- •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
Useful expressions
Payments Due
Openings
Enclosed is our statement for the quarter ended ...
We enclose our statement to 31... showing a balance of £...
We are sorry it was necessary to return our invoice number ... for correction.
We very much regret having to ask for an extension of credit on your January statement.
Closes
Please let us have your credit note for the amount of this overcharge.
Please make the necessary adjustment and we will settle the account immediately.
We apologise again for this error and enclose our credit note for the overcharge.
Payments made
Openings
We enclose our cheque for £... in payment for goods supplied on ...
We enclose our cheque for ... in payment of your invoice number ...
We acknowledge with thanks your cheque for £...
We thank you for your cheque for £... in part payment of your account.
Closes
We hope to receive the amount due by the end of this month.
We should be obliged if you would send us your cheque immediately.
As the amount owing is considerably overdue, we must ask you to send us your cheque by return.
7. Letters requesting payment tone
When a customer fails to pay promptly it is always annoying to the supplier, but no suggestion of annoyance must be allowed to creep into the correspondence. It may be better not to write at all and instead call on the customer if possible, or telephone tactfully to persuade at least pan payment to be made on account. In difficult cases it may even be good policy to accept a part payment rather than resort to legal action which would be both expensive and time-consuming.
There may be several good reasons why a customer fails to pay on time, some of them deserving sympathy. There is, however, always the customer who is only too ready to invent excuses and who needs to be watched. Each case must be treated on its merits.
The style and tone of any letters should depend on such factors as the age of the debt, whether later payment is habitual and how important the customer is. However no letter must ever be less than polite and even the final letter threatening legal action must be written 'with regret'.
Late payments
When there is a need to write explaining difficulties in paying an account by the due date and to ask to defer payment, the following plan is useful:
Refer to the account which cannot be paid immediately.
Regret inability to pay and give reasons.
Suggest an extension of period for payment.
Hope that the suggestion will be accepted.
Customer explains inability to pay
This letter is from a regular and reliable customer. It makes a reasonable request and a supplier refusing it would run the risk of driving away that customer. If the supplier refuses, the customer might pay the outstanding amount, but could then start buying from a competitor. In the process the supplier could lose many valuable future orders.
Dear Sirs
Your invoice number 527 dated 20 July for £1516 is due for payment at the end of this month.
Most unfortunately a fire broke out in our Despatch Department last week and destroyed a large part of a valuable consignment due for delivery to a cash customer. Our claim is now with the insurance company but it is unlikely to be met for another 3 or 4 weeks. Until then we are faced with a difficult financial problem.
I am therefore writing for permission to defer payment of your invoice until the end of September.
As you are aware my accounts with you have always been settled promptly, and it is with regret that I am now forced to make this request. I hope that you will find it possible to grant it.
Yours faithfully
Customer explains late payment
Dear
Further to your letter of 4 July I enclose a cheque for £1182.57 in full settlement of your invoice number W 563, with my apologies for late payment.
This is due to my absence from the office through illness and my failure to leave instructions for your account to be paid. I did not discover the oversight until I returned to the office yesterday.
I would not like you to think that failure to settle your account on time was in any way intentional. My apologies once again for this delay.
Yours sincerely