Halfords Autocentres Reviews 

Dicusting service, had issue with air conditioning blowing warm one side of car,was advised to get it regassed,so booked in to local Halfords, paid £75 online and booked it in. Took in this morning left the keys .Hour later phone call ready to collect.
Collected keys and given receipt went got in car,exactly same as when dropped off.
Went back in asked if they had checked it,he said it all been checked no leaks found,not once was it mentioned that there a fault. I told him warm air blowing in car he then started saying there must be fault but nothing been pointed out, I read the receipt nothing pointed out under section needs fixing but they checked my tyres and lights. Been in contact with Halfords had some really rude man not letting us get a word in shouting at my wife,saying it down to us to point out,even though I no nothing about cars. When i got car back the vents were still closed as i left them to stop warm air, so the car had not been checked.Will never use this company again.

I would like to highly commend Anya in the bike shop, High Wycombe Halfords. She was busy in the bike shop upstairs working on a bike, with no customers at the time and I brought my sons bike up with a flat tire expecting to leave it and have to return. She fixed the tire immediately and I was on my way, I have dealt with her in the past and she always does an excellent job and is very professional, thanks Anya, much appreciated, Leroy.

I have been going (out of my way) to the Seafield (Edinburgh) branch of Halfords for my BMW services and maintenance for several years. The Manager, Grant has consistently delivered reliable and quality services, and whilst he is the branch Manager, he is one of a very few who have a deep understanding of vehicle mechanics, and the nuances of different makes and models. He never upsells and always gives multiple options for solutions. Recently, I discovered a miscommunication on a warranty service from my warrant provider, and once Grant was made aware, he immediately resolved it free of charge (irrespective of the warranty provider).
This prompted me to write a review overdue review.
Severely short-staffed this week, Grant picked up the tools himself to resolve it (which I have seen him do in the past), whilst managing the branch and also admin duties, from what I could tell. I drove away happy with Grant's extra efforts, but left wondering whether Grant has the franchise support he needs to maximise his skills and experience.

Terrible service and lied to repeatedly by staff. I booked an air con diagnostic that offers 'an inspection of key components, including the compressor, condenser, drive belts and hoses'. This was important because I had already tried a recharge and it had not worked. I explained this to the staff.

After having the car for 8 hours and not phoning me to tell me it was ready, I called them and was told "the air con is blowing nice and cold now." When I went to collect the car I asked them what issue they had found. They had simply recharged it. No inspection of other components at all, despite what I had told them.

And when I went to my car the air con was still broken. That was the first time they lied to me.

I was then told that it must be a problem with another component such as the condenser but that they're unable to look at that, despite what it says on the description of the diagnostic.

To refund the gas recharge cost I had to go through customer service online and book a second appointment with the centre, which was a waste of time. The centre then told me that they could only refund the recharge cost and not the initial air con diagnostic charge. That could only be done by customer services.

Customer services now tell me that that was a lie and only the centre can refund that charge. So I'm going to remain out of pocket even though literally no service was provided to me.

Awful, awful service. Stay well away.

Booked and paid for a battery fitting appointment. Got an email back saying - we made an error, we took you cash but hey we can't do your appt.

So 45 mins later talking to them, they offer to check out my same day appt in 7 days! Or 'request' a refund for not doing anything.

NO HALFORDS YOU ARE **** REFUND ME MY WASTED TIME SPENT SORTING OUT YOUR ERRORS!

UPDATE!!! The link they suggest I use in their reply cost me an hour of my time yesterday before this review!!! Useless.

Do not use Halfords Burnley, took a stone chip to be repaired, job was rushed so resulted in them smashing my windscreen which they are refusing to pay for ! I then get told it will be £110 to pay roughly to get a new windscreen only to be quoted lowest &330!

I booked my EV for an MOT and service as halfords is one of the few places which will do it. I received 2 reminder calls, but on both occassions the system was broken, struggling to play the recording, and only speaking a few words across about 30 seconds. I only realised it was a reminder as I managed to make out the word "service". When I collected the car, before driving away I checked the service book and found it had not been filled in. When I took it back to check, the excuse I was given was they couldn't find the book. It was on the passengers seat in the document wallet next the the locking wheel nut which they found fine. They didn't even tell me they hadn't done it until I questioned it, even though it is an item listed as part of the service. Who knows what else hasn't been done. While driving home, the charging port which is on the front of the car popped open at 50mph so hadn't been closed properly. Luckily I was on a quiet road so was able to stop and close it. When I checked over the car a few weeks later, I noticed the brake fluid reservoir had been overfilled by a fairly substantial amount. A quick search suggests this could be a safety issue, so had to syringe some out. I tried to raise a complaint, but couldn't find a form or email address on the website. They suggest using the chat feature which only works during certain hours. I tried a message on X asking for a complaint to be raised, but haven't heard anything beyond an initial message.

