Help me get paid!
December 19, 2014 7:54 AM Subscribe
I need to write a letter to my employer about how the constant errors in the payroll are causing a financial burden. I am not at all tactful-- what do I say?
Almost every paycheck is wrong. Sometimes the hours are off, sometimes the pay rate is wrong, sometimes both. I report it and am told "oh. sorry. we'll fix it and you'll get it next time".
I have no savings, live paycheck to paycheck, this is my only income and I have every cent budgeted and accounted for. I understand mistakes happen ONCE IN A WHILE but the errors are frequent, consistent, and recurring.
When my pay is incorrect and I am shorted and then have to wait up to 2 weeks for the missing pay I am unable to pay my bills in full/on time. I need to let them know that these constantly recurring errors are not ok, and I need to be paid what I am owed now... not "next time".
Almost every paycheck is wrong. Sometimes the hours are off, sometimes the pay rate is wrong, sometimes both. I report it and am told "oh. sorry. we'll fix it and you'll get it next time".
I have no savings, live paycheck to paycheck, this is my only income and I have every cent budgeted and accounted for. I understand mistakes happen ONCE IN A WHILE but the errors are frequent, consistent, and recurring.
When my pay is incorrect and I am shorted and then have to wait up to 2 weeks for the missing pay I am unable to pay my bills in full/on time. I need to let them know that these constantly recurring errors are not ok, and I need to be paid what I am owed now... not "next time".
Not your lawyer here, but you sound like you're probably a non-exempt Fair Labor Standards Act employee; there are serious, serious repercussions for employers who make a habit out of messing with employees' compensation. (In fact, as an employer these days you can do almost anything to an employee except mess with his money.)
Attorneys get their fees paid in FLSA cases, so this may be something worth talking to an attorney about--you won't be out anything and a stern letter may do the trick. But there may be employment hassles for you if you report their horrible practices....
That said, you said you just want to write a letter and not sue: don't mention any of this in your letter. Don't be the "I talked to a lawyer and he said...." person. Just say exactly what you said below the fold:
posted by resurrexit at 8:05 AM on December 19, 2014 [8 favorites]
Attorneys get their fees paid in FLSA cases, so this may be something worth talking to an attorney about--you won't be out anything and a stern letter may do the trick. But there may be employment hassles for you if you report their horrible practices....
That said, you said you just want to write a letter and not sue: don't mention any of this in your letter. Don't be the "I talked to a lawyer and he said...." person. Just say exactly what you said below the fold:
Dear Sirs,If it keeps happening after the letter (a copy of which you've kept for yourself, right?), what you've done is put some paper in their files for when you eventually do contact an attorney. If other employees have the same problem, and depending on the dollar amount of errors, this will likely be a very attractive collective action (kind of like a class action) lawsuit for a labor and employment lawyer (and you want the kind that represents employees and not employers).
Almost every paycheck is wrong. Sometimes the hours are off, sometimes the pay rate is wrong, sometimes both. I report it and am told "oh. sorry. we'll fix it and you'll get it next time".
I have no savings, live paycheck to paycheck, this is my only income and I have every cent budgeted and accounted for. I understand mistakes happen ONCE IN A WHILE but the errors are frequent, consistent, and recurring.
When my pay is incorrect and I am shorted and then have to wait up to 2 weeks for the missing pay I am unable to pay my bills in full/on time. I need to let them know that these constantly recurring errors are not ok, and I need to be paid what I am owed now... not "next time".
Sincerely yours,
Employee
posted by resurrexit at 8:05 AM on December 19, 2014 [8 favorites]
I don't think I would take this to the employer. I might take it to a lawyer. They are either negligent or intentionally screwing you.
I would either find a new job stat or take this to an agency or lawyer that would allow me to pursue it within my means.
posted by natteringnabob at 8:05 AM on December 19, 2014 [3 favorites]
I would either find a new job stat or take this to an agency or lawyer that would allow me to pursue it within my means.
posted by natteringnabob at 8:05 AM on December 19, 2014 [3 favorites]
The law requires that you be paid promptly and accurately. Go to your state's web page, look for the labor relations area. Also look at the attorney general's pages. A good librarian could assist you. They could probably get fined. Keep track of this with a log of some sort.
