Describe a time you made a complaint: IELTS Speaking Part 2 sample answer

I rarely complain, but about a year ago I had to make a complaint about a pair of wireless headphones that I bought online. I paid quite a lot for them because the advertisement promised twelve hours of battery life.

After a week, I noticed that they only lasted around two hours, and the sound in the left ear sometimes disappeared. At first, I thought I was using them incorrectly, but I tried several times, and the problem remained. So I wrote a polite message to the online shop through their customer service chat, attached a short video and explained what the problem was.

The first reply was an automatic answer, which was annoying. After two days, a real person contacted me and asked for the order number. They apologised, and they offered a replacement. I preferred a refund, because I had lost trust in the product, and after a few more messages, they agreed to return my money.

I felt relieved, but also a bit tired because the process took nearly two weeks. What I learned is that being calm and giving clear evidence works better than being angry. Since then, I check reviews carefully before buying electronics, and I keep all receipts and messages. My brother thinks I should have complained earlier and written a review as well. Maybe he is right, but I prefer to give companies a fair chance first, and in this case their eventual response was reasonable, even if slow.