Letters – Free Sample Letters

Love is an expression that indicates care, empathy, concern, passion as well as respect. Love is not necessary between people of the opposite gender. It can be for a friend, a parent, a fiancé, a sibling, a spouse, a grandparent, and a neighbor or for help at home, for example a maid. One can express ones feeling of love for anyone who makes a person feel good, wanted and cared for.

An expression of love could be either through verbal communication or through a Love Letter. A Love Letter is a mode of communicating to ones loved one the feelings the writer has for the reader. It could also be written to tell the reader how concerned the writer is for any unpleasant experience that the reader may have had. In today’s times of competition where people are just so busy with their own lives, a Love Letter just to tell the reader that there is someone there for her/him in times of need works as a vitamin.

DOS AND DON’T’S OF LOVE LETTER

• A Love Letter should not only be written when the loved one has either undergone something unpleasant or is in distress.
• It can also be written just to let the reader know that there is someone somewhere always there for her/him
• A hand-written Love Letter is always better to give that personal touch
• Even though a Love Letter is a personal letter, there is still no scope of any grammatical or punctuation errors. A perfectly written letter speaks volumes
• A Love Letter is hand written still the letter should not be ended with a signature of the writer. The writer should always write her/his name at the end of the letter
• A Love Letter can be casually written but in a simple language
• There is no need to put a subject line in the letter. This indicates it being a personal letter type
• The letter should always begin with “Dear” followed by the name of the person to whom the letter is addressed
• One can always write the date in the letter but it is not mandatory
• Personal words should be used in a Love Letter
• A Love Letter should make the reader feel wanted and cared for
• It should read as being coming naturally from the heart
• It is never wrong to say “sorry” so if the letter is being written to amend for something wrong that the writer has done, write the magic word
• A Love Letter should read as if the writer is there in person

SAMPLE LOVE LETTER

_____________ (Date)

Dear ___________ (first name of the reader)

Hope this letter finds all of you in the best of spirits. It has been a long time since we wrote or spoke to each other, so I thought of penning down a few lines.

I know you have been upset with me for not coming for your birthday party that had been organized by your friends. It is natural that a fiancé is expected to be there for such parties. But darling please try and understand that there was this very important conference call that I had to be part of. In today’s scenario of extreme recession, we need to grab every opportunity to get new business.

Okay, I am sorry. Tell me how to make up for it. Come on cheer up!

All right now the good news, I have been promoted and will be relocating to your town. So we will get to see each other more often. I will let you know when the final orders for me to move come in.

Please convey my regards to aunty and uncle. Loads of love to you too.

Take care and smile,

Love

______________ (name)

The market keeps fluctuating based on many factors such as economy, inflation, etc. This fluctuation makes the market either a sellers market or a buyers market. If it is a sellers market then companies have nothing to worry, as customers will hunt for them. But if it is a buyers market, companies need to be on their toes always to beat competition.

A Sales Prospecting Letter is a tool in the hands of the seller to bring about awareness of the very existence of the company as well as its wide range of products. This letter views all customers as prospects who, at some point in time, will use or buy the products of the company prospecting them for.

DOS AND DON’T’S OF SALES PROSPECTING LETTER

• A Sales Prospecting Letter should primarily talk about a product in the light of the customer’s need
• It should give all the aspects of a product, positive as well as not so positive in the light of the other competitive products
• A Sales Prospecting Letter should in the first paragraph give an introduction to the company launching the product
• The next paragraph should talk about the range of products the company has to offer
• The following paragraph should then start talking about the one product that is being promoted
• The second last paragraph is the one that gives the salient features of the product being talked about
• The last paragraph in the letter should leave a number or email address to which the reader may be asked to write in case of any queries
• How will the product benefit the reader should be an integral part of the letter
• A Sales Prospecting Letter should not aim at demeaning the other companies offering similar products, as that is totally against the business ethics
• This letter should preferably be sent in the names of individual prospective customers rather than a generic one to give it that personal touch
• A Sales Prospecting Letter should be checked for any grammatical or punctuation errors
• Since this is the first point of contact between the prospective customer and the company, the tone of the letter should never be dictatorial
• The language of the letter should be simple to understand
• A typed Sales Prospecting Letter is always a better option than a hand-written one primarily because if the writing is not easy to read then it may put off the prospective customer
• Since this is a letter where an order may be given at the time of reading the letter itself, an order/service form with a pre-paid envelope should also be sent with the letter
• Any offers that are being given by the company should also be given in the letter
• Transparency of communication is very important. It is better to tell everything to the prospective customer than to keep them in the dark for any issues later