Armed with knowledge, talk to your supervisor. Of my last 10 paychecks, 9 were incorrect. This is causing problems for me. What can we do to ensure that I get paid? Then see how your supervisor responds. If you don't get pretty prompt attention, file a labor relations complaint.
posted by theora55 at 8:25 AM on December 19, 2014 [5 favorites]
Armed with knowledge, talk to your supervisor. Of my last 10 paychecks, 9 were incorrect. This is causing problems for me. What can we do to ensure that I get paid? Then see how your supervisor responds. If you don't get pretty prompt attention, file a labor relations complaint.
posted by theora55 at 8:25 AM on December 19, 2014 [5 favorites]
You know the organization and whether you should give them another chance or go straight to outside lawyer/government. If you want to give them another chance, I think you've mostly written it already:
"Dear HR/Boss: Frequent and repeated errors in my paycheck payroll are causing a financial burden. There have been repeated occasions when the hours are incorrect, repeated occasions when the pay rate is wrong, and repeated occasions when both are incorrect. When I have reported it, the errors have been corrected, but I have had to wait until the next pay period to receive the shortfall.
I understand that mistakes may occur, but these errors are frequent, consistent, and recurring. When my pay is incorrect and I have to wait up to two weeks for the missing pay, I am unable to pay my bills on time.
I hope that the situation can be corrected immediately and without outside involvement. However, if it is necessary, I will pursue appropriate legal recourse."
Yes, the lawyers might say that you shouldn't talk about your hardship, as that doesn't matter from a legal perspective, but if you think that these are basically decent people who would be more responsive if they understood the problems that their errors are causing, then include it. Good luck.
posted by Mr.Know-it-some at 8:32 AM on December 19, 2014 [4 favorites]
"Dear HR/Boss: Frequent and repeated errors in my paycheck payroll are causing a financial burden. There have been repeated occasions when the hours are incorrect, repeated occasions when the pay rate is wrong, and repeated occasions when both are incorrect. When I have reported it, the errors have been corrected, but I have had to wait until the next pay period to receive the shortfall.
I understand that mistakes may occur, but these errors are frequent, consistent, and recurring. When my pay is incorrect and I have to wait up to two weeks for the missing pay, I am unable to pay my bills on time.
I hope that the situation can be corrected immediately and without outside involvement. However, if it is necessary, I will pursue appropriate legal recourse."
Yes, the lawyers might say that you shouldn't talk about your hardship, as that doesn't matter from a legal perspective, but if you think that these are basically decent people who would be more responsive if they understood the problems that their errors are causing, then include it. Good luck.
posted by Mr.Know-it-some at 8:32 AM on December 19, 2014 [4 favorites]
Isn't it interesting how it's always shorting of pay, never overpayment? That indicates to me that there are serious financial issues with your company.
I would bring this up with the people who do payroll. Find out who submits to ADP/Payday, etc and find out what day the payroll is submitted.
Every day that payroll is submitted, send an email to that person with a recap of your hours and pay rate and the expected Gross Payment. If they have a discrepancy, they can call you to discuss BEFORE the hours are submitted for payment.
Don't wait two weeks, insist that they cut you a check within 24 hours of erroneous payment. It's not unusual, and there's no reason they can't do this. "Lisa, my paycheck is wrong again, it's short $125, I need that ASAP, I'll be by to pick it up before 5:00." Make it Lisa's problem to solve.
I would also compile a spreadsheet showing the date, amount and reason for underpayment. Send it to your manager, payroll and the head of HR.
Dear Payroll,
Please find attached a spreadsheet outlining continuous underpayment of my wages. This is unacceptable. I now know that Wednesday prior to payday is when the pay is submitted, and I will be sending reminders so that this does not happen again. I am attributing these errors to misunderstanding, rather than something more sinister, however, if it is necessary, I will pursue appropriate legal recourse.
That's it. You also need a new job, and it's an emergency because shenanigans like this are a harbinger of serious financial difficulties.
posted by Ruthless Bunny at 8:34 AM on December 19, 2014 [24 favorites]
I would bring this up with the people who do payroll. Find out who submits to ADP/Payday, etc and find out what day the payroll is submitted.
Every day that payroll is submitted, send an email to that person with a recap of your hours and pay rate and the expected Gross Payment. If they have a discrepancy, they can call you to discuss BEFORE the hours are submitted for payment.
Don't wait two weeks, insist that they cut you a check within 24 hours of erroneous payment. It's not unusual, and there's no reason they can't do this. "Lisa, my paycheck is wrong again, it's short $125, I need that ASAP, I'll be by to pick it up before 5:00." Make it Lisa's problem to solve.