In response to halfords reply, as stated above, I have tried the chat feature as you suggest. It is a pain to use and only available during specific hours. I messaged on x asking to be emailed but you continued to converse on x and wouldn't give me the complaints procedure. If you want me to get in touch, give me an email address to contact you on. A custom chat system which does not provide me a transcript is not a formal means of communication or reliable complaints procedure. Alternatively, I believe trustpikot allows you to request additional information. Request my car reg and you should then be able to locate my contact details. Or you could look at messages on x for where I provided you an email address to contact me on.

My car was booked for an MOT/service at Halfords strood. It needed an indicator bulb to pass the MOT and also spark plugs. I have been charged £28.44 for the bulb which costs a few pounds and £168.51 for 3 spark plugs which retail at £16 each on their website. Customer services were no help at all.

Absolutely inappropriate useless try to avoid it no matter what. Only thing that they're good in is to waste your time that's what gonna happen. You gonna leave the car with the problem they're not gonna sort the problem and this is the good situation most of the times it's like they not even gonna start the car so you're gonna stay without the car still with the problem and waste your time what is the point. Absolutely scammers.

I have booked a tire check up twice in your Congleton shop & twice it has been cancelled due to inefficiency of the staff. Their excuse on the first time was their understaff which I have been very understanding despite me bringing my car at 6 am as I only work down the road to the shop. The 2nd time was today, the 14th of July. I booked it last week specifically saying there’s problem with the tires. Dropped it at 6 as usual. When I finished at 10 & went back for my car, it was not touched at all. The staff were not apologetic at all, instead blamed me for not telling them which tire has the problem. That’s the very reason I booked it in because I don’t know which tire has the problem. They could have called me as they have my number to confirm but I didn’t hear anything from them just like the first one. A simple call would have sorted the problem & acknowledging the customer’s frustration rather than blaming them is not a very good customer service attitude. After the 2 bad experiences, I don’t think I will ever bother to waste my time with them.

I have been a loyal trade customer of Halfords Balham for many years. I am a self-employed motor trader operating in my own name, not through a limited company. Over the years, I have purchased countless trade items from this branch and have had number plates printed there many times without any issues. The documents I have provided have always been accepted by previous members of staff.

Today, however, I experienced the worst customer service I have ever received.

I attended the Balham branch to have a number plate made for one of my trade vehicles. I presented my driving licence, V5C documentation, and my motor trade insurance, exactly as I have done on previous occasions. Instead of simply checking the documents professionally, the young member of staff immediately began arguing with me, incorrectly claiming that my motor trade insurance was not valid because it did not contain a company name.

This is completely wrong.

I am a self-employed sole trader. My motor trade insurance is issued in my own name because I trade as an individual, not as a limited company. There is absolutely no legal requirement for a self-employed motor trader to operate through a limited company. Instead of listening or checking the facts, this employee started trying to lecture me on how I "need to be a Ltd company," despite clearly having no understanding of the law or how sole traders operate. It is unacceptable for staff to give customers incorrect legal or business advice.

I explained that Halfords Balham has printed number plates for me many times before using the same documentation and that several members of staff had accepted it without any problems. His response was simply, "I serve over 1,000 customers, I don't remember." That is not a professional response. If he cannot remember previous transactions, he should not dismiss what a long-standing customer is telling him.

To make matters worse, he then refused to print the plates despite the fact that the official requirements clearly state that proof of identity together with the appropriate vehicle registration document, including the V5C or V5C green slip where applicable, can be used when obtaining replacement number plates. Rather than explaining his decision politely or checking with a manager, he chose to argue and speak down to me.

His attitude throughout the interaction was extremely rude, confrontational, and disrespectful. He spoke to me in an aggressive, intimidating manner that made me feel as though I was being treated like a criminal rather than a genuine long-standing trade customer. Instead of showing courtesy, professionalism, and respect, he behaved in a way that was completely unacceptable for someone working in customer service.

What made the experience even worse was that when I asked for his name so I could raise my concerns, he refused to provide it. I find this completely unacceptable. Customers have every right to know the identity of the employee serving them when making a complaint. Halfords should require all customer-facing staff to wear clearly visible name badges so there is accountability for the service they provide.

