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halfords autocentres avois at all costs

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By *ub bbw OP   Woman
over a year ago

oldbury

Just a word of warning to any of you who think using a big chain of places like halfords autocentre is a good idea. S took his car in for a service as it is right by work he then had nearly £2000 worth of work done on it that possibly wasnt needed but they had already done it and pressured him into paying for it. The car has not been right since it doesnt fire properly and sounds rough. The air con stopped working straight after and we just assumed it needed recharging we had that done last week by a local guy who told us it wouldnt charge so we took it to a local garage who have jsut confirmed that the wires had been cut and damaged and that the work halfords claim to have carried out wasnt done properly so thanks halfords you have now cost us over £2300 for a service we could have bought a new sodding car for that. My advice is avoid at all cost and dont get robbed by them. They also told us we needed new tyres but we have just been told we have 6-12 months left on the ones we have. Grrrrrrrrr i know its not thursday but this is a warning and a rant so do i get away with it or am i off to the stocks

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By (user no longer on site)
over a year ago

Spoken to BBC Watchdog?

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By (user no longer on site)
over a year ago

Not being funny but why would you pay 2k on car repairs without a second opinion...

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By (user no longer on site)
over a year ago

From a trading standards site :

If a fault was not correctly diagnosed or was not repaired properly, you should allow the garage the opportunity to fix it. If the garage fails to do so, you may be entitled to get the work done elsewhere and recover the cost from the garage. In this instance, you should write to the garage to inform them of your intentions. Include three written quotations for the cost of repairs elsewhere and advise the garage that you will be seeking reimbursement of the average repair quotation.

If the garage fits a part, which turns out to be faulty, and it has not been fitted very long, you may be entitled to a refund or you could ask for the part to be replaced. You can opt for a repair as an alternative and still retain your right to a refund or replacement if the repair is unsatisfactory. If the part has been fitted for some time before it fails, you are entitled to have it repaired or replaced as long as it does not cause you significant inconvenience or take an unreasonable amount of time. If repairs are inconvenient, or will take a long time, you may be entitled to compensation - usually the cost of getting the work done elsewhere. Remember that fair wear and tear is not a fault and not the responsibility of the garage.

If you pay for the repair or service by credit card, and if the work costs more than £100, you are protected by the Consumer Credit Act 1974. Section 75 of the Act makes the card provider as responsible as the trader for a breach of contract or a misrepresentation. You are entitled to take action against the trader, the card provider or both. This does not apply to charge cards or debit cards.

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By *atisfy janeWoman
over a year ago

Torquay

How did a standard service turn into £2300 worth of repairs?, did they just do them without asking you first?

If so did they have your arm twisted behind your back so that you would agree?

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By *ub bbw OP   Woman
over a year ago

oldbury

we have just paid a garage £250 to repair the aircon and regass it but the cost from halfords was just over £2000 for a new clutch, brake pads, fan, cam belt and a repair to the exhaust. S knows nothing about cars and i mean nothing he thought this was acceptable until i told him they had charged him too much. They claim to know nothing about the damage to the aircon and deny cutting the wire despite the garage we found online part of the good garage scheme ensured us it was too clean a break to have been anything but.

They didnt have his arm up his back but when he questioned the prices they tod him the work had been done and he had to pay it. Even tho no one had phoned him first to get the go ahead.

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By *ub bbw OP   Woman
over a year ago

oldbury

professorxxx thanks for that i will be looking into all this properly now.

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By *ub bbw OP   Woman
over a year ago

oldbury


"Not being funny but why would you pay 2k on car repairs without a second opinion... "

Because they went ahead and did it without telling him what the cost would be as he dropped it off while at work and went back after to get it

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By (user no longer on site)
over a year ago


"we have just paid a garage £250 to repair the aircon and regass it but the cost from halfords was just over £2000 for a new clutch, brake pads, fan, cam belt and a repair to the exhaust. S knows nothing about cars and i mean nothing he thought this was acceptable until i told him they had charged him too much. They claim to know nothing about the damage to the aircon and deny cutting the wire despite the garage we found online part of the good garage scheme ensured us it was too clean a break to have been anything but.