SAMPLE SALES PROSPECTING LETTER

________________ (Name and address of reader)

_________________ (Date)

Subject: Launch of Spa/Gym in your locality

Dear Sir or Madam

We are proud to announce the opening of ____________ (name) that is a Spa cum Gym in your neighborhood. This is the second branch of our Spa cum Gym. Our first branch is located at _____________ (name of locality where they have 1^st branch).

We offer both Spa and Gym facilities to our customers that may either be used as individual services or as a package service. Our rates for individual Spa service are Rs._________ per month, for Gym they are Rs._________ per month and for both as a package the charges are Rs.________ per month.

Our staff is trained under _____________ (brand under which they are trained) so we assure you of best services at reasonable prices.

We have attached a membership form for your comfort. Please feel free to call us at ____________ (number) or send us an email at ___________ and we will be glad to assist you.

We look forward to serving you to your utmost satisfaction.

Best regards,

(Name of signing authority)

A ‘Request’ is a humble way of asking for something or getting something done. But it does not mean that the person making a request is a weakling or cannot manage to do the work on her/his own. It basically means that the person making the request is giving the other person the respect before going ahead with something that s/he wants to get done. A request can be for leave or loan or job, etc.

A Request Letter is a weapon in the hands of the writer wherein s/he is asking someone to give permission or agree for something to be done. It definitely does not mean that the reader will agree to the request the moment it has been made. A Request Letter is the first step towards taking an approval.

DOS AND DON’T’S OF REQUEST LETTER

• A Request Letter should be written only when the writer is sure of what s/he wants
• The tone of the letter should always be approval seeking in nature
• Even though a permission is being taken for a task to be done, the letter should not sound threatening
• A persuasive Request Letter is always a better option to put up
• A Request Letter should share with the reader what is being requested
• It should also include the reason why a request is being made
• The request should be a genuine one. Fibbing does not help in the long run
• A Request Letter should still be short, brief and to the point. A lengthy letter does not retain the attention of the reader
• The language used in the letter should be simple yet convincing
• The tone of the letter should be indicative of the situation the writer is in
• Since the reader has the upper hand in the Request Letter, s/he should be made to feel important enough
• A Request Letter could be both an official or a personal one so it may be typed or hand written
• Any grammatical or punctuation errors do not carry a good impression with the reader. So ensure that it is a grammatically a perfect one
• The letter should always end with an appeal for permission

SAMPLE REQUEST LETTER

_______________ (Name and address of reader)

______________ (Date)

Subject: Request for car loan

Dear Sir or Madam

I would like to introduce myself first. My name is ____________ and I have been working with ____________ (name of company) for the last ________ years. My CTC per annum is Rs.________ (copy of pay slip attached).

I would like to buy a ___________ (car model) the on road price of which is Rs.____________. This is a request for a loan for the purchase of the car.

Please let me know the amount of finance I can get for the car along with the terms and conditions of the loan.

I look forward to hearing from you.

Best regards,

(Name of writer)

Encl: As above

As per the life cycle of a product an enquiry about it does not always end in a sale. Once a customer likes a product it results in a sale but only through a verbal order or a written one. A Purchase Order is the document that initiates the purchase and helps close the sale. In today’s times of multiple companiesavailable for all products, there is some amount of trust in the customer and even a verbal confirmation of an order is acceptable. But most of the times it is only against some advance.

A Purchase Order Letter is a document that confirms to the seller that the customer in a specified time frame requires a particular quantity of the product. Nowadays one company to the other confirming the order, which is generally a bulk order, writes Purchase Order Letters or it is written by an individual to a company again in the case of placing a bulk order.