I have spent years supporting Halfords Balham and purchasing trade products from this branch. To be treated in this manner by an inexperienced employee who was confidently giving incorrect information and showing such a lack of respect is extremely disappointing.

I expect Halfords to:

* Investigate this incident thoroughly.
* Retrain this employee on the legal requirements for supplying replacement number plates and the difference between a self-employed sole trader and a limited company.
* Provide proper customer service training, including how to communicate respectfully and professionally with customers.
* Require all staff to wear visible name badges or otherwise identify themselves when requested.
* Explain why documentation that has been accepted by the same branch on numerous previous occasions was suddenly rejected without any proper explanation.

This experience has seriously damaged my confidence in Halfords Balham. After many years as a loyal trade customer, I never expected to be treated with such disrespect, spoken down to, and refused service based on incorrect information. This was, without question, one of the worst customer service experiences I have ever had.

I happened to be in Basingstoke and the tyre pressure alarm came up on my Mercedes.
Bearing in mind the top of the range expensive tyres were purchased from Halfords Autocentre, Worting Road, just a few months ago, plus I have the Halfords tyre insurance and also that I'm a Motor Club member, I thought that I would call in to for assistance.
BIG MISTAKE
It was 3.45pm and the place was empty apart from one car up on a ramp in the far distance yet the Assistant Manager, Ian, point blank refused to help me, even to the extent of even checking tyre pressures for me!

Racism and neglect is my experience. Racist incident happened five days ago and I reported it immediately to their formal customer service email but they just ignore it. It seems to me the customer service representative is not fewer racist neglected than the employees which makes them to ignore a discrimination incident. Also the lady in the store claimed that it's too late to serve a customer where she had time to sit and show her manicure to her colleagues and have some laughter. Too bad!.

A useless autocentre at Ramsgate. Unbelievably, they have cancelled two MOT bookings because their ramp is out of action ----for a MONTH! It would put other garages out of business. If they can't fix a ramp, how do they get on with cars I wonder. Not that it worried the front desk person.

Went into Halfords in Hamilton today with my Grandson , he was looking for a slip and slide , the girl was very helpful but they did not have any in stock . We left the store to check if any other stores had it . The girl from Halfords then came out after us to say she had managed to find one .My Grandson was delighted . This service was amazing and , the assistant called Cat went above and beyond today she is an asset to your company , one happy boy .Thank you . I will recommend this store to family and friends.

Booked my car in to have the air con re gassed paid the £75 when I dropped the car off they then called me said mines on a newer gas so is going to be £140 feet I had no choice as my car was already there so agreed to pay the difference on collection. When I picked the car up they said we found a leak but we fixed it so it should be ok the next day air con wasn’t working. They are now trying to say they advised me before I have the go ahead that there was no guarantee it would work blatant lie so I’ve now had to raise a complaint with head office and try to get my money back. Woman in customer service was useless just kept repeating the same thing over and over and talking over me. Will never use them ever again

No Halfords at Rotherham Parkgate absolutely shocking. I paid for air con and full service and paid just short of £400. Air Con wasn’t done and not sure what they did during the service as they didn’t mention any of the things I knew needed doing and they they didn’t pay any attention to the warning light I had, which also wasn’t removed although it’s stated in the the service description that they’d see to it. I feel they didn’t do anything and I’ve paid almost £400 for nothing. Avoid
I have returned my car to be rectified, they stayed an hour. It’s now well over an hour, I have to collect my children and there’s 4 workers just stood having a laugh, my car in the background with bonnet up. Honestly, they’re ridiculous.

If there was a zero star it would be getting one…booked car in…was on the call 7 mins…ran all over like a blue arse fly for them 2 basically call me a liar…I dunno who more useless the 1 under Alexander bridge or trimdon street

I booked a mobile tyre fitting service. The technician refused to drive up our road (first time this has happened in over 13 years, and we have much larger vehicles access our road every week). The technician's attitude was rude, arrogant and utterly disinterested. I provided alternative locations, all of which he refused to use. Eventually a kind neighbour allowed use of their property. The technician promised to call me when the work was complete, but didn't. He left, gave me no notification and left my car unlocked, blocking my neighbour's drive. 2 days later when driving the car for the first time, the balancing (included in my service) was so dangerously out, I had to stop away from home to have them rebalanced, and pay on top. Quite probably the worst customer experience and service all round.

Booked my Volvo xc40 recharge in for a air con check. Filled in the online form which includes the registration. All good. They can do it.
They didnt have a clue!!! Total waste of time. Decided not to leave car there when one of the technicians decided to look at Google for help.
Thanks for nothing Kingsbury Road Birmingham Halfords.