I would also compile a spreadsheet showing the date, amount and reason for underpayment. Send it to your manager, payroll and the head of HR.
Dear Payroll,
Please find attached a spreadsheet outlining continuous underpayment of my wages. This is unacceptable. I now know that Wednesday prior to payday is when the pay is submitted, and I will be sending reminders so that this does not happen again. I am attributing these errors to misunderstanding, rather than something more sinister, however, if it is necessary, I will pursue appropriate legal recourse.
That's it. You also need a new job, and it's an emergency because shenanigans like this are a harbinger of serious financial difficulties.
posted by Ruthless Bunny at 8:34 AM on December 19, 2014 [24 favorites]
You ask for tact, not lawyers, so here's some tact. I went for the classic "shit sandwich" approach: tell them something ok, tell them there's a problem, tell them you have confidence in fixing it.
Dear HR office,
I have worked for this company for N years, and really appreciate gestures taken on your part for employee retention (such as X, if applicable). One thing that has not been ideal, however, is the inconsistent management of employee paychecks: in the past N pay periods, there has been a problem with (N-4) of my paychecks. I submit my hours promptly, before the deadline, in the requested format, yet I've seen the wrong number of hours, or the wrong pay rate, or both.
I appreciate that it is relatively simple to point out the error and get a promise that the balance will appear in the next paycheck, but over time the number of mistakes has gotten more than just frustrating, but become a real difficulty in my life. This job is my only income, and through careful financial management, it is sufficient; when a paycheck comes in short, and I have to wait 2 weeks for the remainder, there are bills I am unable to pay in full or on time. This is costing me both money and peace of mind. I understand that mistakes will happen occasionally - I am not asking for perfection - but these errors have been consistent, frequent, and recurring, and I feel that this issue should be addressed.
I'm sure these mistakes are not intentional, and I am not claiming that I have not gotten my full pay eventually, but I would like to underscore that being paid "next time" for work that should have been included in my current paycheck is not just an oversight, it's a hardship. I account for my money precisely, budget carefully, and manage my finances accurately, and it seems to me that a company the size of {us}, with our reputation for quality work, and demonstrated concern for its employees, would be capable of doing the same.
Sincerely,
X
(okay, not-your-lawyer Mefites, tell me why this would be a bad idea to send, what have I said here that could cause future problems if this goes to court?)
Also note, to send this letter, you'll need to go back through your pay stubs and document the number of times this has happened, and how much the discrepancy was. You might even include that list with your letter.
posted by aimedwander at 8:37 AM on December 19, 2014 [6 favorites]
Dear HR office,
I have worked for this company for N years, and really appreciate gestures taken on your part for employee retention (such as X, if applicable). One thing that has not been ideal, however, is the inconsistent management of employee paychecks: in the past N pay periods, there has been a problem with (N-4) of my paychecks. I submit my hours promptly, before the deadline, in the requested format, yet I've seen the wrong number of hours, or the wrong pay rate, or both.
I appreciate that it is relatively simple to point out the error and get a promise that the balance will appear in the next paycheck, but over time the number of mistakes has gotten more than just frustrating, but become a real difficulty in my life. This job is my only income, and through careful financial management, it is sufficient; when a paycheck comes in short, and I have to wait 2 weeks for the remainder, there are bills I am unable to pay in full or on time. This is costing me both money and peace of mind. I understand that mistakes will happen occasionally - I am not asking for perfection - but these errors have been consistent, frequent, and recurring, and I feel that this issue should be addressed.
I'm sure these mistakes are not intentional, and I am not claiming that I have not gotten my full pay eventually, but I would like to underscore that being paid "next time" for work that should have been included in my current paycheck is not just an oversight, it's a hardship. I account for my money precisely, budget carefully, and manage my finances accurately, and it seems to me that a company the size of {us}, with our reputation for quality work, and demonstrated concern for its employees, would be capable of doing the same.
Sincerely,
X
(okay, not-your-lawyer Mefites, tell me why this would be a bad idea to send, what have I said here that could cause future problems if this goes to court?)
