Good Example of a Claim Denial
June 3, 2008
Ms. Dena Marcum
Accounting and Budget
SPL Industries
7821 South Third Street
Conway, AR 72032-7839
Dear Ms. Marcum:
• Begins with a
statement with
which the reader can
agree to get the
message off to a
good start.
• Presents a clear
explanation for the
additional charge.
• Continues the
explanation.
• Uses the subjunctive
mood to deemphasize the
refusal.
PartyTime Limited was pleased to be part of your staff/alumni banquet and
appreciated your staff’s compliments on the quality of the food, service, and
decorations.
You are correct that the amount of the invoice is more than the price specified by
the contract. The contract price was based on the 250-guest estimate provided by
your administrative assistant. The estimate considered the amount of food to be
served and the number of servers required to serve 250 guests, as well as the
cost of decorating the banquet hall.
Your invoice includes an additional $200 for the cost of food served to the 25
unexpected guests of your alumni. Although we typically prepare extra food for
large, formal affairs such as yours, we did not anticipate the large number of
additional guests that arrived that evening. I was relieved our staff was able to
obtain additional food from our warehouse to serve these guests.
Had these 25 guests been included in the original estimate, we would have
added $200 to the food cost estimate. We would also have included $80 for the
cost of two additional servers. Although we were short-handed, our staff provided
Format Pointer
• Illustrates block format—all lines begin at the left margin.
B u s i n e s s Co m m u n i c a t i o n , 1 5 t h E d i t i o n by Le h m a n a n d D u Fre n e
Co py r i g h t 2 0 0 8 S o u t h -We s te r n
(continued)
Ms. Deanna Marcum
Page 2
June 30, 2008
your guests with quality service. Your invoice does not include any additional
charges for service.
• Shifts emphasis
away from the
refusal by presenting
sales promotion on
other services.
Ms. Marcum, as you begin planning festivities for the upcoming holidays, keep
our famous specialty desserts in mind for an extraordinary change from the traditional catered turkey lunch.
Sincerely,
Jared Harrelson
Manager
Format Pointer
• A second-page heading including the recipient’s name, page number, and date clearly identifies
this page as a continuation of the first page of a letter.
B u s i n e s s Co m m u n i c a t i o n , 1 5 t h E d i t i o n by Le h m a n a n d D u Fre n e
Co py r i g h t 2 0 0 8 S o u t h -We s te r n