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Email templates · IT and computer repair

Email template to complain about a computer repair that went wrong

You paid a shop to repair your computer, and the result is not what you paid for. The original problem came back within days, the bill was well above the written estimate without anyone asking you first, files that were there before are gone, or the machine came home with a new problem it did not have. A polite written complaint is the right first move. It gives the shop a fair chance to make it right, which most will, and it creates a dated record of what you reported and when. That record matters if you later need to dispute the charge with your card issuer or complain to a consumer agency. Keep the first email calm and specific; save the firmer language for later.

Before you send

  • The invoice or receipt, with the date, the work listed, and the amount charged. If you have the earlier estimate too, put the two side by side.
  • A clear description of what is wrong now and how it differs from what the shop said it fixed. Photos or a short video of the current problem help.
  • Dates: when you dropped it off, when you picked it up, and when the problem reappeared or you noticed the new damage.
  • Any warranty the shop offered on its work. Many shops guarantee repairs for 30 to 90 days; it is often printed on the invoice.
  • What you want. A redo at no charge, a partial refund, or a full refund are all reasonable asks; pick the one that fits and say it plainly.
Subject Problem with repair on [make and model], invoice #[invoice number] 
Hi [shop or technician name],

I picked up my [make and model] on [pickup date] after you [what the invoice says was done, for example "replaced the hard drive and reinstalled the operating system"], invoice number [invoice number], and paid [amount].

Since then, [what has happened, for example "the same shutdown problem returned three days later" or "the bill was $180 over the written estimate and no one asked me first" or "the webcam, which worked at drop-off, no longer does"]. I've attached the invoice and [photos, video, or the earlier estimate].

I'd like you to [what you want, for example "fix the original problem at no charge under your 90-day guarantee" or "refund the difference between the estimate and the final bill"]. I can bring it back on [days you're available].

Could you let me know by [date, a few days out] how you'd like to handle it? I'd rather sort this out with you directly than go anywhere else.

Thanks,
[Your name]
[Your phone number]

Everything in brackets is yours to fill in. Keep the rest as it is or change the tone to match how you write.

After you send

  • A decent shop replies within a day or two and offers to look at the machine again at no charge. Take them up on it, and get in writing what they will do if the second attempt does not hold either.
  • A bad answer blames you, says the guarantee doesn't apply without saying why, or goes silent. Reply once, ask them to point to the term in their guarantee that excludes your case, and ask for the owner or manager if you were dealing with a technician.
  • If they refuse or stop replying, and you paid by card within the last couple of months, you can ask your card issuer to dispute the charge for services not as described; send a short final notice first saying that is your next step.
  • Before any second repair, back up whatever you can. If files were lost the first time, ask the shop in writing whether they made a backup before working on it.

Or don't send it yourself

Forward the job to myagent@standinfor.me and let StandIn run the whole thread.

StandIn is an email assistant that handles conversations with businesses for you. You write it one email saying what you need. It writes to the business, waits for the answer, follows up when they go quiet, pushes back on the number when it should, and brings the results back to your inbox for you to decide. You don't need to install an app or sign up. The first email you send is already the start of the task.

Hand this to StandIn opens an email to myagent@standinfor.me with the job already written out

To myagent@standinfor.me Subject Get a computer repair shop to make a bad repair right 
Hi StandIn,

Please handle a complaint with a computer repair shop and get them to fix the problem or refund what they shouldn't have charged.

The shop: [name, location, contact I used].
The computer: [make and model].
The invoice: [work listed, invoice number, date, amount].
What went wrong: [problem returned / bill over estimate / files lost / new damage, with dates].
What I have: [invoice, estimate, photos, video].
What I want: [free redo / partial refund / full refund].
When I can bring it in: [days and times].

Keep it civil, escalate to the owner if they brush it off, and tell me when a card dispute is the next step.

Thanks,
[Your name]

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