Dispatch Advice — Bill of Exchange Drawn

Dear Sirs,

We are pleased to inform you that your order of the 10th February has today been dispatched by rail.

As agreed, we have drawn on you for the amount of our invoice at one month. We enclose the draft, which please furnish with your acceptance and return to us.

Yours faithfully,

Encl.

 

Shipping Advice

Dear Sirs,

Your Order No. 177, dated 17th October

 

This is to advise you that the above-mentioned order be shipped on board the vessel "Ubana" from London to Mombasa on 25th November.

We are pleased to hand you enclosed copy of commercial invoice amounting to..., as well as non-negotiable copy of the bill of lading.

The original shipping documents (commercial invoice in triplicate, customs invoice in duplicate, full set of clean on-board bills of lading and certificate of insurance) have been presented to our bankers for collection through Barclays Bank, International Ltd. Nairobi, Kenya, on a sight draft basis.

We shall be glad to hear that the goods have arrived safely and in good order.

Yours faithfully,

 

Encl.

 

Manufacturer Advises Exporter of Impending Completion of Order

Dear Sirs,

The Wire-Drawing Machine you ordered on the 15th May for an overseas customer will be completed in about a fortnight.

We should therefore be glad to receive your packing and marking instructions. Perhaps you would also let us know whether measurements, gross weights and net weights are to be stenciled on the cases.

We understand that you will arrange for the collection of the shipment at our Sheffield Works, and we shall advise you as soon as the machine has been packed.

Yours faithfully,

 

English Company Reminds German Supplier of Delivery

Dear Sirs,

Our order No. 379 of 29^th March, which you acknowledged on 4^th April, calls for delivery of various kinds of photographic equipment.

We are in urgent need of the equipment specified in this order. Please let us know how soon we may expect this shipment to arrive in England. We would remind you that your acknowledgment states that the equipment will be delivered from stock, and we are wondering why there is such a long delay.

Yours faithfully,

 

British Representative of German Company Complains of Repeated Delays in Delivery

2^nd July, 20…

Dear Sirs,

The long delays in the execution of our orders are causing us great concern.

From time to time we have contacted you and have been given various promises which we, on our part, have passed on to our customers. These delivery promises have in almost every instance been broken by you, with the result that our customers now no longer believe any promise we make to them.

We are now faced with cancellations of orders by many of our customers. Consequently, we shall have to put your machines into our stock when they finally arrive here in England, as we shall no longer have any customers for them.

The latest cancellation is that by Sheldon & Co., Birmingham, a firm which bought over £4,000 worth of equipment last year. The date of their order is the 10th March, and when you acknowledged it on the 23rd March you promised to send the machines "within a few weeks".

While we are on the subject of delivery dates, we also have to remind you of the spare parts we ordered on the 5th May. As these parts have not yet arrived, we have had to postpone several urgent repairs, a fact which has added to our customers' annoyance.

You will understand that we are very unhappy over this most unpleasant state of affairs, and we only hope you will realize that this loss of confidence on the part of our customers will have very serious consequences for your company as well as ours.

Yours faithfully,

NEWMAN & CO. Ltd.

Andrew D. Newman

Managing Director

 

Buyer Gives Warning of Cancellation

Dear Sirs,

On the 20^th March we placed an order with you for 500 yds of Harries Tweed, pointing out at that time that prompt delivery was essential. In the meantime, almost three weeks have passed, and we are still without the material.

 

As the tweed is urgently required for an export shipment, we shall be compelled to cancel our order if the consignment is not received here by the 15^th April.

Yours faithfully,

 

Buyer Threatens to Claim Damages

Dear Sirs,

On the 10^th May we ordered central heating radiators from you for a building currently under construction. We pointed out to your representative that the radiators were urgently needed by the 5^th June, and he promised to see to prompt delivery.

We regret to say that this promise was not kept, a fact which is causing us considerable inconvenience. You will understand that, under these circumstances, your delay gives us the right to claim damages. We are reluctant to take such a step, however, and are prepared to wait for the radiators until the end of this week.

We trust that you will make every effort to meet this deadline and thus save yourselves and us a great deal of trouble and annoyance.

 

Yours faithfully,

 

Supplier Apologizes for Delay in Delivery

Dear Sirs,

We have received your letter of March 13th and offer our apologies for the delay in the execution of your order.

Unfortunately this order was overlooked in the pressure of business, but we are pleased to say that the goods are now ready for dispatch. Shipment will be effected by M/V "Norfolk" on April 29th, and the consignment should reach you about May 12th.

We hope this delay has not caused you any serious inconvenience and assure you that every effort will be made in future to ensure prompt delivery of your orders.

Yours faithfully,

 

Supplier Advises Customer of Delay by Strike

Gentlemen:

Unfortunately we will not be able to fill your order of August 5 within two weeks, as agreed in the contract.

Last week a strike was called by the Metal Workers’ Union, and it is completely uncertain how long it will last. This unforeseen occurrence has upset our production schedule, and we cannot, at the present stage, make any definit promise with regard to delivery.

We will, however, keep you posted on all further developments, and assure you that we will do everything to speed up the completion of your order as the strike is terminated.

 

Yours very truly,

 

Supplier Asks to Be Released from Contract

Gentlemen:

We are very sorry that we will not be able to supply the heavy-duty compressors you ordered on September 10.

Last week a fire broke out in our plant which destroyed several buildings, including our warehouse. We have cleared away the debris, but it will probably be several months before we can resume production. Under these circumstances we are compelled to ask you to release us from the contract.

We are sure you will understand the difficulty of our situation, which is due to circumstances beyond our control. You will hear from us as we are in a position to serve you again.

