You rented a car from a car rental company. The air conditioner has stopped working. You phoned the company a week ago but it still has not been repaired. Write a letter to the company. In your letter: - introduce yourself - explain the situation - say what action you would like the company to take
Sample Response
Dear Sir or Madam, I am writing to complain about a problemdraw your attention to a problem with the car I hired from your company, Phillip Car Rental, City Center branch in Colombo, on 2424th November. I rented it for a month and paid fifteen days' rent upfront. The air conditioning systemThe cooling system of the car stopped working the day after I rented it and even after I complained in writingeven after my written complaint, it has not been sorted out. I am hoping that you would either fix it or replace it with a vehicle in good working orderreplace it with a good one. I am a regular customer of Phillip Car RentalPhillip Car Rental company - registered customer number CCR321 and this time I took a Toyota Corolla car. During the time of hiring, the car was working fine. However, on the next day, while travelling to the airport to drop off my uncle, I felt the air conditionercondition was not working properly and now it has stopped working completelyit is completely dead. I brought this issue to the attention of your officeI brought this issue to your office a week ago and was promised an immediate solution. Nevertheless, the issue is yet to be resolved. According to the rental agreement, I am entitled to receivehave a solution to this problem. I would be grateful if you could repair the air conditioning system of the car within the next 24 hours or replace it with another one. Otherwise, I would have to file a complaint withregister a complaint to the consumer rights authority. I look forward to hearing from you soon. Yours faithfully, Janak Senevirathne
Why this response received Band 7.0
The complaint is purposeful and well developed, clearly identifying the customer, explaining the unresolved air-conditioning failure, and requesting repair or replacement within a firm deadline. Its effectiveness is reduced by the single-block presentation and several awkward expressions and grammar choices; organise the complaint into distinct paragraphs and polish the formal phrasing so the firm tone remains precise and professional.
IELTS Writing Criteria Scores
Task Achievement
The letter introduces the customer, explains the failed air conditioner and previous complaint, and requests repair or replacement with a deadline. The purpose is strong and appropriate.
Keep the clear request, but refine some language so the complaint remains firm and professional.
Coherence and Cohesion
The order is clear, moving from rental details to problem history and requested action. However, the response is formatted as one block, which reduces readability.
Use paragraph breaks after the opening complaint, customer details, problem history, and requested action.
Lexical Resource
Vocabulary is suitable for a formal complaint, with clear terms such as rental agreement and consumer rights authority. Some phrases are unnatural, including air condition and good one.
Use precise complaint vocabulary such as air conditioner, replacement vehicle, and file a complaint with.
Grammatical Range and Accuracy
Grammar is generally clear, but there are errors with tense, articles, conditionals, and prepositions.
Check formal complaint structures such as I would be grateful if you could and I will file a complaint with.
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IELTS General Training Writing Task 1
You rented a car from a car rental company. The air conditioner has stopped working. You phoned the company a week ago but it still has not been repaired. Write a letter to the company. In your letter:
- introduce yourself
- explain the situation
- say what action you would like the company to take
Your response
Write the task yourself, then compare your choices with the annotated response.