Janet Rubel is an Illinois attorney. She is a graduate of Washington University in St. Louis and Illinois Institute of Technology Chicago-Kent School of Law. Ms. Rubel has been an adjunct faculty member at Harper College teaching probate law for paralegals, and at John Marshall Law School teaching advanced appellate practice. She has been practicing law for more years than she cares to admit.
Ms. Rubel has won some notable cases in the Illinois Appellate Court that have attracted national attention. She convinced the Illinois Appellate Court to rule that attorneys who sexually preyed on their vulnerable clients is unethical in Marriage of Kantar. She took the seemingly hopeless case of a woman whose divorce attorney initiated a sexual relationship with her during her divorce. This was the first time the Illinois appellate court addressed this type of problem.
Another Illinois case of note won by the author-Greiman v. Friedman-is a post-divorce case limiting the college education expenses a divorced parent is required to pay. She represented a father who was ordered to pay college expenses for his two daughters. Ms. Rubel persuaded the Illinois Appellate Court to limit the father's financial obligations.
Ms. Rubel is a frequent guest on radio and television programs across the country, including Ask Heloise radio program, Open House on CNN, as well as numerous early morning news programs. She has driven through a blinding snowstorm to do the Fox morning news show in Milwaukee, alongside the Milwaukee Brewers' racing sausages. Coping with these developments was never taught in law school.
Her advice on how to complain effectively has appeared in Parents Magazine, AARP Magazine, The Chicago Tribune, and Parenting Magazine.
Visit her website at www.101complaints.com.
Excerpt from 101+ Complaint Letters that Get Results
Writing an effective complaint letter is a skill that everyone needs to perfect in this fastpaced, impersonal society. Today, most people do not deal with the owners of the businesses that we patronize. Many stores are owned by large corporations headquartered hundreds or thousands of miles away. As big box stores and mergers and acquisitions gobble up local department stores and grocery stores, it becomes much less likely that people know the owners of the stores in their neighborhoods.
The need for an effective complaint letter is not limited to shopping problems. Certain complaints must be sent the old-fashioned way-in writing-in order to protect your
legal rights. These problems include credit card disputes, banking mistakes, insurance disputes, landlord/tenant issues, and others. The careful consumer reads the fine print on all documents and sends the appropriate type of complaint letter in the required manner.
The beauty of sending a complaint letter is that you can have legal proof that you have sent the letter. It is difficult for a company to deny receiving your complaint letter
when you can produce a certified mail receipt from the United States Postal Service.
If a certified letter is not required to present your complaint, it is still often a sound idea to spend the three or four dollars to send the letter.
Writing an effective complaint letter is not complicated. Follow the steps discussed in this chapter and you will be on your way to consumer assertiveness.
STEP ONE-GATHER ANY RELEVANT DOCUMENTS
Relevant documents include receipts, sales contracts, warranties, extended warranties, insurance policies, and bills. Never throw these important documents away. Make
photocopies of these documents to send with your complaint letter. You should never send the originals unless it is required. Always keep copies of any originals you have to send. If you have to send an original, send it via certified mail or registered mail.
STEP TWO-THINK
Writing an effective complaint letter requires you to focus on the problem and the result you want to obtain. If you have an appliance that is under warranty, do you
want it repaired or replaced? Have the expensive shoes you purchased at a department store with a limited return policy failed to withstand normal wear and tear after the
required return date? Is your employer denying you family leave that you are entitled to under the law? Do you want your landlord to fix a problem in your apartment, or
permit you to have it repaired and receive a credit on your next month's rent?
STEP THREE-WRITE A ROUGH DRAFT
Do not send the first letter that comes to mind. Write a first draft. Read it over to make sure that you have described the problem and are clear about the result you want. Make sure your letter minimally includes your telephone number and address.
Try to engage the recipient of your letter in your problem. Use the model of, "I have a problem. Could you please help me?" Your first complaint letter on any topic should
be reasonable and to the point. Be sure to thank the recipient for his or her help, even if you doubt that you will receive it.
Keep the letter brief-no more than one page. Break your letter into separate paragraphs. Double-space your letter if it is written on the computer. If you have to handwrite
your letter, make sure your writing is legible.
Absolutely no foul language is allowed. Try not to use slang. Do not use a lot of exclamation points. Do not use emoticons (smiley faces) if you are drafting this on your
computer. Check the spelling of your letter-do not rely only on the automatic spell checking software on your computer. Use a dictionary if you need to look up a word.
Be sure to use correct grammar.
If you never learned how to write a correct business letter (or have forgotten), then you need to use the letters in this book as a model, or get a good reference book from the
library or bookstore. A business letter should contain a heading for you (name, address, and telephone number), the date of the letter, the address of the person or
company to whom your complaint is directed, a notation to indicate what the letter is regarding, and the correct salutation. Salutations such as "Dear Sir," "Dear
Madame," "Dear Ms.," or "To whom it may concern" are acceptable today.
You should try to determine who the correct person to send the complaint letter to is if it is not provided for you. This can be very difficult sometimes. Other times, it is as
easy as picking up the telephone and calling the company. If the company is state regulated, check with the appropriate state licensing authority, such as the Department of Financial Institutions, secretary of state, or Department of Insurance.
STEP FOUR-WRITE THE FINAL DRAFT
Read through your letter again. It is acceptable to express your unhappiness or disappointment with the product or service, but do not be emotional or hysterical. Be businesslike in your approach. Check your spelling, grammar, and tone.
Again, the letter should not exceed one page if possible. The reader will not pay attention to a lengthy letter. Remember that most large companies receive hundreds of
pieces of correspondence each day. You do not want your letter to be tossed into the circular file.
STEP FIVE-SEND THE LETTER
Do not send your letter through email as your sole method of communication. You may email your complaint letter to the appropriate person or department, as long as
you send a hard copy via U.S. mail or an express delivery service. Be sure to use the correct mode of delivery for your complaint (if certified mail is required, then do not
send it any other way). Enclose the relevant documents, and never send the originals unless you are required to do so. For more information on how to correctly note any
inclusions, see page 8.
