Claims and Arbitration Unit 10. If something goes wrong, it is more important to talk about who is going to fix it, than who is to blame. ---Francis J.

Claims and Arbitration

Unit 10

If something goes wrong, it is more important to talk about who is going to fix it, than who is to blame.

---Francis J. Gable

If a customer is dissatisfied with the execution of his order, he will complain. All complaints should be treated as serious matters and thoroughly investigated.

By the end of this unit , you should be able to …

Appreciation of a letter;Writing.

Language pointsMain points in letters

Text Analysis Assignment

Questions & Answers

Pre-reading Activities Studying Aim

Part Pre-reading ActivitiesⅠPart Pre-reading ActivitiesⅠ (Questions & Answers)(Questions & Answers)

1. Under what kinds of situation will one party be willing to complain or claim?

One party who faces to losses will complain or ask for claim under following:a. Delivery of wrong goods;b. Damaged goods;c. Too many or too few goods;d. Later shipment;e. Second-rate products, etc.

2. How to write a complaint letter?

If a customer is dissatisfied with the execution of hisOrder, he will complain.He should specify the nature of his complaint, and finally state what action he wants his supplier to take.That is to say, he should write a specific and detailed letter.

3. How to write a reply to a complaint

letter? We should write a reply, which is:a. courteous;b. specific;c. complete;d. thoughtful.

4. What are main points of complaints or claims?

Opening: the purpose or reason of writing, a. receipt of goods or the complaints;

Body: the details of requirements, which areb. details of the complaint or claim;c. suggestion for settlement, such as request for replacement, delivery, or compensation;

Closing: d. expectation of prompt attention or early reply.

5. What are main points of replies?1) Agreement:Opening: a. receipt of the letter or notice of the

delivery;b. regret at the complaint or claim;

Body: c. acceptance of the claim or agreement to the settlement, such as to replace

the goods, return the goods, send the shortage or agree to

compensation;Closing: d. hope for future business or

apologize for the inconvenience.

2) Disagreement

Opening: a. receipt of the letter or notice of the delivery;

b. regret at the complaint or claim;Body: c. disagreement to the complaint or

claim and reason;d. suggestion for settlement if any;

Closing: e. expectation for future business

6. How to settle disputes?

When we settle disputes, we should consider:1) conciliation: mutual agreement

Both parties should negotiate the disputes through mutual agreement;

2) arbitration: a means of settling disputes which the third party, arbitrator, listens to both sides and makes a decision.

PartⅡ Studying AimPartⅡ Studying Aim

By the end of this unit, you should be able to:

1. Know main points in this kind of letter and write a complaint letter to your customer;

2. Grasp the main points and strategies of Letter 1-2;

3. Master key language points and difficult Sentences;

4. Know how to write a response letter (to show your agreement or disagreement) to No.1 letter (Please refer to your textbook Page106);

5. Compare No.1 letter with No.2 letter, and amend the latter one.

After your reading the above letters, please answer the following questions:

1. What is the purpose of Letter 1(P106)? — It’s a claim for short delivery.

PartⅢ Text AnalysisPartⅢ Text Analysis Letter 1 - 5 Letter 1 - 5 Claims and ArbitratioClaims and Arbitratio

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Step1: Main points in letter 1 - 5

2. Please point out the main points in Letter 1.

Main points in Letter 1:Opening: a. referring to receipt of goods;Body: b. stating short delivery and

analysis of reasonsc. enclosing the evidenced. requirement, dispatching of the goods short-delivered

Closing: e. expectation of favorable reply

3. What are main points in Letter 2(P107)?

Opening: a. receipt of the incoming complaint letter

Body: b. regret for the mistake in packing

c. compensation, sending the goods short-delivered, and sending a check to the customer for his loss

d. doing an assurance

Closing: e. hope for future orders

There are two strategies in Letter 1:

1) (Para 3) “We believe our settlement of the claim will satisfy you to the full.” Factually, the author is thoughtful, sending the goods short-delivered and a check.

2) (Para 4) “We assure you…further orders from you.”

The author writes the methods of compensation, then gives a promise.

4. What are strategies in Letter 2?

5. What are main ideas in Letter 3 and Letter 4 (P107-108)?

Letter 3, is an application for arbitration.

Letter 4, is canceling application for arbitration.

6. What is the main idea in Letter 5 (P109)? And how about the main points?

1) It’s a response to delivery complaint.

2) Main points:Opening: a. referring to the complaint

letterBody: b. stating the research and

reasonsc. apologies and

compensationClosing: d. expectation of further

cooperation

2. the goods short-delivered: the goods which are insufficienteg: We found 66 dozen short-delivered.

1. the subject goods: the goods in the caption

Step2: Details of Letter 1&2

Language points

3. presume: to expect or assume esp. with

confidence

eg: I presumed them to be married.

5. compensate + for:eg: The firm compensated the injured worker for the time lost.6. to the full: completely, fullyeg: Use your abilities to the full.

4. put in: submit something formallyeg: Oil workers have put in a claim for a 10% pay rise.

Difficult Sentences

1. The cartons themselves

remained … occurred before

shipment (Para.1 in Letter 1):

The writer states the fact and

explains the fact that the exporter

delivered insufficient goods

before the shipment.

2. Enclosed is a list of the quantities received. (Para 1 in Letter 1):The list of the quantities received is the evidence provided by the writer.

3. …it would be highly… to make up the quantity ordered. (Para 2 in Letter 1):This is the requirement provided by the write,asking for the goods short-delivered.

4. After checking… we find…though every

possible attention has been paid to all your

orders (Para 2 in Letter 2):

Though we paid much attention to your orders, we

made this mistake in packing.

5. We assure you… similar incidences in the future (Para3 in Letter 2):We give you a guarantee that we will pay every attention to your orders, and will not make such a mistake again in the future.

6. Unfortunately, this was the night before… for the next few weeks. (Para2 in Letter 5) (P109)

Before the shipment, there was the XYZ Delivery strike. This was the reason why all cargo were kept there for the next few weeks.

7. We value our customers and look forward to serving you in the future. (Para3 in Letter 5) (P109)

We pay possible attention to all your orders with our respect and hope to cooperate with you.

PartⅣ AssignmentPartⅣ Assignment

1. Supplementary reading:

Dear Sirs,

We refer to sales contract No.112 covering the purchase of 200 metric tons of Model A.

We telexed you on Mar. 13 informing you that the consignment arrived on Feb. 20.

We found that 180 bags had burst and that the

contents, estimated 9000 kg, had been lost.

We proceeded to have a survey report made. The

report has now confirmed our initial findings. The

report indicates that the loss was due to the use of

substandard bags for which you, the suppliers, are

responsible.

We enclose survey report No.TS6478 and look

forward to early settlement of the claim.

Yours faithfully,

Jane Parks

2. Please write a reply to No.5 letter

(in Page 109). Try to make it clear,

concise.

Thank you!