Halfords damaged my Battery

Aylesbury_Duck

jazzbow said:

Aylesbury_Duck said:

It's not "proof" you need, not in the legal sense.  Is it probable that Halfords caused the damage?

You haven't said if you've challenged them, and if so, what their response was?  I assume they're denying liability?  If so, one course of action would be to have someone inspect the battery and determine what exactly has happened and how it most likely occurred.  If that suggests that Halfords were negligent, then you write to them with those findings, asking them for a resolution, which might be a replacement battery or a contribution to the cost of a new one (bearing in mind your old battery is used).  You can then decide whether to try and enforce that through small claims action.

The service we have received has been truly shocking. When my husband first stated that the battery was fine when it went in to them, their response was, oh well we’ll charge it up then! They were supposed to phone us back and didn’t. He phoned them and was told  the battery was fried but discovered that they had only tried it in our bike (which they have allegedly just fixed) so we’ve asked them to try our battery in another bike and get back to us. That was two days ago. We put the bike in for repair a month ago.

That does put a different complexion on matters.  You're not yet even at a stage where you have a verified problem, and if there is, it might not be the battery.  Anybody whose diagnosis is that a battery is "fried" probably doesn't know what they're talking about, it's just a lazy diagnosis.  It might be a battery problem, it might be a fault with their charger, it could be the replacement connector that's at fault, it could be the bike itself.  Until you know exactly what's wrong (if anything), all you can do is await their response.  When you go to collect the bike, thoroughly test it before taking it off the premises entirely.  If there's anything to suggest the battery is faulty, don't take the bike or battery away with you.

jazzbow

cymruchris said:

Could it be that the battery was low when you took it in, and then flat after sitting in their warehouse for a while? And that it got so low, that a regular battery charge didn't recover it? Rather than it being 'fried'. What made you test it in the good bike before you took it in? And how was the damage caused to the original connector?

We tested it before we took it in because we’ve had issues with them before. We had to buy a new battery for the other bike earlier this year. 

diystarter7

Aylesbury_Duck said:

diystarter7 said:

Aylesbury_Duck said:

It's not "proof" you need, not in the legal sense.  Is it probable that Halfords caused the damage?

You haven't said if you've challenged them, and if so, what their response was?  I assume they're denying liability?  If so, one course of action would be to have someone inspect the battery and determine what exactly has happened and how it most likely occurred.  If that suggests that Halfords were negligent, then you write to them with those findings, asking them for a resolution, which might be a replacement battery or a contribution to the cost of a new one (bearing in mind your old battery is used).  You can then decide whether to try and enforce that through small claims action.

Not so sure re "small claims.." without proof as the poster has clearly stated.

that's why they would need to get someone to inspect the battery and determine the status of it and the likely cause.

How can the OP prove the battery was not good before Halfords got it by going the route you suggest?

Small claims and for that matter, any court goes by the facts. Clearly the OP stated he had no proof. Therefore I'm not sure how small claims can help or "someone to determine"" - determine what, that it does not work?

Sorry, but either I'm confused or you have got it wrong.

In summary - op took battery to H - then op states they fried it - op states it was working before - however op has no proof of this via independent witness - i fail to see how a "small court claim" can help


Apologies if I have completely misunderstood you posts but I doubt it but ready to stand corrected.

DanDare999

Aylesbury_Duck said:

It's not "proof" you need, not in the legal sense.  Is it probable that Halfords caused the damage?

You haven't said if you've challenged them, and if so, what their response was?  I assume they're denying liability?  If so, one course of action would be to have someone inspect the battery and determine what exactly has happened and how it most likely occurred.  If that suggests that Halfords were negligent, then you write to them with those findings, asking them for a resolution, which might be a replacement battery or a contribution to the cost of a new one (bearing in mind your old battery is used).  You can then decide whether to try and enforce that through small claims action.

It’s not proof the OP needs, it’s evidence at present they have none. 

sevenhills

jazzbow said:

We tested it before we took it in because we’ve had issues with them before. We had to buy a new battery for the other bike earlier this year. 

If both bikes are a similar age, it would seem normal for both to fail at a similar time.