 

Yours very truly,

 

Parcel Missing

Dear Sirs,

We were very much surprised to learn from your letter of the 15th October that the parts you ordered on the 10th September have not yet arrived. These parts were dispatched by parcel post on the 27th September and should have reached you long ago.

We cannot understand this delay and would suggest that you ask the postal authorities to make investigations concerning the missing parcel.

Yours faithfully,

 

Tasks

I. Translate letters from Russian into English:

 

Уведомление об отправке

№1

Уважаемые господа!

Благодарим Вас за Ваш заказ от 24 июля на электробритвы. Мы рады сообщить, что Ваш заказ был отправлен сегодня утром по железной дороге и должен прибыть к Вам 3 августа.

К письму мы прилагаем счет-фактуру, которую просим оплатить как можно скорее.

Надеемся, что Вы останетесь довольны Вашим первым заказом, и мы сможем сотрудничать с Вами в дальнейшем.

 

С уважением,

 

Приложение.

Задержка поставки товара

№2

Уважаемые господа!

Нам очень жаль, но мы вынуждены уведомить Вас о задержке в выполнении Вашего заказа №573 от 26 марта.

Забастовка железнодорожных работников вызвала задержку отгрузки некоторых экспортных отправлений. Ваш груз находится на железнодорожной станции в ожидании отгрузки, которая будет произведена, как только возобновится движение.

Примите наши извинения за причиненные неудобства.

С уважением,

№3.

Уважаемые господа!

Спасибо за Ваш заказ от 14 января. К сожалению, у нас нет в наличии модели, которую Вы заказали. Это объясняется необычайно холодной погодой, которая значительно увеличила спрос на данную модель. Мы ожидаем дополнительную поставку в конце этой недели. Если бы Вы могли подождать до этого времени, мы смогли бы срочно выполнить Ваш заказ.

Мы сожалеем, что не можем выполнить Ваш заказ сейчас, но надеемся получить Ваш ответ с подтверждением, что Вас устроит поставка в начале следующей недели.

С уважением,

 

II. Draft letters in English from the following particulars:

№1

Фирма «А» в Аахене уведомляет фирму «В» в Лондоне, что груз согласно заказа № 433 отправлен сегодня по железной дороге. Она прилагает к письму счёт и трёхмесячный вексель на предъявителя, который просит английскую фирму вернуть после принятия. Фирма «А» убеждена, что товары будут иметь хороший сбыт и надеется на продолжение деловых отношений.

№2

Фирма «А» в Руане (Франция) сообщает фирме «В» в Дувре (Англия), что она сегодня направила ей следующие товары: французское вино и французский сыр по заказу № 567. Партия была отгружена на пароход «Каталина», отбывающий из Гавра. Пароход «Каталина» прибывает в Дувр по расписанию. Фирма «А» надеется на сохранное прибытие груза и сообщает о том, что копия счета-фактуры прилагается к грузу, а оригинал вместе с другими документами будет вручён Банком при оплате её тратты.

№3

Фирма «А» в Мюнстере обращается к фирме «В» в Лондоне с претензией о том, что она до сих пор не осуществила поставку заказанного товара. Фирма «А» сообщает, что задержка поставки ставит её в трудное положение и настаивает на том, чтобы фирма «В» проинформировала её телеграммой о самой ранней возможной дате поставки. В противном случае фирма «А» будет вынуждена отменить заказ и получить товары от другого поставщика.

№4

Фирма «В» в Лондоне приносит извинения фирме «А» в Мюнстере за задержку заказанного товара и причинённые в связи с этим неудобства. Фирма «В» объясняет, что из-за острой нехватки квалифицированной рабочей силы она с трудом успевает выполнить имеющийся наплыв заказов, и что задержка связана с исключительным спросом на её товары в течение последних нескольких месяцев. Фирма «В» надеется, что фирма «А» даст ей возможность восстановить её доверие, и обещает отгрузить заказанный товар в ближайшее время, о чём сообщит телеграммой. Она также надеется на дальнейшее сотрудничество.

 

III. Read, translate and act out the dialogue:

Delay in Delivery

C – Customer, S – Supplier

C: Hello, Michael Bishop here. I’m calling about cash machines we ordered. I’m really very unhappy. I want some action on this. They’re now more than two weeks overdue. Our customer wants them urgently. What on earth’s going on?

S: Hold on, Mr Bishop. Could you give me a few details please?

C: Details? What do you want to know? Surely you’ve got everything on file.

S: Yes, but let me just check. When exactly did you place the order?

C: What, you want to know the precise date?

S: Yes, if you don’t mind.

C: Wait a minute, let me get it up on the screen. Right, it was November the fourth.

S: Thank you. And what was the model you ordered?

C: It was the TX40, your latest model, the one you’ve just brought out.

S: Right. Could you tell me one more thing? What’s the order number please, the order form number?

C: Oh, let me see, it’s C270. And we ordered 50 registers.

S: OK. I’ll check it out right away and find out what’s gone wrong. I’m sorry to hear about this problem. I’ll call you back as soon as I can.

C: Well, thank you. Goodbye.

III. Read and translate the texts:

Substitution

A customer ordering a box of men’s handkerchiefs initialed “H” from a large mail-order house received a box of handkerchiefs with the initial “I” and the following explanatory enclosure slip: “We regret that we are at present out of the merchandise you ordered. The enclosed is the nearest thing to it and we trust that the substitution will be satisfactory”.

 

Sorry, Too late

A New York maternity shop received this note: “Dear Sirs: You have not yet delivered the maternity dress I ordered. Please cancel the order. My delivery was faster than yours.”

 

VI. Payment