DOS AND DON’T’S OF PURCHASE ORDER LETTER

• A Purchase Order Letter should be written as soon as the decision for the purchase has been made
• The company with whom the order is being placed should be given enough time to execute the order
• The letter should clearly indicate the product code or item number, the size and the quantities being ordered
• The date when the Purchase Order Letter is being generated is very important because that identifies when the order was placed
• If the order is being placed by a company then it usually should be in a Purchase Order format
• The Purchase Order Letter should also indicate the date by when the order is expected to be executed or delivered
• The mode of delivery of the material should also be identified in the letter
• The letter should also carry the mode of payment by which the payment will be made
• If any advance has already been paid against the order, it must be mentioned in the Purchase Order Letter
• The address where the order has to be delivered should be very clearly mentioned in the letter along with any landmarks, if any, to locate the address
• The Purchase Order Letter should give the details of the costing of the price including taxes, etc so that there is no confusion while making the payment
• The name of the company or dealer with which the order is being placed should be clearly written on the letter to avoid any miscommunication of details
• There is no scope for any grammatical or punctuation errors in the Purchase Order Letter
• The contents of the letter must be carefully read through to ensure that the order details have been correctly mentioned
• The Purchase Order Letter should ideally be typed but the signatory should personally sign it

SAMPLE PURCHASE ORDER LETTER

______________ (Name and address of company with whom order is being placed)

_____________ (Date)

Subject: Purchase Order for 1000 pairs of socks

Dear Sir or Madam

This is with reference to our meeting on ___________ (date) when we visited your factory in connection with purchase of socks for our school children.

We are pleased to place an order for 1000 pairs of white summer socks against item number ___________ and size _________. We would appreciate if the order is delivered at the address given below latest by ____________ (deadline date) so that we can start selling it to the children before the onset of summers.

___________________ (Name and address where delivery will be made)

The terms and conditions of the purchase order are as follows:

1. Order for 1000 pairs of white summer socks with item number _________ and size __________.

2. Delivery will be made at the address mentioned above.

3. The order should be delivered latest by __________.

4. 100% payment will be made on delivery.

5. If the order is not delivered by the due date, please consider it as cancelled.

6. The price per pair, as mutually agreed, is Rs. ___________ inclusive of all taxes.

We hope to have a long business relationship with you.

Please feel free to contact the undersigned for any clarifications or discrepancy in the order details.

Best regards,

(Name of signing authority)

A Business firms up when an individual or a group of people decide to do something on their own to fulfill three reasons:

a). To make profit

b). To provide employment opportunities

c). To provide products or services to the society at large

It is however not necessary that what the business intends to provide should be available from day one. Additional products or services may be provided later.

A Business Letter as such is a very vague term primarily because it covers a vast range of letter types. A Business Letter could be letters for the following agenda:

1. Introductory letter
2. Sales letter
3. Sales follow up letter
4. Order letter
5. Service letter
6. Expansion letter
7. Merger letter
8. Bankruptcy letter
9. Retrenchment letter

But each letter however revolves around some standard letter writing skills.

DOS AND DON’T’S OF BUSINESS LETTER

• A Business Letter should always be on the company letterhead
• It should always be written by a person who is in a position of authority with the organization
• A Business Letter should be short and brief
• A Business Letter should only talk about the subject matter that is being discussed
• It should be sent out as soon as any major business decision has been taken
• The company must ensure that the Business Letter is either sent to all concerned employees or copies of it are put up at strategic locations in the office for everyone to be aware of the happenings in the company
• There should be no grammatical or punctuation errors in the letter
• If the letter is meant to announce any achievement, employees who have helped achieve it should always be thanked in the letter
• The content of the Business Letter should be as transparent as possible to keep channels of communication open between the employees and the company
• The language of the letter should be formal and business like. No joking or fooling around with words is acceptable in any Business Letter
• The tone of the letter should always be informative and firm irrespective of the content of the letter
• A Business Letter should always begin with the name of the person if it is for an individual or “to whomsoever it may concern” if it is generic
• It should also always have a date in the top left corner
• The letter should always end with “thanking you” and “best regards”

A claimant is a person who asks for a reimbursement for any damage done to life or property. A claim is when damage is informed and refund is requested. A claim could be of many kinds:

1. Car insurance claim
2. Health insurance claim
3. Life insurance claim
4. Claim against theft
5. Claim against fire
6. Accidental claim
7. Compensatory claim
8. Deposit refund claim
9. Retrenchment reimbursement claim

But a claim can be requested only when there has been a prior understanding between the claimant and the company who is expected to clear the claim.