Also note, to send this letter, you'll need to go back through your pay stubs and document the number of times this has happened, and how much the discrepancy was. You might even include that list with your letter.
posted by aimedwander at 8:37 AM on December 19, 2014 [6 favorites]
Aimedwander's comment is pretty ideal as far as tact goes. I just want to point out, there are basically two possible reasons for a company to be constantly stuffing you on your check: (1) they are terrifyingly incompetent, (2) the company is in serious financial difficulties. Like everybody else said, screwing around with your check potentially opens them up to serious legal liabilities, and regardless of whether you personally would want to pursue a claim against them, the fact that the people who pay your checks are willing to take that risk is a bad, bad sign. The fact that they keep saying "sorry, buddy, we'll get you next time" makes me think it's more likely to be number 2, personally --- to me this suggests that they're having trouble making payroll every month and they're trying to skim a bit here there and everywhere to make the numbers add up. Letter or no letter, I think it's time to look for a new gig...
posted by Diablevert at 8:49 AM on December 19, 2014 [11 favorites]
posted by Diablevert at 8:49 AM on December 19, 2014 [11 favorites]
I have no savings, live paycheck to paycheck, this is my only income and I have every cent budgeted and accounted for.
So, your company owes you accurate pay. It does not matter if you have a million dollar trust fund or if you are a million dollars in debt. It is also none of their business what your personal finances are. I would stop short of explaining that they need to pay you correctly because you have no savings. That just invites them to judge you.
Why do you need to write this letter? If you are doing it in hopes that it will motivate them to fix the problem, I don't think you will get what you want from the letter. They already know that paying people less than they expect will cause them financial problems. Did they ask you write this letter? If so, I would keep it generic and say that the constant errors are causing you "budgetary problems". Don't go into the details. They owe correct pay to all employees and you as an employee should not have to explain that to them. If they suggested or required you to write this letter, that is huge red flag. Do you have any ideas if they are paying their vendors this poorly? What about other employees? More payment issues points to financial insecurity or serious accounting incompetence.
posted by soelo at 9:03 AM on December 19, 2014 [6 favorites]
So, your company owes you accurate pay. It does not matter if you have a million dollar trust fund or if you are a million dollars in debt. It is also none of their business what your personal finances are. I would stop short of explaining that they need to pay you correctly because you have no savings. That just invites them to judge you.
Why do you need to write this letter? If you are doing it in hopes that it will motivate them to fix the problem, I don't think you will get what you want from the letter. They already know that paying people less than they expect will cause them financial problems. Did they ask you write this letter? If so, I would keep it generic and say that the constant errors are causing you "budgetary problems". Don't go into the details. They owe correct pay to all employees and you as an employee should not have to explain that to them. If they suggested or required you to write this letter, that is huge red flag. Do you have any ideas if they are paying their vendors this poorly? What about other employees? More payment issues points to financial insecurity or serious accounting incompetence.
posted by soelo at 9:03 AM on December 19, 2014 [6 favorites]
Have you spoken to your direct supervisor about this? Or anyone else not in Payroll? If you have, and it still happens, then be very careful about your next step, because odds are that the Payroll person is somehow untouchable. And if it's you vs. Untouchable Payroll Person, you're out the door.
aimedwander has a good way to go forward, but have an exit strategy in place, because this company may have shown you A) how important you are relative to others, and B) they are willing to screw you over. If you don't have savings and they fire you the same day you raise this issue higher, what will you do next?
I am not saying that you need to shut up and deal with this -- I'm just saying that you need to be aware of possible knock-on effects. Talk to an employment lawyer before you start anything within the company. Any decent one will be able to help you without charging you up front; at the very least, they'll be able to tell you what your odds are of a successful challenge and what the price may be.
posted by Etrigan at 9:07 AM on December 19, 2014
aimedwander has a good way to go forward, but have an exit strategy in place, because this company may have shown you A) how important you are relative to others, and B) they are willing to screw you over. If you don't have savings and they fire you the same day you raise this issue higher, what will you do next?
I am not saying that you need to shut up and deal with this -- I'm just saying that you need to be aware of possible knock-on effects. Talk to an employment lawyer before you start anything within the company. Any decent one will be able to help you without charging you up front; at the very least, they'll be able to tell you what your odds are of a successful challenge and what the price may be.
posted by Etrigan at 9:07 AM on December 19, 2014
Our office manager and I do payroll on a weekly basis at work and for the last four years, I have only made one significant mistake (we do direct deposit and I filled the dates incorrectly and everybody got paid a day early, not exactly cause for complaint). Take the action suggested by those above and don't think for one second that this is normal. It's not. It's ridiculously incompetent and sketchy and you should be pissed off.