They didnt have his arm up his back but when he questioned the prices they tod him the work had been done and he had to pay it. Even tho no one had phoned him first to get the go ahead."

Were you both wanking at the time you took it in?

Someone saw you coming.

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By (user no longer on site)
over a year ago

Also from Trading Standards:-

REPAIRS HAVE BEEN CARRIED OUT WITHOUT AUTHORISATION

This can be a contentious matter, especially with verbal contracts, as it can be very difficult to prove that the garage carried out the work without your authority. It will generally come down to your word against the word of the garage. If the garage has carried out unauthorised work, you could ask the garage to put the vehicle back to its original condition. This course of action, however, can create problems, especially if it would leave your car in a worse condition or even render it unroadworthy. The garage may also refuse to undo the work or release the car without payment. If improvements have been made, the garage is entitled to exercise a lien over the car (this is a legal right to hold disputed goods until payment is made). In these circumstances, the only way you can recover possession of the car is to 'pay under protest' and to pursue your claim for reimbursement - it's important to seek advice about paying under protest from the Citizens Advice consumer service.

The garage may be a member of a trade association with a conciliation, mediation, or arbitration service, which can help sort out your complaint. You may have to pay for using an arbitration service, but conciliation is usually free. Discuss the service offered with the trade association before committing yourself.

You could also, as a last resort, take legal action

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By *atisfy janeWoman
over a year ago

Torquay

How the hell did a simple service turn into a new clutch, brake pads, fan, cam belt and a repair to the exhaust?.

Are you suggesting that they just did this work without checking with you?, or are you saying that they advised you about the clutch/brakes/fan/cam belt/exhaust and you agreed to the work?

I'm confused.....

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By *ub bbw OP   Woman
over a year ago

oldbury


"Were you both wanking at the time you took it in?

Someone saw you coming. "

I wasnt with him i was at home and yes they saw him coming because they get technical with him and he just looks confused ive told him im in charge of the car from now on as i know some basic mechanics having helped brothers rebuild cars and messing about with a few of my own over the years.

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By *ub bbw OP   Woman
over a year ago

oldbury


"How the hell did a simple service turn into a new clutch, brake pads, fan, cam belt and a repair to the exhaust?.

Are you suggesting that they just did this work without checking with you?, or are you saying that they advised you about the clutch/brakes/fan/cam belt/exhaust and you agreed to the work?

I'm confused....."

They claimed they came across problems with it so went ahead and did all the repairs without contacting him

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By (user no longer on site)
over a year ago

I bought a new push bike from halfords for off roading. Theres a quary near my house with plenty of hills so I took it down there. On my way down a near vertical hill and the handle bars came loose, I came off, luckily no broken bones but I was covered in gravel rash and smacked my head on a rock and left unconscious, lucky I was with a friend or fuck knows how long I'd have been there. I'd never buy anything from there again

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By *ub bbw OP   Woman
over a year ago

oldbury

no generally they over charge i bought a bulb for the rearlights from a car spares part down the road for £1.07 halfords had charged him £6 for it before then wanted another £4 to fit it for him i did the whole thing in 3 mins

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By *Ryan-Man
over a year ago

In Your Bush

They're good for air fresheners and bike pumps I wouldn't let them touch my car though.

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By (user no longer on site)
over a year ago

that sort of work would take authorisation..

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By (user no longer on site)
over a year ago


"They're good for air fresheners and bike pumps I wouldn't let them touch my car though. "

I wouldn't let them pump up the tyres on my bicycle!

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By (user no longer on site)
over a year ago

What have Halfords and a man with a stutter got in common?

Ha Ha Ha Ha Ha ...

