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Writing Response Letters to Complaints and Appeals
v4: 21 July 2013
Tim Kidd and Paul Fix
This short note should be read in conjunction with the fact sheet that describes the
complaints procedure for The Scout Association (FS140100). The fact sheet can be found on
the Scout website at www.scouts.org.uk/managers
by looking at the “complaints” section.
When writing the final complaint or appeal outcome response to the complainant, consider
the following:
1. Do not send a letter by email as a word document attachment as this might easily be
edited. My preference is to send a physical letter or, in some circumstances, to send a
PDF document that is a scan of the physical letter once it has been signed.
2. Do not assume that anything you send to the complainant will remain confidential even
if you mark it as such. Write it with the expectation that other people will see it.
3. Remember that when you write a letter (or an email for that matter) you write it with
your particular view of the situation and you use certain intonation in your voice to
stress words and therefore change the meaning. The reader has a different view of the
situation and won’t know the intonation that you intended. You therefore need to spend
more time writing carefully to make the meaning absolutely clear. You might also
consider getting someone else to read it (in confidence) to check for clarity, how it reads
and of course spelling and grammar!
4. If writing letters isn’t your thing, ask for help. See if other local managers have examples
of letters (with any confidential information removed) that they have sent that you can
use as templates.
5. Particularly with a sensitive letter, write it and then put it to one side. Come back to it
the next day and read it again and put yourself in the position of the person receiving
the letter. You will probably make some changes!
6. Ensure that you answer the key points of the complaint or appeal. It is a delicate line to
tread, but do not write a huge, lengthy reply as this tends to introduce inaccuracies.
Stick to the key issues and answer them clearly and succinctly. It is a good idea to ask
the complainant early on in the process exactly what the key issues are and what
outcome the complainant would ideally expect. These can then be addressed in the
enquiry and the response.
7. The style of the letter should be your own – not overly formal. But remember to be
polite and firm so that there is no possible confusion about the outcome of the letter.
8. Ensure that in the letter you take responsibility for the decision that you have made (e.g.
“I have considered the matter carefully and my decision is that your complaint is
upheld”). It is important to retain the responsibility for the decision even if someone else
has carried out the investigation on your behalf.
9. I suggest a structure of the letter along these lines:
a. Start with being clear on the issue you are addressing and the timeline.
b. Then say if you uphold the complaint/appeal or not. It is best to get this stated
early in the letter so that the reader knows the outcome quickly rather than
having to read the whole letter before finding out.