Your Opinion and advice please.

[David & Ann]

I took my MH to Halfords where I bought the battery to have it tested. They tested it and said it is dead and I need a new one. Since I did not have my receipt for the Gaurantee I had the battery replaced and paid for it. Got home and the Mrs said she has found the Gaurantee receipt. So I took the battery back to Halfords and asked for some sort of discount against the new one I bought a few hours ago as the old one is still under warranty/Gaurantee. They checked the battery again and said there is nothing wrong with the battery. So I asked for the new one they put in be removed and have the old one replaced and also have a refund. They refused as they said the new one is now used. I now don't know what to do. Advice please and your opinion. Thank you in advance.

 

[donkey too]

This is tipical of HalfraudsI bought set of wiper blades for my bongo on the advice of salesman. When I go to fit them they are the wrong size. Took them back and the manager said that although the salesman advised me what to buy the onus was on me to check that it was the correct item for my vehicle. They refused to refund as they said the blades were now used. Sent letter to their head office and still waiting for reply 4 months l:mad2:ater.

 

[David & Ann]

Ask to speak with the manager if not a satisfactory response then ask to speak with head office .
Maybe try the I am not leaving here until you sort something for me line ?
You do not say how old the battery is as to how long it has lasted as to be honest the supposed 5 year gaurantee not worth the paper it written on !

Battery is on a 3 year Gaurantee, still has 3 months to go. The point I am making is that they as professionals said my battery was death and I had it replaced , to find out further when I went to claim, they then say the battery is okay.

 

[Makzine]

Trading standards come to mind :idea-007:

 

[fairytooth]

Halfrauds

They are not professionals, they are a bunch of monkeys.

They failed me on an MOT for having the headlight beams wrongly adjusted. So they charged me handsomely to 'fix' the problem and then give an MOT pass. That night I could see clearly that the beams were incorrect. Took it to another garage who said whoever had adjusted the beams had got it completely wrong. So I am sure as I can be Halfrauds (like that Donkey Too!) changed the perfectly good original settings. What a bunch of losers.

So, I will never use them again for anything requiring even the least amount of skill.

I would put your complaint in writing to the Head Office. The local branch manager will be a waste of space if he is anything like mine.

 

[n brown]

in situationslike this i pretend anger while staying calm.this means i can shout very loud without losing control. i would make clear,vociferously,that halfords obviously have a policy of lying to their customers to get sales and they have in effect stolen the cost of an unnecessary battery from your pocket.you want that stolen money back,now.you want the manager and salesman's names so you can pursue a civil claim if you don't get the dosh.make it clear you won't roll over and are prepared to take things a lot further if needed.try to do this when the shop is busy and refuse to go into an office to discuss it.be horrible,its great!

 

[David & Ann]

Thank you Folks for your opinions and advice. I will try to get them to atleast give me some sort of rebate as there was little time left on the Gaurantee. Let me see what happens next.

 

[bopper]

You have to write to the branch manager and head office first. You have to allow 28 days for the matter to be resolved, then you can go to your local trading standards with the complaint.

There is another way which I have successfully used many times. Pick a busy day and stand outside (Make sure you are not on the shops premises) Every person going into the shop can be advised "I would not trade with these people if I were you, they will take your money and deny responsibility for their bad advice" or words to that effect. This is quite lawful as long as you don't step over the line of propriety. Someone will soon come out and ask what you are doing. Tell them politely that you are giving customer service advice not to spend their money in this store and usually the shop will suddenly deal with your complaint in a better light.

 

[John H]

Sorry to hear of your problem, David, but from what you have posted it seems that you might be on thin ground. I would contact head office and remain polite - "I have used this store for many years and I don't want to get into a situation where I will have to take my custom elsewhere, so I'm sure we can work something out" etc.....

In reality, you may think they are a bunch of s*** but unless you have proof that they said initially the battery was dead, that their advice persuaded you to buy a new one and then they changed their mind about the original battery later then it is difficult to see how you could proceed (It looks like your word against theirs). Having said that, it might be worth taking the full story to Citizen's Advice and getting their opinion. Good luck.

 

[n brown]

when dealing with this sort of thing i think politeness means you're too civilised to make a fuss and can be safely ignored,or fobbed off with a promise.the manager is at a disadvantage as he HAS to stop you disrupting the shop,or he looks bad to those above and below him.i have never been refused a refund on shoddy goods or service .i just make it frighteningly clear that i will devote the rest of my life to this,and can't be embarassed. when my wife was refused a refund on some shoes because she'd worn them i had a great time in the shop,calling the manager a trained monkey who had no brain and could only spout the party line etc,took half an hour but he paid out just to get rid.still makes me chuckle

 

[John H]

when dealing with this sort of thing i think politeness means you're too civilised to make a fuss and can be safely ignored,or fobbed off with a promise.the manager is at a disadvantage as he HAS to stop you disrupting the shop,or he looks bad to those above and below him.i have never been refused a refund on shoddy goods or service .i just make it frighteningly clear that i will devote the rest of my life to this,and can't be embarassed. when my wife was refused a refund on some shoes because she'd worn them i had a great time in the shop,calling the manager a trained monkey who had no brain and could only spout the party line etc,took half an hour but he paid out just to get rid.still makes me chuckle

Its a sad world where it is possible to describe someone as "too civilised" and, just because I advocated politeness, it doesn't mean that I can be pushed around. The best approach is to start off polite but if you are getting nowhere then let them know that you are prepared to go to the newspapers, or to "Watchdog" or to parade up and down with a placard or whatever. You say that you've never failed on "shoddy goods or service" but from what David described there is no grounds for the former and one person's word against another on the latter, so why is it not wise to start off polite? I am all for making a nuisance of yourself in such situations but it is a waste of effort to start off this way.