A Claim Letter is a tool informing a company of the partial or full damage done and requesting a decent reimbursement against it. It however may either be written by the claimant informing about the loss or the company giving the reimbursement informing the claimant of the reimbursement that is on its way may also write it.

DOS AND DON’T’S OF CLAIM LETTER

• A Claim Letter should be written by the claimant as soon as the damage is done
• It should be written by the company as soon as the reimbursement is being sent
• The letter must bear the date on the top left corner indicating details of its origin
• It should be brief and to the point
• Only the details of the policy and reimbursement requested/agreed should be dealt with in the letter
• A Claim Letter should always have a reference number against which the claim is being requested/agreed so that it becomes easy to track its past record
• The letter should always be only addressed to the person with the full name and address who is being given the claim or to the company with its full address who is being requested for the reimbursement against the claim
• A Claim Letter should give all details about the policy against which the claim is being made. For example, the claim reference number, date when the policy was taken, terms of the policy, how much reimbursement is due, what is the timeframe within which the reimbursement will come through
• A Claim Letter has to always be accompanied by documents supporting the damage or loss, for example the police report, death certificate, etc

SAMPLE CLAIM LETTER

(This is a letter being written by the claimant in case of death of a family member)

________________ (Name and address of insurance company)

_________________ (Date)

Subject: Sum Assured against death of my father

Dear Sir or Madam

I, ________ (name) had taken a life insurance policy from your company against policy number ____________ on _________ (date) for my father, ____________ (name of father). The nominee of the policy is my mother, ___________ (name of mother).

With deep regret this is to inform you that my father passed away on _________ (date) due to a massive heart attack. I have attached a copy of the doctor’s report as well as the death certificate for your reference.

Even though nothing can repair our loss but since my mother was dependent on him and she was the nominee of the policy, I would like to file this claim with you. May I request you to please release the money due to my mother against my father’s life insurance policy at the earliest. As per our records the sum due to her is Rs.___________?

We look forward to a quick resolution to our claim.

Thanking you in anticipation.

Best regards,

(Name of person writing the letter)

Encl: As above

“Right to expression” is every human’s right. Anyone can express her/his pleasure or displeasure about any service or product s/he may have used or bought. The expression of displeasure is a “grievance”. A grievance may be either expressed verbally or through a mail or even through a letter. It is imperative that every customer or user gives her/his feedback to the company whose product or service they are using. This enables the company to work on its weak areas and further strengthen its strong side.

A Grievance Letter is a tool in the hands of the customer to give candid constructive feedback to the company about its products or services. It is the right of every customer and every customer should use it. But a Grievance Letter should not only talk about something that the customer is not happy with. Instead it should also highlight some good points about the company and its products or services to give the feeling to the company that the customer is not just of a complaining nature.

DOS AND DONTS OF GRIEVANCE LETTER

• A Grievance Letter should be written as soon as a bad or negative experience has been faced after using a product or service
• But the letter should not only talk about the unpleasant experience. It should also include the good points experienced by the individual
• Since the grievance is with the product or service and not with a particular individual in the organization, the letter should not get personal with any employee
• The grievance should always be related to the experience that should be clearly mentioned in the letter
• Details of the product as well as the invoice should also be included in the letter for the company to trace the sale comfortably
• Even though the nature of the letter is to share a grievance, the tone should not sound authoritative. Instead it should sound as if a solution is being solicited
• If the product is within the warranty period then that too should be mentioned in the letter with a copy of the warranty papers enclosed with the letter
• The letter should be thoroughly checked for any grammatical or punctuation errors
• It should ideally be personally signed by the writer to give it that personal touch
• A Grievance Letter should preferably be typed
• It should be short and crisp

SAMPLE GRIEVANCE LETTER

______________ (Name of person)

______________ (Name of organization)

_______________ (Address)

________________ (Name and address of sender)

_________________ (Date)

Subject: Dissatisfied with after sale service

Dear Sir or Madam

I had purchased a 32” LCD television from ____________ (name and address of outlet) vide Invoice number ________ dated __________. I was promised that the installation of my television set would be done within 2 working days. I am afraid that with 5 days gone by and my repeated telephone calls at the toll free customer service number, my set still remains uninstalled.

