Writing a letter that gets an answer

Every move, in detail

What follows takes the seven moves one by one: what to do, the mistake that costs the most, and a wording that works.

Identify the right recipient

A letter goes to whoever can actually reply: the department that made the decision or is handling the case, never the general switchboard or the first counter you reach. The mistake that costs the most is writing to the right organisation but the wrong department: the letter then waits for an internal transfer that takes weeks, or never comes.

When the exact name is missing, aim for the person who signed the last letter you received, or failing that the department the subject of your letter clearly points to. “To whom it may concern” says nothing to anyone; naming a department or a role, even without a personal name, gives the letter a real recipient.

Date the facts

Every fact you mention carries its date: the date of purchase, of the phone call, of the letter you received. Without them, a disagreement stays an opinion; with them, it becomes a chronology a department can check against its own file. The mistake that costs the most is telling the facts in the order you remember them rather than the order they happened.

“For some time now” or “several months ago” cannot be checked; “on 14 March, then on 2 April” can be checked in two minutes in any file. An approximate date is still useful when the exact one is missing, as long as you say so: “early March” is better than false precision.

Say what you rely on

A request convinces when it rests on something verifiable: a clause of the contract, a written commitment, an applicable text. The mistake that costs the most is resting on what feels right rather than on what is written: a department handles a case on documents, not on a feeling, however legitimate that feeling is.

What can be cited varies from country to country, sometimes from sector to sector: a template that cites a text always does so with its exact reference and its source, never from memory. When no precise text can be identified, the facts themselves and what the contract or the earlier exchange established are often enough to ground a request.

Whatever depends on a country arrives separately, checked country by country.

• The legal grounds already checked country by country

Ask for one precise thing

The request says precisely what is expected: refund this amount, correct this entry, cancel on this date. The mistake that costs the most is a vague or multiple request: a department that has to guess what is wanted of it, or choose which part to handle first, often answers beside the point, or answers only one part.

“Do what is necessary” commits nobody; “refund 84.90 euros to the account given in the letterhead, before the 30th” commits somebody to a precise decision. A letter does better to ask for one thing only: several requests are handled in several letters, or in a clear order if they really are connected.

Set a deadline

The deadline you give is a date, never a length of time: “before 15 September”, never “quickly” or “as soon as possible”. The mistake that costs the most is setting no deadline at all: with no date, the silence has no starting point, and nothing lets you say later that it went on too long.

Keep the deadline reasonable: two to three weeks is enough most of the time, unless a precise period is already set elsewhere, by a contract for instance. Too short a deadline works against the request without speeding anything up; a missing deadline leaves it open indefinitely.

Keep the proof

Keep a copy of the letter you sent, with proof that it went and, if possible, that it arrived. The mistake that costs the most is not writing a bad letter: it is keeping neither copy nor proof of a good one. Without them, the whole step exists only in somebody's memory.

Proof of posting is worth more than conviction: it carries a date nobody can argue with, where ordinary post leaves no trace anyone can check.

Follow up

When the deadline you set passes with no reply, the follow-up recalls the first letter: its date, its request and the time already gone, without rewording it or adding to it. The mistake that costs the most is rewriting the request in different words: that suggests the request has changed, and the case starts again from scratch.

You follow up once, in a tone that stays level: it notes a deadline that has passed, it does not threaten. Beyond that, the right letter changes in kind: it announces a route of appeal rather than following up.

Going further

Each move, its own page

These pages take the moves in detail, with what changes from one case to another.