In business transactions, mistakes and errors are unavoidable. Sometimes, these are caused by technical problems and sometimes, it is human error. At times like this, you have to admit your slip-ups and take full responsibility. Remember that a sincere apology can easily win back an unsatisfied customer.

Write your letter while the incident is still fresh. You should be humble and bear in mind that customers are always right. Be considerate and respectful with the way you put your words into your letter. Be concise yet lay out all the details in a clear way. The words “oversight” and “error” lessens the impact of the issue. Always be polite to your customer.

If the error involved more than one person, assure the customer that you are taking steps to make corrections. Offer compensation for the dissatisfaction and tell them that you’re looking forward to serving them in the future. Finally, assure them the same incident will never happen again. Below is an example letter on how to correct your own error in a business transaction.

Sample Letter

May 26, 2010

Molly Burke
157 St. Anne Lane
San Antonio, California 8080

Dear Ms. Burke,

We would like to thank you for informing us about our transaction error. We would like to ask you to please disregard the credit card bill that we sent you last week. Unfortunately, three copies per customer were accidentally sent by our computer. We are already taking further steps on resolving this issue. Our technical assistant has now created software which will ensure that no error like that will happen again. Sending out bills is a crucial part of our business and we should be very careful with it.

Again, we would like to thank you for taking your time to tell us about your concern. To make up for this error, we are offering you a one-month free subscription of our service. We aim to win back your trust and confidence to our company. We assure you that this will never happen again. We are looking forward to serving you again in the future.

Please feel free to contact me at petersmith@cscomplex.com if you have any other concerns. You can also reach me at 222-983-8493. Again, thank you very much and have a good day!

Sincerely,

Peter Smith
General Manager
Avian Center Shopping Complex

Everyone wants to get things right when it comes to taxes, yet, although the Tax Office and its officials do its best to compute people’s taxes as accurately as possible, sometimes, they still do commit mistakes. Whether it has something to do with the percentage you’re being taxed for, or a mere typographical error in relation to the amount of your salary, you have every right to set things right as quickly as possible, and this is something you can do by writing a letter to the Tax Credit Office about the errors made on the computation of your taxes.

The purpose of this letter is of course, to get an accurate computation of your tax. Be careful though, because sometimes you may be the one who has committed errors, particularly in the declaration of your assets and liabilities. Here is an example of a letter that asks for the correction of errors made on one’s taxes:

SAMPLE LETTER

April Evans
Complaints Manager
Tax Credit Office
41 Poplar St
Oakland, NJ 07436

April 27, 2010

Dear Ma’am:

Upon checking my tax forms for this year, I saw that there was an error in the computation of my taxes, such that your office failed to consider that I am a single mother with two children. I believe that there is a certain tax exemption applicable to my case, and the current tax being imposed on my total gross income shows no such exemption. My TIN by the way is 235-00-0000. In line with this, I would like to request your office to recheck my forms and present a more accurate computation of my taxes.

Attached in this letter are pertinent documents which you may need to consider, including the birth certificates of my children and my employment certification and salary. I also made corrections to the forms you have sent me, and these corrections are also attached in this letter for you to review. In case I am at fault in this error or you have further inquiries as regards my status, please contact me at melissawilliams@gmail.com or (201) 262-5968 as soon as possible. I look forward to hearing from you and I would appreciate your immediate response to my request.

Yours sincerely,

Melissa Williams