Halfords

No Bookin in just turn up...
Small job like changing bulb,
No problem... Pleasant staff... Brilliant...

I bought an electric coolbox and mains adaptor from Halfords website on 1st June. It wasn't going to be in stock till 8th June which was after we left home to go on holiday, so I asked to collect it from Carlisle store on 8th June. However, when I got there I realised it would not be suitable for our car, so the Carlisle store cancelled the order, and said I would receive an email from Halfords confirming that the order had been cancelled, and I would receive the refund to PayPal as that was how I had originally paid. But no email or refund has arrived.

On 25th June we were passing through Carlisle again on or way home, so we called in and I spoke with them again. They were very concerned to hear I had not received the refund or an email. They checked the store records which said the refund had been made. As there was nothing else they could do, they said I should phone customer service and gave me the number.

I phoned, but the person who took the call was unable to put me through to the refund department because they wouldn't answer the phone. So I tried the chat line instead. But the chat person said they'd ask the Carlisle store to phone me, and there was nothing else they could do. They gave me an "action" number: *******. Then they disappeared.

I emailed the customer service department, but have not received even an automatic acknowledgement. I sent a message via Messenger, which has been seen, but not acknowledged or replied to

I'm really concerned about this, Halfords customer service have my money, and I want it back! I'm wondering if you have sent it to someone else by mistake? I have been a loyal Halfords customer for many years, their products and shops are excellent, but their customer service department is abysmal.

Product price increase. Cheeky and audacious given that the item is out of stock. Greed has no bounds.

On 13 November I went to my local Halfords store and asked for the following to be replaced and fitted on site:

Headlamp bulb - £12.99
Front Wipers - £18.00
Rear Wipers - £9.00
Fitting - £8, £4.00 & £2.00 respectively

The new headlamp bulb didn't work and I was asked to refer to a mechanic. I went to my local supplier, Terriers Autos in High Wycombe who checked the headlamp and quickly surmised that the fault was a blown fuse. He asked me why Halfords hadn't picked this up since it was a simple exercise - I didn't have an answer.

Whilst there, I mentioned that the driver door would not longer open/lock with my key and I had to use the passenger door for this. He replaced the battery in my key (I had paid another supplier a total of nearly £150 to fit new lock mechanisms which didn't work).

My total bill for new fuse and replacement key battery (including fitting) was £7!

The lovely Julian, owner of Terriers Autos, charged £4 for the fuse (and informed me he would have charged £4 for a bulb had that been the problem) plus £3 for the remote battery, £0 for fitting. Julian told me he would have charged £12 for all three wipers and no fitting charge. All in all, I would have saved £37.99 by going to him in the first place plus another £150 for the key battery by going to a mechanic who actually knows what he is doing!

Women like me, who know absolutely nothing about cars, get conned regularly. However, I am surprised that an organisation like Halfords doesn't apply a fairer and more realistic pricing policy. If my local mechanic can still make a profit from charging £4 for a headlamp bulb, how can Halfords justify selling exactly the same item for £12.99? Similarly with the wipers, my mechanic would have charged £8 for the front wipers and Halfords charged £18, and finally my mechanic would have charged £4 for the rear, as opposed to Halfords extortionate £9. I don't begrudge the fitting charges - I think they are fair enough - but the profit hike on the parts is utterly appalling!

Another observation about the bulb versus fuse issue - are these very young Saturday lads properly trained? If they didn't pick up a simple fuse issue, or indeed even look to see if that was why the new bulb didn't work, it makes me wonder how much they actually know and how safe we are when they replace important parts such as lights?

Cambridge store the worst on bike assisting! One week to change my ebike pedals! Rude store manger

This review is about appalling customer service, at the store as much as the website. I bought a dab car radio as a present for my husband. He was able to navigate the site easily, read reviews, identify which extra kit he needed for the radio to fit in his car etc. So far, so good.

We chose Halfords as we thought it offered reassurance if they also fitted the product they supplied. I didn't want to buy off an unknown name and later find problems with fitting or the product, without being able to go to a shop to sort it out. So we opted for store fitting at £24.99. The radio arrived really quickly (ordered Sunday, delivered Tuesday).

I phoned my local Halfords store in Ashton-under-Lyne and asked if I could make an appointment to have it fitted. "Oh, just bring it down anytime and we'll fit it there and then." Brilliant. I went to the store, with a 3 year old and 1 year old in tow, to be dealt with by a surly sales manager. I handed him the car radio and accessories, still packed. As he unpacked them, he was asking my why there was certain paperwork in there, and why that number was on it. Questions I couldn't answer. His whole approach was meant to make me feel like I'd done something wrong. He then told me that I'd been sent the wrong fitting voucher, that they couldn't fit it in my car (Toyota Corolla) and I'd have to call a different number. He then kept me waiting for another 20 minutes - didn't explain what he was doing or how long it would take, despite the fact he could see I had my hands full with young children.
Anyway, eventually gave me some paperwork and another number to call.

To cut a long one short, I called the number while outside the store, found that I STILL hadn't been given the right paperwork and had to go back in to see the sales manager again to sort it out. When I questioned the manager on whether he thought I'd experienced poor customer service, he just shrugged and told me "we don't fit them into those cars". Having revisited the website there is a link in small print that says a mobile fitting service is needed for Toyotas with "bolt-on head units". No explanation as to what a bolt-on head unit is... even in the jargon buster section.

I went to put a review of the service on the Halfords website and GUESS WHAT? They warn that if you leave a review with negative comments about customer service, then they won't post it.

I felt I'd chosen a dependable supplier, but may have been better off getting a radio cheaper somewhere else and having a garage fit it. More poor customer service. BUYER BEWARE.