MalMonroe

I think you could try writing to Halfords Head Office and explaining the problem, exactly as you have done here, in your original post. 

Link with information - https://www.halfordscompany.com/contact-us/

I'd write an official letter, just stating the facts but I'd attach it to an email to customer services, since there doesn't seem to be a postal address to write to for customer services or complaints.

I'd also love to hear the exact meaning of 'a fried battery'. Hardly a professional diagnosis from a 'specialist' company.

Don't let them get away with 'frying' your battery. Just because it's difficult to prove who did or did not do it doesn't mean that you shouldn't pursue this matter. If it was working before they had it, it should be still working now?

Often writing to a head office, or a more senior employee, can have better results.

There's always Twitter and Facebook too. Ask questions on there, most companies hate that. (But I'd wait to see if they respond to your email first!)

Aylesbury_Duck

diystarter7 said:

Aylesbury_Duck said:

diystarter7 said:

Aylesbury_Duck said:

It's not "proof" you need, not in the legal sense.  Is it probable that Halfords caused the damage?

You haven't said if you've challenged them, and if so, what their response was?  I assume they're denying liability?  If so, one course of action would be to have someone inspect the battery and determine what exactly has happened and how it most likely occurred.  If that suggests that Halfords were negligent, then you write to them with those findings, asking them for a resolution, which might be a replacement battery or a contribution to the cost of a new one (bearing in mind your old battery is used).  You can then decide whether to try and enforce that through small claims action.

Not so sure re "small claims.." without proof as the poster has clearly stated.

that's why they would need to get someone to inspect the battery and determine the status of it and the likely cause.

How can the OP prove the battery was not good before Halfords got it by going the route you suggest?

Small claims and for that matter, any court goes by the facts. Clearly the OP stated he had no proof. Therefore I'm not sure how small claims can help or "someone to determine"" - determine what, that it does not work?

Sorry, but either I'm confused or you have got it wrong.

In summary - op took battery to H - then op states they fried it - op states it was working before - however op has no proof of this via independent witness - i fail to see how a "small court claim" can help


Apologies if I have completely misunderstood you posts but I doubt it but ready to stand corrected.

The situation appears to have moved on and this is probably moot, but my thinking was that "proof" or "evidence" or "independent witness" in the strictest sense aren't required, simply the likelihood that H have been negligent.  It's not a criminal case, it's a consumer rights matter.

Someone knowledgeable might be able to determine why the battery isn't working, whether it's simply worn out, some cells have failed or whether it has indeed been "fried" by some sort of short-circuiting, overcharging, etc.  As you point out, that doesn't prove that the battery wasn't faulty before it came into H's care, but why would OP take a knowingly faulty battery in for a connection repair that sounds as if it was a physically broken connector, rather than a failed electrical connection.

Small claims action, or more precisely, the threat of small claims action, if backed by a reasonably qualified opinion that the battery has failed because of something done by H, might elicit a response.

DanDare999

MalMonroe said:

I think you could try writing to Halfords Head Office and explaining the problem, exactly as you have done here, in your original post. 

Link with information - https://www.halfordscompany.com/contact-us/

I'd write an official letter, just stating the facts but I'd attach it to an email to customer services, since there doesn't seem to be a postal address to write to for customer services or complaints.

I'd also love to hear the exact meaning of 'a fried battery'. Hardly a professional diagnosis from a 'specialist' company.

Don't let them get away with 'frying' your battery. Just because it's difficult to prove who did or did not do it doesn't mean that you shouldn't pursue this matter. If it was working before they had it, it should be still working now?

Often writing to a head office, or a more senior employee, can have better results.

There's always Twitter and Facebook too. Ask questions on there, most companies hate that. (But I'd wait to see if they respond to your email first!)

How do you suggest the OP proves Halfords the battery?

Ditzy_Mitzy

How did Halfords charge the battery?  I only ask because they may have a more powerful battery charger than the OP herself.  If the battery was old, it may well have been 'fried' by the shock of being connected to a faster charging circuit than it is used to.  That said, however, one may also reasonably assume that a battery in optimum condition would not be 'fried' by a jolt from a fast charger.  OP, how old is the battery and have you been trickle charging it at home?