One thing that's somewhat rare and useful is getting a look at how other people write letters to get stuff done.
Backstory here: I had about $1,000 in a CD for a few years now. I originally deposited it in order to get a secured loan against the CD to improve my credit score (it worked, I can discuss that another time). But now whenever I call on the phone they're being a big pain in the ass about not letting me get my money out of the CD, which is just sitting there at a pathetic 0.15% interest. It was never a top priority for me so I didn't pursue it, but then I had an idea.
I wrote this letter up, asked a friend to go visit the bank, and it was finished within a day (after them being unable to help after numerous calls) -
--
Dear Bank:
This letter grants John Doe power of attorney for a duration of one week in order to perform the following transaction at Bank:
Please break the CD in account 1234-56789, "13 Month CD," which is in the amount of $1,232.50.
Those funds should be withdrawn from that account and placed into account 97865-4321, "Premium Checking With Interest," most recently at a balance of $1. Please then close the 13 Month CD permanently.
I am aware that there is a nominal penalty fee for breaking the CD early. That is acceptable, I accept the fee.
Mr. Doe may sign all relevant documents related to breaking the CD and depositing it into the Premium Checking With Interest account.
Please promptly execute this transaction. I've called customer service a number of times and they've been unable to resolve it without a signature physically inside the bank. Any further delay or inability to process this transaction will cause unnecessary hardship and inconvenience.
Please email me at myemail@address.com - my email on file - if there's any questions. Thank you for your prompt resolution of this matter.
Sebastian Marshall
Address-on-file:
123 Sunny Avenue
New York, NY 01234
SSN: 999-99-9999
--
Feel free to adapt this for your own communications - I suspect this could help in a lot of similar situations.