When any customer picks up a product of your company, s/he swears by the after sale service. Even I have other products of your company installed in my house and have never faced a similar problem. I am surprised how I am caught up in such a situation this time around.

I have great expectations from your company and would appreciate if my grievance were handled on priority.

I look forward to a speedy action on my request.

Best regards,

(Name of sender)

An employee has different stages of employment in an organization. S/he is first on internship, moves on to probation and the final stage is confirmation. In most organizations the stages have pre-determined time periods fixed for each stage. But there is always room for flexibility wherein the time period may be decreased or increased based on individual performance. The employment terms however of each stage differ from each other. These terms are toughest for an employee who is on internship and the most relaxed for the one who is already a confirmed employee. The reason for this is absolutely obvious, an intern is a new joiner and her/his loyalties to an organization have not been tested.

An Internship Letter is the first employment letter that is given to an employee confirming her/his selection in the organization but only as an intern. This letter is usually handed over to the employee when s/he reports in to the organization on her/his first day. The contents of the letter however are already discussed and negotiated between the employee and employer at the time of taking the decision to join.

DOS AND DON’T’S OF INTERNSHIP LETTER

• An Internship Letter should be given as soon as an employee decides to join an organization
• The letter should very clearly spell out the terms and conditions mutually agreed upon for joining the organization
• The letter should always be on the company letterhead
• It should be short and crisp but should include all the necessary information
• It should give details of joining date also on the letter to ensure that there is no ambiguity about it
• The Internship Letter should specify the time period for which the employee is likely to be an intern with the organization
• It should also inform the employee that if initiative is shown and performance is extraordinary, the period of internship may be reduced
• The letter should always be typed to give it the official look
• The letter is offering a job to an employee and not doing anyone a favor so the tone should not be bossy
• The designation at which the employee is joining up should also be mentioned in the letter
• Even though the employee is joining as an intern, the language used in the Internship Letter should not be demeaning for her/him

SAMPLE INTERNSHIP LETTER

_______________ (Name and address of employee)

________________ (Date)

Subject: Internship Letter for the post of __________

Dear Ms/Mr ____________

This is with reference to your application for the post of __________ and the subsequent round of interviews that we had with you on ________ (date) and _________ (date).

We are pleased to inform you that you have been selected to join our organization as ___________ (designation). Your joining date will be __________ (date). This is to clarify that as per our HR policy you will be on internship for a minimum of 6 months after which your performance will be evaluated. The status in the organization will be reviewed based on the evaluation done by your superiors.

The terms of employment have already been discussed between you and our HR department and the details are enclosed herewith for your reference.

For any queries or clarifications, please feel free to call the undersigned or any representative from our HR department and they will be glad to assist you.

Please also note that this offer holds true for 2 weeks from the date of the letter and if you fail to join us by then, this offer will be considered null and void.

We hope to have a long lasting professional relationship with you.

Best regards,

(Name of signing authority)

In today’s world of super automation almost everything can be approved through customized automated systems, well almost everything. A few things are still left to formal written approvals. But the impact and authenticity that a letter has, a verbal or email or messaging method cannot.

An approval to transfer funds from one account to the other is called “transmittal”. This transfer of funds can be from one account of the individual to her/his other account or it could be transfer from one person’s account to the other person’s account. A Transmittal Letter is an approval for the payment to be made or transfers to be allowed. This letter can be either given to a bank or financial institution or an individual as well. A Transmittal Letter is a kind of letter of authority given by the writer to the carrier. A Transmittal Letter can either approve the funds to be transferred from one account to the other in the same bank or it could also be of two different banks. These banks have internal systems in place to make the transmittal procedure smooth. But these days usually the transmittals are done only for overseas deals.

