Write down what happened, with the dates, and what you want done about it. Hemmingway sets it out as a complaint letter: the reference number at the top, the facts in order, the remedy you are asking for with a deadline, and a request for a written reply. It comes out firm, polite and under a page.
It works from your account alone. It does not add a date, a sum or a conversation you did not describe, and it does not quote laws or regulations, because a wrong one weakens a good complaint.
What makes it work
- Dates and numbers carry the letter. Order number, the day it happened, the day you first reported it. The person handling it looks for those first.
- Ask for one remedy and give a date. A refund, a replacement, a repair, an apology in writing. "Please sort this out" lets them pick the cheapest answer.
- Leave the anger out. The person reading probably did not cause the problem. A calm letter is also the one you will be glad of if a manager or an ombudsman reads it later.
An example
Asked for a complaint to the customer service team at a furniture shop about a sofa ordered on 3 March, order 48213, and delivered on 29 March with a torn arm, after phone calls on 30 March and 6 April that each ended in a promised call back that never came, asking for a replacement or a full refund within 14 days and enclosing photos of the tear and the order confirmation, a letter along these lines is what to expect:
Dear Customer Service,
Order 48213: sofa delivered damaged
I ordered a sofa on 3 March. It was delivered on 29 March with a torn arm.
I phoned on 30 March and again on 6 April. Both times I was promised a call back, and neither call came.
Please replace the sofa or refund it in full within 14 days. I enclose photos of the tear and the order confirmation.
I would like your reply in writing.
Yours faithfully,
Who it can be to
A shop, an airline, a landlord, a council, a school, a bank, a builder, your employer. Ask in the chat for an email version and it adds a subject line. How to write a complaint letter covers where to send it and what to do next. For a letter that is not a complaint, use the AI letter writer.
Common questions
Is the complaint letter generator free?
Yes. Hemmingway has a free trial with no card needed, and this tool opens it with your answers filled in. You sign up once, and the letter is written in the chat.
Can it quote consumer law in my complaint?
Only if you give it one. It leaves out laws you did not mention, because it can be wrong and still sound certain. For the law itself, ask a consumer advice service, not Hemmingway.
Can it write the reminder if the company does not reply?
Yes, with the follow-up email generator. Give it the date of your first letter and what you asked for.
Can it write a complaint about a person, such as a neighbour or a colleague?
Yes. Say who the letter goes to: the person, a landlord, or HR. It keeps to what they did and leaves out what you think of them.
Will it sound like AI?
It is built not to. Hemmingway-1, the model behind it, came first on sounding like a person in our own blind test, Human-Likeness. It still helps to read it aloud and change any word you would not use.