Writing a reasoned complaint in Portuguese

Level B2

Writing a reasoned complaint in Portuguese

A complaint works when the other side can act on it without having to defend itself. Here a new fridge stops working and Marina has to deal with the store, by email and by phone. By the end, you can report the facts, show your documents, propose a solution and ask for action with a deadline, firmly and without threats.

Four tools you'll use again

Four tools from earlier lessons come back here. After espero que, the verb takes the subjunctive: “Espero que seja rápido.” For a formal request, gostaria de solicitar means “I would like to request”: “Gostaria de solicitar a troca da geladeira.” Apesar de concedes a point before a noun (a demora is the delay): “Apesar da demora, o técnico foi muito educado.” Embora does the same before a verb, which goes into the subjunctive: embora seja, “although it is.” Tinha plus a participle places one event before another in the past: “A gente já tinha embalado o pedido quando o cliente ligou pra mudar o endereço.”

Model: Marina's email to the store

Marina bought a fridge, and it stopped working after twenty days. Listen to her email and notice the order: what happened, what she can show, what she proposes and what she asks for, by when.

Some words to help you: funcionar means to work, faltar to be missing, a peça the part, o fabricante the manufacturer, a troca the replacement and a devolução do valor the refund. Em anexo means attached, and com vocês here means “from you,” the store. Prezada equipe is a formal greeting, atenciosamente the usual sign-off, and agradeço means “I thank you”; desde já adds “in advance.”

Words for a complaint

Relatar: give facts, not verdicts

Relatar means telling what happened, with dates and in order. Compare “Vocês não estão nem aí para o cliente.” with “Relatei o defeito no dia 3 e ainda não recebi retorno.” Não estar nem aí means not caring at all: the first sentence judges people, and people defend themselves. The second states what happened, so the conversation stays on the problem, and “A loja ainda não tomou nenhuma providência.” (tomar uma providência, to take action) works the same way.

For what is still missing today, Portuguese uses ainda não with the simple past where English uses the present perfect: ainda não recebi, not ainda não tenho recebido, because tenho recebido means a repeated action. For what was still missing at a past moment, use ainda não tinha plus a participle: “Quando liguei de novo, duas semanas depois, a peça ainda não tinha chegado.”

Documentar: back up what you say

Documentar means keeping a record so you can show it later: “Documentei tudo: a nota fiscal e as fotos estão em anexo.” Name what you are sending, because a vague “I have proof” can sound like a warning. A nota fiscal is the invoice Brazilian stores issue for a sale. O protocolo is the number a company gives you for a call or a request, and quoting it saves you from telling the story again. With ter, the participle says the record is ready: “Tenho tudo documentado, com data e protocolo.”

Propor: offer a way out

A complaint with no proposal leaves the other side guessing, so name the outcome you would accept: “Proponho duas soluções: a troca da geladeira ou a devolução do valor.” Two options let the store say yes without feeling cornered. The verb follows pôr, so learn its forms by ear: proponho (I propose), propôs (he, she or the store proposed) and propor (to propose).

You can also concede a point first and still hold your position: “Embora o problema seja do fabricante, a compra foi feita com vocês.” Marina accepts where the fault may lie, and her claim on the store stands.

Ask with a deadline: peço que… seja…

Peço que, from pedir (to ask for), opens the request and, like espero que, calls for the subjunctive. Seja plus a participle puts the action in focus, not the person who failed: “Peço que a troca seja feita até sexta-feira.” The participle agrees with the noun, so a troca seja feita but o valor seja devolvido; entregue keeps one form for both genders. With a plural, seja becomes sejam: “Peço que as fotos sejam analisadas até quinta-feira.” (analisar means to review.)

English “I ask that it be done” sounds stiff, but peço que seja is normal in a formal message. Até sets the deadline, and em até sete dias means “within seven days.” Without a date, a request is only a wish.

Peço que o que deve acontecer seja ou sejam + particípio prazo.

Polite, firm or threatening?

Politeness and firmness are not opposites; what matters is whether you ask for something clear and whether you attack. “Se não for incômodo, será que vocês podem dar uma olhada nisso quando der?” is polite (dar uma olhada is to take a look), but it names no action and no date. “Entendo a demora, mas preciso de uma data.” is polite and firm.

Firmness can also announce a real next step: “Se eu não tiver resposta até sexta-feira, vou fazer uma reclamação no Procon.” Se eu não tiver means “if I don't get,” and Procon is Brazil's public consumer protection agency, so this states a right, and “Antes de fazer uma reclamação, prefiro resolver com vocês.” keeps the door open. “Ou vocês resolvem isso até sexta-feira, ou vão se arrepender.” is a threat (arrepender-se means to regret): the harm is vague, it is aimed at people, and it ends the conversation.

Model: a call that stays on track

The store had promised the part in five days, so Marina calls. The attendant says a senhora, a respectful “you” used with third-person verbs, and a gente means “we.” Em falta means out of stock, a previsão an estimate, o desconto a discount and encaminhar to pass on. Each time the attendant pushes back, Marina acknowledges it, with entendo, with mesmo que seja (“even if it is,” a concession like embora) or with obrigada, and returns to what she needs. Notice how she refuses the discount: she says why it doesn't solve the problem, repeats her request with a date and asks for the new protocolo.

Your turn: the second email

Friday has passed and the store hasn't replied. Before you listen, write Marina's second email in four sentences: report what you did, show your documents, propose a new deadline and ask for action. Use what you have seen: relatei, o protocolo, a nota fiscal, proponho, peço que… seja. The new date is terça-feira, Tuesday.

Then compare with the examples; continuam means “are still.” Finally, decide whether to add a next step, and check that it is a real one and not a threat.

In short

A reasoned complaint reports the facts in order, documents them, proposes a solution and asks for action with a deadline: peço que… seja… até. It stays firm because it points at the problem and at a concrete next step, never at the person. That is what separates it from politeness that asks for nothing and from a threat.

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