Yes, calling an employment lawyer would be a good idea, but I'm guessing you have no spare money to do this if you're living cheque to cheque. Document everything and make finding another job an immediate priority. And report these jerks to the proper folks once you're out of there because this whole thing just sounds insane.
posted by futureisunwritten at 9:32 AM on December 19, 2014
Yes, calling an employment lawyer would be a good idea, but I'm guessing you have no spare money to do this if you're living cheque to cheque. Document everything and make finding another job an immediate priority. And report these jerks to the proper folks once you're out of there because this whole thing just sounds insane.
posted by futureisunwritten at 9:32 AM on December 19, 2014
Yes, calling an employment lawyer would be a good idea, but I'm guessing you have no spare money to do this if you're living cheque to cheque.
Just to reiterate, in the event you're at all inclined to go this route, your employer has to pay your attorney's fees if you win an FLSA case in the United States, which is almost certainly the applicable law to your situation; you are not responsible for your employer's attorney's fees if you lose. The law is structured this way for people in exactly your situation who have to take on employers who are covered by insurance in this situation (insurance which pays their attorney and defense costs). In areas of law where attorney fees are paid by the defendant, it is almost unheard-of for the plaintiff to pay an attorney to handle their case. Think of the commercials you've seen: "NO FEE UNLESS WE RECOVER!!1!"
posted by resurrexit at 9:42 AM on December 19, 2014 [1 favorite]
Just to reiterate, in the event you're at all inclined to go this route, your employer has to pay your attorney's fees if you win an FLSA case in the United States, which is almost certainly the applicable law to your situation; you are not responsible for your employer's attorney's fees if you lose. The law is structured this way for people in exactly your situation who have to take on employers who are covered by insurance in this situation (insurance which pays their attorney and defense costs). In areas of law where attorney fees are paid by the defendant, it is almost unheard-of for the plaintiff to pay an attorney to handle their case. Think of the commercials you've seen: "NO FEE UNLESS WE RECOVER!!1!"
posted by resurrexit at 9:42 AM on December 19, 2014 [1 favorite]
I have worked in payroll. The errors you have experienced are inexcusable. They indicate that the payroll staff is incompetent or poorly managed. Or, the payroll service being used is failing to do their jobs. Getting hours in correctly, getting the pay rate right, and calculating overtime in accordance with the law are all vital to running a proper payroll. A company that can not do the payroll function correctly may be in financial trouble, I am sorry to say.
You should try to resolve this without legal help at the beginning, due to the fear that this will poison your relationship with the company. However, if after you have expressed your concerns they continue to screw up, then it will be time to get out the bigger hammer.
Your note to the boss should say something like this:
"I am concerned about the repeated errors on my paychecks. On date xxxxxx there was error yyyyy, on date xxxxxx there was other error yyyyyy, and on date xxxxxx they made the same mistake again. I rely on my check to pay my bills, and shortfalls are hard on me. In addition, you should know that the payroll failures reflect badly on the financial management of the company, and may raise concerns in other areas. I am sure that no one wants to harm the reputation of the company that way. Please see that the functions of the payroll department have been reviewed to solve the problems that I have experienced. Thank you."
posted by Midnight Skulker at 10:35 AM on December 19, 2014 [1 favorite]
You should try to resolve this without legal help at the beginning, due to the fear that this will poison your relationship with the company. However, if after you have expressed your concerns they continue to screw up, then it will be time to get out the bigger hammer.
Your note to the boss should say something like this:
"I am concerned about the repeated errors on my paychecks. On date xxxxxx there was error yyyyy, on date xxxxxx there was other error yyyyyy, and on date xxxxxx they made the same mistake again. I rely on my check to pay my bills, and shortfalls are hard on me. In addition, you should know that the payroll failures reflect badly on the financial management of the company, and may raise concerns in other areas. I am sure that no one wants to harm the reputation of the company that way. Please see that the functions of the payroll department have been reviewed to solve the problems that I have experienced. Thank you."
posted by Midnight Skulker at 10:35 AM on December 19, 2014 [1 favorite]
there are basically two possible reasons for a company to be constantly stuffing you on your check...
Well, there's three, and the third one is just cheap power tripping. I used to work for a place that constantly shorted paychecks, usually for small amounts, a few hours here or there for something like every other pay period. There was also a lot of petty haggling over normal expenses and scheduling, and a lot of unnecessary complaining about normal costs of doing business.
