.
Go through 检查
我们查阅过档案，知道有关的信用证已寄送给你方。
We have gone through [over] our files and find that the relevant L/C has been sent to you.

22. Call for Def: demand 要求，需要 Example
Contract No. 101 calls for delivery of 15 tons of chemical fertilizer in July, 1985.
第101号合同要求1985年7月运交化肥15吨。

23. 11.4 Words

24. Quantity claim
Quality claim
Settlement of claim
Reject a claim
Disputes
Discrepancy and claim clause
Force Majeure
Acts of God
Arbitration
Arbitration clause
Surveyor’s report
Arbitral award
Inferior/improper/faulty/defective packing
Short delivery
Non-delivery
Inferior quality
Different quality
Breakage

25. 表示索赔的原因，一般接for, 如claim for damage; 表示索赔的金额，一般接for, 如claim for US$1000;
表示对某批货物索赔，一般接on, 如claim on the goods;
表示向某人索赔，一般接against，如claim against the underwriters.

26. claim against a person
向某人索赔
claim arising from a breach of the contract
违约所引起的索赔
to claim(a compensation of ) …from sb. for sth.
为某事向某人索赔若干金额
eg. We should claim US$ 1500 from you for the loss caused by improper packing.
我们必须为由于不良包装所造成的损失向你方索赔1500美元。

27. to lodge a claim against (on, with)…
to make/file/raise a claim against(on, with)…向……提出索赔
eg1. This guarantee shall be valid only for claims lodged with this bank on or before May 1, 2005.
本担保在2005年5月1日之前向银行提出索赔有效。

28. eg2. The goods are short-landed by 1000 kilos; therefore we raise a claim against you.
货物到达时短缺1000公斤，因此我们向你方提出索赔。
eg3. We have raised a claim on ABC Trading Company on account of damage.
我方因货物破损向ABC贸易公司提出索赔。

29. Disposal 处理，处置 at sb.’s disposal 由某人做主，听某人之便，由某人支配
put (or leave) sth. at sb.’s disposal
把某事交某人自由处理
eg. We will leave the case No at your disposal.
我们将把1-19号箱的货交你方自行处理。

30. refund v.归还偿还 n.归还额，偿还额 refund the excess on a tax 归还多收的税款
refund the goods to the seller 把货物归还卖方
obtain a refund of a deposit 获得保证金的退款
refundable 可归还的，可偿还的。
eg. The bid bond is refundable to those bidders who are not the winner.
对于不中标者， 投标保证金予以退还。

31. 11.5 useful sentences
On checking the goods received, we find that several items on your invoice have not been included; we enclose a list of the missing articles for your inspection.
Although the quality of these goods is not up to that of our usual line, we are prepared to accept the goods if you will reduce the price, say by 20%.

32. We were very sorry to receive your complaint that the material you received was not of the quality expected.
We are extremely sorry about this delay, which you will realize was due to circumstances beyond our control.

33. What you complained about is now under investigation, which , however, will take time; we shall let you know the result at the conclusion of it.
Without actual sample in proof of the defect we cannot make a minute investigation; therefore, it is imperative that you furnish us with a sample without delay.
We think the best procedure will be to have the pieces examined by an expert, and we are arranging for this to be done.

34. Keys to Ex. IV
1. We regret having to inform you that, upon checking, we found in the shipment a short weight of 100 kgs which can be evidenced by the attached survey report.
2. We have just received your letter of September 28 informing us that 20 bags of Sugar supplied to the subject order arrived broken and seriously damaged by seawater.
3. Please rest assured that we will try our best to satisfy you as possibly as we can if we are the one to be held responsible for the loss.
4. Such being the case, we regret that we can’t entertain your claim and would advise you to file a claim against the shipping company who should be held responsible.

35. Keys to Ex. V (1)
1. We regret very much that it is necessary to complain about the non-delivery of the 1,000 tons of sugar under Contract No.BC-023.
2. As regards claims, our insurance company can only accept the actual part of the loss that is over 5%.
3. The 100 Coffee Sets supplied to the Order No.U89 were delivered yesterday, but we regret that 15 sets were badly damaged.
4. We are sorry to learn from your letter of 30 May that you find our serge supplied to your order No.5310 not up to sample.

36. Keys to Ex. V(2)
5. We have duly received the goods ordered, but regret to find they were damaged by seawater, and actually were almost discarded as useless.
6. While we agree that your products enjoy a good reputation here, we have to point out there is still much room for your quality to be further improved.
7. We are very sorry to inform you that your claim against us for short weight is unsuited to the international insurance claim standards specified in the policy.
8. We really hate to lodge claims on the damaged goods, but the recurrence of the breakage resulted from your negligence does not allow us to waive our rights endowed by the contract.

37. Keys to Ex. VI Re: Your Claim on 1,800 lbs Chemical Fertilizer
With reference to your letter of 6th August in which a claim has been lodged for a short delivery of 1,800 lbs chemical fertilizer, we express our deepest regret over the unfortunate incident. You must have had much difficulty in meeting the orders of your clients.
After a check-up by our warehouse staff, it was found that 40 bags had not been packed in 5-ply strong paper bags as stipulated in the contract, resulting in breakage during transit. This was due entirely to negligence on the part of the warehouse managers, for which we, the exporter, tender our apologies.
We therefore enclose our check No. BN332 for US$1, in full and final settlement of your claims. Please acknowledge receipt in due course.
We hope this matter will not affect our good relations in our future dealings.
Yours faithfully

38. Keys to Workshop 1 Dear Sirs,
We regret to have to complain about non-delivery of our Order No. PO-03 for ten thousand tons of groundnuts. In the above order, it was clearly stipulated that one half was to be delivered in a month. Now that one and a half months have passed and the parcel has not been delivered, nor has any explanation been given. We, therefore, ask you to look into the matter and let us know when the parcel can be delivered.
Yours faithfully

39. Keys to Workshop 2 Letter One: Dear Sirs,
Our Purchase Order No. GL86 for 80 tons of Garlic
We have just received from Japanese CIB a survey report, justifying short-weight of 2,530 kgs of the above order. The comprehensive survey indicates that the short-weight was caused by improper packing, for which the suppliers are responsible. We, therefore, on the basis of the survey report issued by the Japanese CIB, request you to dispatch the quantity short-delivered as soon as possible. Enclosed is the survey report No.（2008）347.
Yours truly

40. Letter 2:
Dear Sir or Madam:
Thanks for your letter and enclosures, in which you lodged a claim on the inferior quality of the kidney beans shipped by S/S “Changfeng”.
As the consignment is surveyed and tested by the national authoritative survey organization, we thus confirm the acceptance of your claim for the amount required. Enclosed please find a bill of draft No. BOC863, amounting to USD5,645 to meet your request put forward in your letter of claim numbered SG-56. Please revert once you have received the same.
We sincerely apologize for the trouble thus caused to you. And ensure that all possible measures will be taken in order to avoid the occurrence of the similar cases.
Faithfully yours