Hello, yes. I have a problem with my bill. This month you take my money two times. Two times, the same amount. I check my bank account and is there twice, almost the same day. I never do this before, I pay one time only, every month. So I want the money back, the second payment. It is difficult for me because my rent is coming next week and I am— it's a lot. Also I get the message on my phone for the payment. So please, you can check my account. I have the number here somewhere.
Speaking Task 6: Dealing with a Difficult Situation
Speaking Task 6: Dealing with a Difficult Situation is part of the Speaking section of the CELPIP General test. You get 60 seconds to prepare and 60 seconds to speak. It is scored on Content / Coherence, Vocabulary, Listenability, Task Fulfillment.
- Preparation
- 60 seconds
- Speaking time
- 60 seconds
- Prompts here
- 25 published
The three-move difficult call
- 1
Name it precisely
Our CLB 5 answer says "you take my money two times". The CLB 11 says "two payments of ninety-four dollars, both posted on the eleventh, same reference number".
- 2
Close the obvious door
Rule out the explanation they would offer first. The CLB 9 answer checks with the bank before calling; the CLB 11 says it is not a pending duplicate that will drop off.
- 3
Ask for one specific thing
"The second charge refunded to the same account, with a confirmation by email" gives the other person a single action to take.
Specific beats strong.
Across our four graded answers the detail rises with the level. The volume does not.
Prepare the diplomatic phrases, polite refusals and explanation language you need to handle an awkward situation tactfully in CELPIP Speaking Task 6.
You must choose how to respond to a difficult social or work situation and explain your decision. Polite, diplomatic vocabulary lets you decline, apologise or negotiate without sounding rude.
What raters reward here
- Clearly state the problem.
- Stay calm and polite but firm.
- Say what outcome you want.
- Offer relevant details (dates/amounts).
Three mistakes that cost points heremost common first
- 1Blaming the person who answered rather than describing the problem.
- 2Explaining how the mistake made you feel instead of what it cost.
- 3Ending without saying what you want to happen.
How Speaking is scored
- Content / Coherence
- Whether your ideas are relevant, developed and logically ordered.
- Vocabulary
- The range and accuracy of your word choice under time pressure.
- Listenability
- How easy you are to follow as speech: grammar, flow, pacing, pauses and fillers.
- Task Fulfillment
- Whether you answered the actual question and covered what was asked.
Model answersthe same prompt, four levels
These are the answers our scorer was calibrated against. Reading a CLB 5 beside a CLB 11 for the same prompt is the fastest way to see what a level actually means. CLB 9 is marked as the target because it is the level that earns maximum language points for Express Entry.
Hi, yeah, I'm calling about my bill for this month. I think there's a mistake. The payment came out of my account twice. It was the same amount both times, about ninety dollars. I only have one plan with you, so there should only be one payment. I checked my banking app this morning and I can see both of them there. This has never happened to me before. I'd like you to put the second payment back into my account. I'm not sure how long that takes on your side. I just want it fixed as soon as possible, because I need that money for my rent.
Hi, good morning. I'm calling because I've been charged twice for my monthly plan this month, and I'd like to get it sorted out. The regular payment went out on the third, which is normal, and then two days later a second charge for exactly the same amount came out from my account again. I checked with my bank first, in case the problem was on their side, but they confirmed both charges came from your company. I have been with you since three years and nothing like this happened before, so I think it is a system error, not something I did. What I would like is the second charge refunded on the same account, and a confirmation on email if that's possible. Could you also tell me how long the refund normally takes?
Hi, good morning. I'm calling about a double charge on my account — two payments of ninety-four dollars, both posted on the eleventh, same amount, same reference number, and both have cleared, so this isn't a pending duplicate that will simply drop off. I know this isn't anything you did personally, and I'm not going to make it your problem. But the part that actually matters here isn't the ninety-four dollars — it's that the second charge tipped the account into overdraft, and my bank has added a thirty-five-dollar fee on top of it. So what I'd like is the duplicate reversed straight back to the card rather than credited against next month's bill, because a credit does nothing about that fee, and then the fee itself covered. If the reversal takes several business days, I understand. I'd just like a reference number before we hang up, and something in writing today.
Now do it yourself and find out where you land
A model answer shows you the target. It cannot tell you whether your own response hits it — that is a CLB level for each criterion, with the sentences that earned it.
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Create your free account →Questions people ask
- How formal should Speaking Task 6 be?
- It depends on who you are speaking to in the prompt, but a polite, slightly formal register is safest. The phrases below are tagged so you can match the relationship.
- What makes a strong Task 6 response?
- Clearly stating your choice and softening it with diplomatic language so the listener feels respected, even when you are declining or disagreeing.
The other 24 Difficult Situation prompts1 free
- ·Turning the Break Room Into a Meeting Area
- ·Vacation Savings or Helping a Friend
- ·Replacing the Library With a Fitness Studio
- ·The Summer Trip or Staying Home to Study
- ·Thanksgiving Dinner at Home or a Restaurant
- ·Buying an Apartment or Continuing to Rent
- ·Your Daughter's Used Car or Her Savings
- ·Dealing with a Difficult Situation
- ·Sharing the Care of Aging Parents
- ·Letting Your Son Use the Family Car
- ·The Family Vacation Dilemma
- ·Adopting a Dog
- ·University in Another City
- ·The Free Training Course
- ·The Customer Complaint
- ·A Noisy Neighbour
- ·The Unfinished Presentation
- ·Returning a Faulty Phone
- ·Declining Extra Work
- ·A Late Food Delivery
- ·A Double-Booked Appointment
- ·Returning a Gift Without a Receipt
- ·One Extra Hockey Ticket
- ·Grandmother's Birthday or Friend's Moving Day