Use the greeting, sign-off and paragraph plan below for this formal letter, write it on a 20-minute timer, then compare it with a band-8 model letter.
You should spend about 20 minutes on this task.
Your bank has contacted you about some unusual payments from your account.
Write a letter to the bank's fraud department. In your letter
Write at least 150 words.
You do NOT need to write any addresses.
Begin your letter as follows:
Dear Sir or Madam,
GoPrep wrote this practice question in the style of the exam. It is not an official IELTS question.
A letter that begins Dear Sir or Madam ends Yours faithfully, followed by your full name.
Spend the first few minutes planning, then write.
0 words of 150 minimum
Your answer stays on this page only. Copy it before you leave.
Write your own answer first, then compare: how it answers the exact question, what each paragraph does, and which phrases you could borrow.
Dear Sir or Madam,
Thank you for your recent message about unusual payments from my account number 40217865.
The payments you mentioned are five transactions made between 3 and 5 May. Two are from a clothing website in Poland, two are from a gaming service, and the last is a cash withdrawal of 300 euros from a machine in Warsaw.
I did not make any of these. I have never visited Poland, and at the time of the withdrawal, I was at work in Birmingham. I still have my card, but I suspect that my details may have been stolen when I used a public website last month.
I would therefore like you to investigate these payments at once and refund the money to my account. Please cancel my current card and send me a new one with a different number. I would also be grateful if you could tell me how long the investigation will take.
Yours faithfully,
Richard Palmer
| Phrase | Meaning |
|---|---|
| I am writing to explain the circumstances surrounding | formal opening for an explanation |
| The reason for this was | introduce a cause |
| I hope this explains the situation. | polite way to finish an explanation |
| Please let me know if you require any further clarification. | offer to explain more |
| I would like to clarify that | make something clear |
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