Claim Letter

What is a claim letter?

Do you know when claims can be made? It can be made when you want to claim for damage to the property or to the people.

Is the situation severe? If yes, then you can ask for full reimbursement and if no, then you can ask for partial reimbursement. Wishes of the applicant also play an important role in such a situation. As soon as the damage occurs, you should send the claim letter to the responsible company.

Claims can only be made when there is a legal agreement drafted between the two parties. In the claim letter, you should add supporting documents that can give a backup to your argument.

The claim letter is also written when a buyer has any kind of complaints regarding seller products and in such a letter, compensation is demanded. Sometimes in such a scenario, negligence of transportation authority can also affect the buyer’s product and this can compel him or her to write a claim letter.

When any customer writes a letter showing displeasure about any product and claiming compensation for the same, then such a letter can be named as a claim letter. Sometimes, such issues can be solved with a phone call or with a personal meet.

It is always advisable to write a claim letter because such a document can work as a proof. An increase in the business volume of operations leads to an increase in the frequency of claim letters.

In such a scenario, it becomes important for an organization to revert back in order to maintain its reputation.

Important Elements of a Claim Letter

Here are the few important elements of a claim letter:

• What has gone wrong? It is important to give the right answer that can clearly explain the things that went wrong. Now be it a defective product or a faulty service, it is important to give full and quick information in your claim letter.
• If it is a faulty product, then you should add details like date of purchase, date of arrival, an amount paid, the colour of the product, a size of the product, order number, model number, etc. Providing such details can make it easy for a supplier to re-check the product.
• Is it a defect or is it the mistake? Whatever may be the problem, but it is important for you to mention the inconvenience caused by adding a statement related to it. You should also mention the details related to the loss suffered due to the defective product or bad quality of services.
• It is important on your part, to be honest, and to motivate the reader so that the required action can be taken easily to rectify the situation.
• Mention the things or the amount of money that you want to claim, in detail. Include a statement that says, the adjustments you would consider to be fair.
• Always write such a letter to the head of the department, in order to get a quick response.

Tips on Writing an Effective Claim Letter

Now you must be knowing that writing a claim letter is like writing a complaint letter. You can get the claim granted with some satisfactory adjustments, only when your claim letter is accurately and tactfully written. Here are the few tips that you need to follow in order to write an effective claim letter:

• In such a letter there is no scope of giving threatening messages or adding invalid accusations. What will you do if the matter is not solved? Don’t give the answer to this question in your claim letter.
• You should always address such a letter to a specific person rather than addressing it to the entire company.
• Start your letter with the positive attitude because studies have shown that such a letter created a good impact on a reader even if it is related to some criticism. It is human nature to get defensive when someone complaints. So it is important to mention a complaint in a good manner.
• What is a specific problem that you are facing? What is a solution to it? Give answers to these questions in your claim letter.

Features of a Well-Written Claim Letter

Finding fault is an easy task for anybody! Adding such a fault tactfully in a claim letter is important. Here are the few features that should be the part of your well-written claim letter:

• When you have the best reason to ask for a claim, then it is advisable to not make mistakes with your language.
• It is important to be clear about the things that have gone wrong, in your claim letter.
• Don’t be rude with your language or use any kind of bad words but it is important to describe the mistake accurately with the good tone in your claim letter.
• Add details related to the definite dates, type of product, quality of services, invoice number etc. This can make it easy for the reader to trace your product.
• Address the letter to the right person and state the adjustment that you are looking forward to.

Mode of claims

You must be knowing now that a claim letter is written to ask for a possible compensation or any kind of adjustment. Understand one thing that mode of claims asked for, are not always the same and it may differ depending on the situation and the nature of loss. Below are the different mode of claims that a buyer can claim:

• You can ask for partial or full refund
• You can ask for a replacement of the defective product
• You ask for the repair of the damaged product
• You can ask to make future delivery of the product with the correct items
• You can ask for further discounts
• You can ask to make the required changes in the bill
• You can ask to credit the amount to your purchase account
• You can cancel your entire order or a portion of the order
• You can ask to reschedule the payment process

How to Write a Claim Letter?

• You need to specify the type of claim you are making in the beginning of the letter itself.
• If it is an insurance claim, then don’t forget to add your policy number.
• If you are using some documents as an evidence for your claim, then mention the details about the content of your document in your letter to support your claim.
• Mention your contact details that can make it easy for the reader to contact you in the future.
• Be thankful to the reader for maintaining patience and reading your letter.