tenses

[Hanka]

Hi,

could you please check the tenses in the following sentence:

When I addressed to the complaints department of company XY gain, Mrs. XXX admitted that someone had obviously made a mistake but she had not tried to find the particular responsible person.

Thank you very much.

Hanka

[JSmiley]

...but she had not tried to find the particular responsible person.

Do you mean that she had discovered the mistake earlier, and at that time did not try to find the person responisble (in this case you are correct)

Or she discovered when you called that someone made a mistake, and at that time she didnt try to find the person responsible. In this case you should say:

"...but she did not try to find the particular person responsible."

The first bold part of your text is fine and would not change in any case.

[Hanka]

She discovered the mistake earlier and since then until the point when he addressed to her did not try to find the responsible person.

Hanka

[JSmiley]

Its kind of a subtle point:

If you are reporting her actions to someone else in this sentence (I believe you are) then did not try is best.

If you are reporting that she admitted that she did not try, then your original is best but with "not only" and "also" added. :

Mrs. XXX not only admitted that someone had obviously made a mistake but also that she had not tried to find the particular responsible person.

Because in that case she admitted two things.