When a letter says "please respond by 3 March", you know where you stand. The trouble is that most letters don't say that. The deadline is there, but it's wrapped in a phrase that sounds like background.
These are five of the phrases to look for. They show up in letters from councils, banks, tax offices, landlords and utilities, and each one means something more specific than it sounds.
One caution first: deadlines differ by sender and by the type of letter, and this isn't legal advice. Treat this as a guide to what to look for, and check the letter itself.
1. "Within 14 days of the date of this letter"
Count from the date printed at the top of the letter. That is not necessarily the day it reached you. A letter dated on the 1st that lands on the 5th has already used up four of your days.
Work out the actual calendar date the moment you open it, and write that date down. Don't carry "14 days" around in your head.
2. "Must be received by"
This is different from "sent by". If a payment or a reply has to be received by a date, posting it on that date is too late. Allow for post, for bank transfers that take a working day or two, and for weekends.
If the letter says "received", leave yourself a margin.
3. "Unless we hear from you"
This one often sits in the middle of a paragraph. It means that doing nothing is itself a decision. If you don't reply, the sender will treat the position as agreed and carry on.
Look at what follows the phrase. That is what happens by default, and the deadline is the point at which it starts.
4. "You have the right to appeal" (or "request a review")
Rights usually come with a time limit, and it's often in the last paragraph, in a smaller type size, after the part that felt like the end of the letter. The appeal window can be shorter than you'd expect, and it may not wait for you to sort out the main problem.
If you think the letter is wrong, find that paragraph first.
5. "Failing which"
Or "otherwise", or "if you do not", or "we may then". These phrases introduce a consequence, and a consequence tells you there's a deadline nearby. Read the sentence before it. That is the thing you're being asked to do, and the date is usually right there.
A habit that helps
For any letter that isn't obviously routine, do three things before you do anything else:
- Find every date and every number of days, and turn each one into a real calendar date.
- Find the sentence that says what happens if you do nothing.
- Put the earliest date in your calendar, with a reminder a few days before it.
If a letter is about money, housing, benefits or a legal matter and you're unsure, it's worth asking someone who can advise you. In the UK, Citizens Advice is a good place to start.
Why we wrote this
We're building an app called Plain that does this reading for you. It finds what a letter says, what you're being asked to do, and by when, and shows you the line it got the answer from. It's still in development, and we'll tell you honestly when it's ready. Until then, this list works without an app.