 

[n brown]

Its a sad world where it is possible to describe someone as "too civilised" and, just because I advocated politeness, it doesn't mean that I can be pushed around. The best approach is to start off polite but if you are getting nowhere then let them know that you are prepared to go to the newspapers, or to "Watchdog" or to parade up and down with a placard or whatever. You say that you've never failed on "shoddy goods or service" but from what David described there is no grounds for the former and one person's word against another on the latter, so why is it not wise to start off polite? I am all for making a nuisance of yourself in such situations but it is a waste of effort to start off this way.

don't take it personally,i'm generalising about the mainly english fear of making a fuss

 

[herbenny]

Dont get me started about Halfords ...........I swear I will never step foot in another Halfords ever again !!!!!!!
I would say go to trading standards they can advise you .....a customer has rights. Hope you get it sorted

 

[David & Ann]

Sorry to hear of your problem, David, but from what you have posted it seems that you might be on thin ground. I would contact head office and remain polite - "I have used this store for many years and I don't want to get into a situation where I will have to take my custom elsewhere, so I'm sure we can work something out" etc.....

In reality, you may think they are a bunch of s*** but unless you have proof that they said initially the battery was dead, that their advice persuaded you to buy a new one and then they changed their mind about the original battery later then it is difficult to see how you could proceed (It looks like your word against theirs). Having said that, it might be worth taking the full story to Citizen's Advice and getting their opinion. Good luck.

Hi John H, How are you young man. I thought you have already hit the road. Getting back to your post. It is possible that it could be his word against mine. At the present moment the Manager has asked me to leave the battery at their premises and he will retest it. He said he would telephone in a few days time. That is the situation at the moment.

 

[Channa]

There is no need to be rude or adorn yourself with placards greeting customers to the store.


The course of redress is quite simple.

Contact the manager, suggest that they have had lsufficient time to evaluate the battery and on the basis they are not being expedient to offer a solution you have no alternatve but to seek remedy that the law provides.

Explain that with immediate effect you shall be contacting local trading standards to pursue your grievance....naturally refund of monies, to put you back into the original position would render the action unnecessary .


I would be surprised if halfords are not signed up to a local trading standards partnership...good garage scheme etc name varies area to area.
They won't unless you are not telling the truth even want to go there ..

Channa

 

[Bigpeetee]

My brother was advised by Halfords that his brake pads were 90% worn so he said change them but I want the old pads.

On return he paid the bill then asked for the old pads, there was a lot of shuffling and eventually they produced the pads with about 10mm of pad left.

They couldn't understand that if this was 90% worn, how big would they have been new??

They were adamant and refused a refund. He went to trading standards who would look into it.

A loudhailer, plackard and a high viz jacket soon had a crowd, several of whom were saying that they had been short changed.

He soon got his money back, but also compensation for his troubles!!!!

 

[John H]

Hi John H, How are you young man. I thought you have already hit the road. Getting back to your post. It is possible that it could be his word against mine. At the present moment the Manager has asked me to leave the battery at their premises and he will retest it. He said he would telephone in a few days time. That is the situation at the moment.

Thanks for the young man bit, David, but I just received my first State Pension payment last month - and these days we have a dongle (it happens when you get older!) so you can't get away from me so easily. Will be around England for the summer and then slowly down to Spain for the winter. Did you enjoy Australia?

All the best and good luck with the manager - let us know the outcome.

 

[nij]

Had a similar one with the AA a while back - battery was flat (camper hadn't run for months) and they jumped it and 'tested it' - surprisingly it advised a replacement as mine was dead - amazingly Mr AA man had one on his van perfect to fit my van for £120!!!!!!!
Well luckily for me, I was on the way to my mates garage for my vans yearly so I got him to test it - nowt wring with it, in the 5 miles I drove it, it had fully charged up and was as good as new - even better a replacement (same make and model as Mr AA man was going to supply me) was £48.74 (inc VAT and NOT mates rates etc.......) ok fitting would have cost more but what £25 tops!!

Moral of this story is - don't trust anyone except your trusted garage!

Halfrauds are know for ripping people off - have a look on google for motor factors near you - there will be loads and 99% of them sell directly to the public and 50% cheaper (if not more) than Halfrauds, QuickS**t etc.........

 

[jamesmarshall]

I went to Halfords some eight or more years ago and part way through serving me the salesman answered the telephone and proceeded to deal with a telephone enquiry, I left and haven't been in since. On reading this thread it would appear I had a lucky escape.