Halfords Autocentre complaint

JWP89

I am a new customer to Halfords and recently attended an Autocentre for a full car service. 
I received a phone call detailing issues with my car that they advised NEEDED replacing TODAY. This was 3 X tyre replacements and both front and back brake pads (not discs). The price of this would total £600+ including the price of the service. I was taken aback by this as the car is only 36 months old. Nevertheless, he was the expert and me the novice. I asked him for an individual break down of the costs. Tyres were a standard £50-60, the brake pads would total £300. I questioned the price of the break pads and asked for his assurance this is in line with other garages and he assured me that was a very competitive price. So I asked him to proceed with the work.

Upon ceasing the call I began to investigate this and was staggered to receive a quote from three over garages ranging from £60-100. I called him back immediately and advised to stop the work and I would seek this assistance elsewhere but he should complete the service. He then proceeded to be what I would describe as a ‘pushy salesman’ using several tactics to try and persuade me to change my mind, with manipulative language and that the brake pads were on the car and ‘would be difficult to remove’ despite it being 10 minutes previous. I explained my reasoning and asked if there was a reason for 5X inflation compared to other neighbouring garages. I wasn’t given an answer. He advised me that he was going to call a manger to see if he could change the cost. He ended the call abruptly. When he returned the call several minutes later and he hadn’t managed to speak with a manager (no surprise), he said he could reduce the cost of the brake pads to £280 from £300. I again politely declined the work to be carried out. Again, he was using tactical replies which I swerved. Insisting I use the companys 0% finance scheme over 12 months to finance this. 

I’m a very non confrontational person so this was a very stressful encounter for me and one I don’t want to encounter again. I did agree for the three tyres to be replaced but I feel I was pressured into this, and normally wouldn’t pay £60 per tyre for a Hire Purchase Car, which he knew. I explained I just needed tyres to last 12 months. The basic tyres on the website were not offered to me as an option but I was pressured into buying midrange tyres with a ?NHS discount.

Upon collecting the car, the service book wasn’t filled in despite being assured it had been, my service documentation states the car has driven 48,500 miles and it’s closer to 43,000 miles which again points to careless work.

Finally, several hours after leaving I was left a voicemail asking if there were any van keys left inside my car as they couldn’t find a previous customers keys. At no point was I asked to show my NHS card.

I feel very upset by this whole encounter and will not be using Halfords Autocentre in the future and will actively discourage friends from using this particular garage. I understand people can have off days but there were too many errors in the one customer experience to warrant this a bad day. I feel as though I was lied to regarding competitive prices and was deceived. I was attempted to be manipulated over the phone to carry out work I didn’t want doing, pressured and paid for higher spec tyres than I wanted and finally the careless nature of work detailed above leaves me with no confidence in this garage. 

I have complained and I'm not sure of what I want from an outcome, mainly for this to not happen to other people. Does anyone have any thoughts on this?

born_again

Well known practise from many of these chains.

Best bet is to find a good local independent (ask round friends or local online groups) and stick to them.

TBH. £60 a tyre is good. But why only 3.. That should have set alarm bells ringing.

Do you not check tyres etc?

JWP89

I wasn’t too fussed about the tyres, although they do do cheaper ones which I would have selected if offered and not pressured. 

It was the outright lying about the the discs and the manner in which he spoke. 

My opinion on tyres that 1 was wearing down but others seemed okay 

JamoLew

JWP89 said:

 I was taken aback by this as the car is only 36 months old. Nevertheless, he was the expert and me the novice. 

I would expect a 36 month old car that has done 40k+ miles to probably need some tyres and possibly pads - why were you "taken aback" ?

JWP89

JamoLew said:

JWP89 said:

 I was taken aback by this as the car is only 36 months old. Nevertheless, he was the expert and me the novice. 

I would expect a 36 month old car that has done 40k+ miles to probably need some tyres and possibly pads - why were you "taken aback" ?

What a pointless comment. 

Spank

Why? It's seems to be a perfectly reasonable question that you have not answered 

k3lvc

JWP89 said:

JamoLew said:

JWP89 said:

 I was taken aback by this as the car is only 36 months old. Nevertheless, he was the expert and me the novice. 

I would expect a 36 month old car that has done 40k+ miles to probably need some tyres and possibly pads - why were you "taken aback" ?

What a pointless comment. 

Far from it - you're capable enough to work in the NHS and drive a car - that should give you enough common sense to be able to a) research the garage you're using and their reputation and b) understand the costs of running a car - nowadays may 36k mile cars will be on 2nd if not 3rd set of brake pads (and maybe even discs)
You now know for next time but you've just added your name to the (long) list of people who warn against Halfords and yet you took no notice of the online reviews so why would others ?

JWP89

Spank said:

Why? It's seems to be a perfectly reasonable question that you have not answered 

I thought my - nevertheless he’s the expert and me the novice - comment might have covered the answer. 

JWP89

k3lvc said:

JWP89 said:

JamoLew said:

JWP89 said:

 I was taken aback by this as the car is only 36 months old. Nevertheless, he was the expert and me the novice. 

I would expect a 36 month old car that has done 40k+ miles to probably need some tyres and possibly pads - why were you "taken aback" ?

What a pointless comment. 

Far from it - you're capable enough to work in the NHS and drive a car - that should give you enough common sense to be able to a) research the garage you're using and their reputation and b) understand the costs of running a car - nowadays may 36k mile cars will be on 2nd if not 3rd set of brake pads (and maybe even discs)
You now know for next time but you've just added your name to the (long) list of people who warn against Halfords and yet you took no notice of the online reviews so why would others ?

I now do know for next time, although the reviews for this particular garage were good. 

Thanks for the input. 

cymruchris

£300 for brake pads actually sounds like discs and pads - not just pads. When you were ringing around you might have been given a price for ONLY pads. However there are times when it is best to change both - if the previous pads have worn too low. Does your printed invoice say 'Pads' or are there a mention of 'Discs' as well?

Also there are different 'qualities' of pads where there are 'cheap' ones made of compressed cardboard for next to nothing up to a decent brand which might cost a bit more. Halfords do tend to use decent quality brands on brakes - and your local garages (potentially) might be using cheaper branded components in order to attract the cost conscious customer.

What kind of car do you have? A Fiat Panda? A Ford Focus? A BMW 735? Knowing the car will give us an idea of whether what you had done was a fair price.

photome

no body should get caught out needing tyres
you can easily check the tread depth and condition, something that all motorists should do at regular intervals.

OP if you are not sure about tread depth google is your friend, there are many depth gauges out there but even a 20p piece will do, I like the electronic ones that you can use to also check your tyre pressure at the same time.


this is just an example

https://www.amazon.co.uk/Pressure-Gauge-Digital-Trucks-Vehiclesks-Vehicles/dp/B07P5RG8TL/ref=pd_lpo_263_t_2/257-4947432-4427357?_encoding=UTF8&pd_rd_i=B07P5RG8TL&pd_rd_r=39f374a6-2ac8-4134-b6fd-bef985a88c14&pd_rd_w=O4lIi&pd_rd_wg=CoxaE&pf_rd_p=7b8e3b03-1439-4489-abd4-4a138cf4eca6&pf_rd_r=EA4D0P4DSWR01HR73N5N&psc=1&refRID=EA4D0P4DSWR01HR73N5N