DOS AND DON’T’S OF TRANSMITTAL LETTER

• A Transmittal Letter is a very important and crucial letter so care must be taken to ensure that it is given in safe hands
• Because of the letter being a crucial document it should be discretely used
• A copy of the letter must be signed by the receiver and kept with the giver to cover the legal aspect of the deal
• If it is being given by an organization to another organization or individual, it should always be typed and on the company letterhead
• If the letter is being given from one individual to the other, it can be hand written
• The letter should be very short, brief and to the point
• It should always carry a date on the top of the letter
• A Transmittal Letter should very clearly have the name of the person or organization along with the address to whom the approval for the transfer of funds is being given
• It should also indicate the exact amount of transfer that has been approved
• The amount should be written both in numeric’s as well as in words to ensure that no forgery is possible
• The purpose or reason for which the transmittal is being approved should also be mentioned in the Transmittal Letter
• A Transmittal Letter should only be written by the individual herself/himself who is approving the transmittal or by the person responsible for it if it is from an organization’s side
• Usually a Transmittal Letter is addressed to a bank with the details of the person whose signature is attested in the letter

SAMPLE TRANSMITTAL LETTER

_________________ (Name/address of person in the bank from where funds will be transmitted along with bank name)

__________________ (Date)

Subject: Transmittal of funds into account no. ___________

Dear Sir or Madam

Ms/Mr ____________ (name of person to whose account transmittal will be done) has done the flooring of our house as per invoice attached. S/he was keen if the funds are transferred to her/his account directly without any delay because s/he is in dire need of the money.

You are therefore requested to please transmitRs._________ (rupees ___________ in words) from my account number ____________ to the account of Ms/Mr ___________ in her/his account number _________. Since both the accounts are with different branches of your bank itself, it should be much easier.

For security reasons I have attested Ms/Mr __________ signature as under.

I would appreciate if this is expedited at the earliest.

Thanking you in anticipation.

Best regards,

(Name of signing authority)

Encl: As above

(Signature of recipient)

Attested (signature of signing authority)

Criticism is something that no one likes to get but still gets sometime or the other. The person who criticizes usually does it only after things have gone out of control and the person being criticized did not pay any heed to the warnings given to her/him. Criticism brings bad vibes both for the giver as well as the receiver.

A Criticism Letter is basically to put on paper the faults or mistakes being committed by the reader for which verbal warnings would already have been given.

DOS AND DON’T’S OF CRITICISM LETTER

• A Criticism Letter should only be given after a few verbal warnings have been given but not paid attention to
• A very sensitive letter, so it should be very tactfully worded
• Even though this letter is usually given by a superior to her/his subordinate, the tone of the letter should not be dictatorial or authoritative
• This letter creates a lot of negativity around it, so it should never sound threatening
• When the reader is criticized, s/he also should be given a solution at the end of the letter to mellow her/him down
• The letter should always be supported with live incidents to substantiate the very existence of the letter
• For official records it is always better if a copy of the Letter is signed by the receiver and handed back to the giver
• There should be no grammatical or punctuation errors in the letter
• The Criticism Letter should preferably be typed
• Ideally a Criticism Letter should be delivered by hand to ensure that it has been received
• A Criticism Letter usually does not have the word “criticism” written in it, it is just the tone of the letter from which one can make out the letter type
• If there are any repercussions attached with the criticism then they too should be mentioned in the letter

SAMPLE CRITICISM LETTER

______________ (Name and address of the recipient)

______________ (Date)

Subject: Suspended due to irresponsible behavior

Dear ___________

For the last few days we have noticed that you have been misbehaving with your female colleagues. We have got complaints from a few of them regarding _______________ (details of behavior issues).

Keeping in view this behavior and the subsequent complaints, we regret to inform you that we are suspending you for a week with effect from today. During this period you have to come to office but you will not be given any assignments to work on.

Violation of this order will result in dire consequences.

Please feel free to contact the undersigned for any clarifications.

Best regards,

(Name of the sender)