Jul 19, 2007 10:12
17 yrs ago
3 viewers *
English term
petty thief (context)
English
Bus/Financial
Advertising / Public Relations
Letter to a corporate CEO
Hi everyone. I know what it means in both languages. Actually I am looking for a good yet milder equivalent for the first bitchy letter to my mobile service provider. There are several but I'd appreciate extra advice. Here is a piece from my draft fight for a refund. The bastards charged me twice for the PDA:
"...XXX supplied me with 3 faulty devices in a row and now holds my money for over 3 months, does not seem to be responsible for any of the actions or promises made by XXX representatives, does its absolute best to stay out of reach and makes me feel like I am chasing ***...*** rather than dealing with a major and presumably reputable US company.""
Thank you!
"...XXX supplied me with 3 faulty devices in a row and now holds my money for over 3 months, does not seem to be responsible for any of the actions or promises made by XXX representatives, does its absolute best to stay out of reach and makes me feel like I am chasing ***...*** rather than dealing with a major and presumably reputable US company.""
Thank you!
Responses
+3
3 hrs
Selected
fly-by-night operation
Another alternative if you think 'scam artist' is too harsh.
A fly-by-night operation is a 'here today, gone tomorrow' business that leaves its creditors with empty hands.
A fly-by-night operation is a 'here today, gone tomorrow' business that leaves its creditors with empty hands.
Peer comment(s):
| agree |
Marie-Hélène Hayles
: that's a great suggestion - it leads nicely on to the "presumably reputable company". I'd also suggest changing "presumably" to "supposedly".
7 mins
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| agree |
Robert Fox
4 hrs
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| agree |
Alfa Trans (X)
8 days
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4 KudoZ points awarded for this answer.
Comment: "My vote goes to you, Ken. Thank you very much! Turned out perfect for the register. Thanks a lot, everyone. All options were great. Rabbits were so tempting I nearly hit the button right away, scam a. - I still find it a bit too harsh. Cowboys - hey, I'm from Texas now, and so is my provider:-) Politically incorrect:-))))) Enjoy your day, ya'll!"
+6
18 mins
airmailrpl
Brazil
Brazil
Native in English
&
English
Brazil
Technical - Fast - good price - accurate
Native in: English (Variant: US) 
, Portuguese (Variant: Brazilian)
Works in: English to Portuguese, Portuguese to English, English, and 1 more.
Related KudoZ points
:
4
common thief..scam artist..
petty thief (context) => common thief..scam artist..
Peer comment(s):
| agree |
Austrianlassie
: Scam artist sounds good.
16 mins
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Darya Kozak
58 mins
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Alexander Demyanov
: scam artists
1 hr
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Ken Cox
: my vote goes to 'scam artist' - a thief steals something, but a scam artist dupes you
2 hrs
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Elena Aleksandrova
6 hrs
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Caroline Moreno
1 day 7 hrs
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+1
44 mins
Abdelmonem Samir
Works in field
your Arabic language partner
Native in: Arabic 
Works in: English to Arabic, Arabic to English, Arabic, and 1 more.
chasing rabbits in my backyard
This is a midler image than the image of chasing thiefs or swindlers or whatever, but stronger in terms of the underlying sarcasm, and still "you are still chasing".
1 hr
deceptive
How I'd put it.
8 hrs
a bunch of cowboys
In UK English, this is used derogatively to describe incompetent tradesmen, in US English is is similarly used to refer to tradesmen without proper training or a licences.
Reference:
Discussion