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By *ub bbw OP   Woman
over a year ago

oldbury


"that sort of work would take authorisation.. "

thats part of my point that they just went ahead then charged stupid money for it

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By (user no longer on site)
over a year ago


"that sort of work would take authorisation..

thats part of my point that they just went ahead then charged stupid money for it"

they can't actually do it.. I know where I used to work for anything more than 500quid we needed a signature.

I had Alfa try to tell me my car needed brakes and a few other bits. I told them I would get it checked independently. Sold it 2 years later with same brakes.

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By *am123Man
over a year ago

essex chelmsford

and u bent over and paid it?!!! are u mad without authorisation why why why would u pay

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By *atisfy janeWoman
over a year ago

Torquay


"that sort of work would take authorisation.. "

That's how I would see it, I can't see how any court in the land would uphold any defence for carrying out work to that extent on the strength of a customer booking a car in for a standard service.

I simply would not pay.....

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By *ub bbw OP   Woman
over a year ago

oldbury


"that sort of work would take authorisation..

thats part of my point that they just went ahead then charged stupid money for it

they can't actually do it.. I know where I used to work for anything more than 500quid we needed a signature.

I had Alfa try to tell me my car needed brakes and a few other bits. I told them I would get it checked independently. Sold it 2 years later with same brakes. "

well we are now going to look into a formal complaint as they are seriously in breach

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By (user no longer on site)
over a year ago


"that sort of work would take authorisation..

thats part of my point that they just went ahead then charged stupid money for it

they can't actually do it.. I know where I used to work for anything more than 500quid we needed a signature.

I had Alfa try to tell me my car needed brakes and a few other bits. I told them I would get it checked independently. Sold it 2 years later with same brakes.

well we are now going to look into a formal complaint as they are seriously in breach

"

did you already pay...?

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By *ub bbw OP   Woman
over a year ago

oldbury


"that sort of work would take authorisation..

thats part of my point that they just went ahead then charged stupid money for it

they can't actually do it.. I know where I used to work for anything more than 500quid we needed a signature.

I had Alfa try to tell me my car needed brakes and a few other bits. I told them I would get it checked independently. Sold it 2 years later with same brakes.

well we are now going to look into a formal complaint as they are seriously in breach

did you already pay...?"
yes but he paid on his credit card and we have been overcharged we have the list of work supposedly carried out but acording to garage we used today some of it hasnt been and they advise us to contacting trading standards

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By *ub bbw OP   Woman
over a year ago

oldbury

we havent paid the garage today yet to repair air con damaged by halfords as they need to order part in

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By (user no longer on site)
over a year ago


"that sort of work would take authorisation..

thats part of my point that they just went ahead then charged stupid money for it

they can't actually do it.. I know where I used to work for anything more than 500quid we needed a signature.

I had Alfa try to tell me my car needed brakes and a few other bits. I told them I would get it checked independently. Sold it 2 years later with same brakes.

well we are now going to look into a formal complaint as they are seriously in breach

did you already pay...?yes but he paid on his credit card and we have been overcharged we have the list of work supposedly carried out but acording to garage we used today some of it hasnt been and they advise us to contacting trading standards"

it's going to be long and complicated.. good luck with it. I would've refused to pay.

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By (user no longer on site)
over a year ago

Halfords are awful I work in a garage as a mechanic and regularly have to go upto the one by us and collect cars that they can't fix, a lot of the faults are simple and they have jumped to conclusions costing the customer ££££'s my advice is if you have trouble with your car go to a garage that someone reccomends to you preferably an independent one just a thought I would go up there and ask to see your old parts that they have removed off your car they have to keep them for two weeks after the work has been completed incase the customer wants to view them if you need any advice drop me a pm

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By *ub bbw OP   Woman
over a year ago

oldbury

thanks cali we know we have a battle on our hands but seeing as we have the garage we have now found backing us and able to provide proof that work wasnt carried out despite us being billed for it and damage to the car as the cable in the air con had been cut we should get somewhere

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