In my case, shorted paychecks just went with a culture that was kinda toxic anyway, and the best solution in my case was to leave.
posted by ovvl at 10:53 AM on December 19, 2014
Well, there's three, and the third one is just cheap power tripping. I used to work for a place that constantly shorted paychecks, usually for small amounts, a few hours here or there for something like every other pay period. There was also a lot of petty haggling over normal expenses and scheduling, and a lot of unnecessary complaining about normal costs of doing business.
In my case, shorted paychecks just went with a culture that was kinda toxic anyway, and the best solution in my case was to leave.
posted by ovvl at 10:53 AM on December 19, 2014
I don't have any advice for you, because in my experience when this kind of thing happens, the only way to fix it is to find a new job. Sorry to say this but you should freshen up your resume and start looking.
posted by radioamy at 11:05 AM on December 19, 2014
posted by radioamy at 11:05 AM on December 19, 2014
I too do payroll for my company. Any mistake I have ever made that was my error, is corrected if possible within the hour of being notified of the mistake. You are well within your rights to expect immediate correction, regardless of your finances.
Who are you notifying of the errors? If only the person who actually does the payroll, it is possible noone higher up knows and i think you can approach your boss as such.
posted by domino at 11:27 AM on December 19, 2014 [2 favorites]
Who are you notifying of the errors? If only the person who actually does the payroll, it is possible noone higher up knows and i think you can approach your boss as such.
posted by domino at 11:27 AM on December 19, 2014 [2 favorites]
Whoops - hit go to fast. As i said, the payroll person could be hiding their incompetance and you could approach your boss by saying that you have had xyz problems with your pay and have addressed it with the payroll department and the mistakes have continued. Possibly mention you know it is the company's intention to pay promptly and accurately and you are concerned the companys standards of employee treatment are not being met.
If the higher ups do know, then i think midnight skulker has a great script. Tact is great but there is no reason to mince words here. They should know this is inappropriate.
posted by domino at 11:32 AM on December 19, 2014
If the higher ups do know, then i think midnight skulker has a great script. Tact is great but there is no reason to mince words here. They should know this is inappropriate.
posted by domino at 11:32 AM on December 19, 2014
When I was briefly embroiled in a letter-writing situation that was clearly going to go bad, a few fun tactics I learned from others were the use of broad negative characterizations and open ended questions. This isn't a letter to send if you want to be nice, but if the responses have you now feeling sufficiently hostile, you could modify the draft like so:
"I am concerned about the repeated errors on my paychecks. For example, on date xxxxxx there was error yyyyy, and on date xxxxxx there was other error yyyyyy. I raised the mistakes directly with the payroll department, but I received no explanations for the errors. The department also failed to correct the shortfalls in a timely manner, instead requiring me to wait for the next paycheck (which in turn has had its own errors).
This pattern of underpayment and late payment is unacceptable. I rely on my check to pay my bills, and the shortfalls and delays cause me hardship and expense.
Could you please explain why these repeated financial errors are occurring? What efforts are being made to fix them? When can I expect them to stop, and in the interim, what steps will the company take to prevent me from experiencing additional hardship? Thank you for your prompt attention to these concerns. I look forward to your reply."
posted by salvia at 8:32 PM on December 19, 2014
"I am concerned about the repeated errors on my paychecks. For example, on date xxxxxx there was error yyyyy, and on date xxxxxx there was other error yyyyyy. I raised the mistakes directly with the payroll department, but I received no explanations for the errors. The department also failed to correct the shortfalls in a timely manner, instead requiring me to wait for the next paycheck (which in turn has had its own errors).
This pattern of underpayment and late payment is unacceptable. I rely on my check to pay my bills, and the shortfalls and delays cause me hardship and expense.
Could you please explain why these repeated financial errors are occurring? What efforts are being made to fix them? When can I expect them to stop, and in the interim, what steps will the company take to prevent me from experiencing additional hardship? Thank you for your prompt attention to these concerns. I look forward to your reply."
posted by salvia at 8:32 PM on December 19, 2014
When I was briefly embroiled in a letter-writing situation that was clearly going to go bad, a few fun tactics I learned from others were the use of broad negative characterizations and open ended questions. This isn't a letter to send if you want to be nice, but if the responses have you now feeling sufficiently hostile, you could modify the draft like so
FWIW, salvia's proposed wording sounds perfectly factual and entirely non-hostile to me.
posted by Lexica at 9:41 PM on December 19, 2014 [1 favorite]
FWIW, salvia's proposed wording sounds perfectly factual and entirely non-hostile to me.
posted by Lexica at 9:41 PM on December 19, 2014 [1 favorite]
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