Complaint

make complaint

I’m not happy with the service and, to be honest, the food was not very warm. I’m not going to make an official complaint, but I think you should know that we were not happy.

have complaint

I’m afraid I have a complaint. Can I speak to the person in charge, please?

investigate complaint

A senior police officer has been suspended from duty while complaints against him are being investigated.

uphold complaint

The court refused to uphold the complaint against the newspaper. The footballer, John Inset, had claimed that the story run by the paper had seriously damaged his reputation.

refer complaint

Due to the seriousness of your complaint, it will have to be referred to the board.

receive complaint

The cinema has received complaints from customers about the lack of parking facilities.

constant complaints

This is the fourth time this week! Your constant complaints are beginning to annoy me.

common complaint

The most common complaint tourists have about London is the high price of everything.

official complaint

If you are not happy with the treatment you’ve received, you should lodge an official complaint.

justified complaint

I think our complaints are totally justified. We didn’t receive the quality of service we paid for.

isolated complaints

The new timetable has been successful. We’ve only received one or two isolated complaints.

single complaint

I’m very happy with the new members of staff. I haven’t heard a single complaint about them.

serious complaints

Inspectors visited the school after receiving a string of serious complaints from parents about poor standards of teaching.

preposterous complaint

I’ve never heard such a preposterous complaint in my life! Tony is the most competent person I’ve ever met.

a letter of complaint

If you are unhappy with the work done on your house, get a lawyer to draft a letter of complaint.

cause for complaint

If you feel you have any cause for complaint, please contact the manager.

flooded with complaints

This year there has been a record number of complaints about the standard of service on Britain’s railways. In fact, rail offices around the country have been flooded with complaints.

good grounds for complaints

If you have good grounds for complaints, then it is company policy to offer you compensation.

a constant stream of complaints

The council has received a constant stream of complaints about the noise coming from the Voodoo nightclub in Surrey Street.

list of complaints

Having to wait over 24 hours at the airport comes high on my list of complaints about our holiday.

Notes   

Note the following:

• I really had no cause for complaint. I was treated very well.

Note the following verbs used to describe making a complaint:

• She has brought a complaint against her manager for unfair dismissal.
• They have filed a complaint with the local authority about the lack of leisure facilities in the area.

You can also ‘lodge’ a formal complaint.

Complaints are ‘dealt with’:

• I’m sorry we are unable to deal with your complaint immediately, but we’ll get back to you next week.

Notice the expression:

• The manager was dismissed after complaints about the quality of his work.

Notice the way to refer to lots of complaints:

• a stream of complaints
• a string of complaints