BUSINESS ENGLISH LETTERS: Useful phrases

BUSINESS ENGLISH LETTERS: Useful phrases

WRITING BUSINESS LETTERS
Useful phrases

Salutation:

Dear Mr Brown
• Dear Ms White
• Dear Sir
• Dear Sirs
• Dear Madam
• Dear Sir or Madam
• Gentlemen

Starting

• We are writing to inform you that ...
to confirm ...
to request ...
to enquire about ...
• I am contacting you for the following reason.
• I recently read/heard about . . . and would like to know . . .
• Having seen your advertisement in ... , I would like to ...
• I would be interested in (obtaining/receiving) ...
• I received your address from ... and would like to ...
• I am writing to tell you about ...

Referring to previous contact:

• Thank you for your letter of March 15 ...
• Thank you for contacting us.
• In reply to your request ...
• Thank you for your letter regarding ...
• With reference to our telephone conversation yesterday ...
• Further to our meeting last week ...
• It was a pleasure meeting you in London last month.
• I enjoyed having lunch with you last week in Tokyo.
• I would just like to confirm the main points we discussed on Tuesday . . .

Making a request:

• We would appreciate it if you would ...
• I would be grateful if you could...
• Could you please send me . . .
• Could you possibly tell us/let us have...
• In addition, I would like to receive ...
• It would be helpful if you could send us ...
• I am interested in (obtaining/receiving...)
• I would appreciate your immediate attention to this matter.
• Please let me know what action you propose to take.


Offering help
We would be happy to ...
• Would you like us to ...
• We are quite willing to ...
• Our company would be pleased to ...

Giving good news •
We are pleased to announce that ...
• I am delighted to inform you that ...
• You will be pleased to learn that ...

Giving bad news
We regret to inform you that ...
• I'm afraid it would not be possible to ...
• Unfortunately we cannot/we are unable to ...
• After careful consideration we have decided (not) to ...

Complaining

• I am writing to express my dissatisfaction with ...
• I am writing to complain about ...
• Please note that the goods we ordered on (date) have not yet arrived.
• We regret to inform you that our order n°--- is now considerably overdue.
• I would like to query the transport charges which seem unusually high.

Apologizing

• We are sorry for the delay in replying ...
• I regret any inconvenience caused
• I would like to apologize for (the delay/the inconvenience) ...
• Once again, I apologise for any inconvenience.

Orders

• Thank you for your quotation of ...
• We are pleased to place an order with your company for ...
• We would like to cancel our order n°...
• Please confirm receipt of our order.
• I am pleased to acknowledge receipt of your order n°...
• Your order will be processed as quickly as possible.
• It will take about (three) weeks to process your order.
• We can guarantee delivery before ...
• Unfortunately these articles are no longer available/are out of stock.

Prices

• Please send us your price list.
• You will find enclosed our most recent catalogue and price list.
• Please note that our prices are subject to change without notice.
• We have pleasure in enclosing a detailed quotation.
• We can make you a firm offer of ...
• Our terms of payment are as follows :

Referring to payment

• Our records show that we have not yet received payment of ...
• According to our records ...
• Please send payment as soon as possible.
• You will receive a credit note for the sum of ...

Enclosing documents

I am enclosing ...
• Please find enclosed ...
• You will find enclosed ...

Closing remarks

• If we can be of any further assistance, please let us know
• If I can help in any way, please do not hesitate to contact me
• If you require more information ...
• For further details ...
• Thank you for taking this into consideration
• Thank you for your help.
• We hope you are happy with this arrangement.
• We hope you can settle this matter to our satisfaction.

Referring to future business

• We look forward to a successful working relationship in the future
• We would be (very) pleased to do business with your company.
• I would be happy to have an opportunity to work with your firm.

Referring to future contact

• I look forward to seeing you next week
• Looking forward to hearing from you
• " " to receiving your comments
• I look forward to meeting you on the 15th
• I would appreciate a reply at your earliest convenience.

Ending business letters

• Sincerely, }
• Yours sincerely, } (for all customers/clients)
• Sincerely yours, }

• Regards, (for those you already know and/or
with whom you already have a working relationship.)