Halfords

Wattie said:

😠 Last Sunday my 13 year old son dropped a bicycle at Halfords for repair. He told me that Halfords had said it was not financially worth repairing. I spent the rest of the afternoon trying to telephone the shop, and got no answer - is this why they are so cheap? So I sent an e-mail to Halfords customer services to explain what I was going to do about the bike. Today, Saturday, at the first available opportunity, I returned to the shop. Guess what, Halfords have thrown the bike out of the shop and, no surprises for guessing this one, it is not now where they threw it last weekend. Any comments, ideas about this please? :eek:

When did you send the Email? Was it in enough time for them to stop the staff from chucking it?

Batesy said:

When did you send the Email? Was it in enough time for them to stop the staff from chucking it?

I sent the e-mail about 45 minutes after we had left the store, returned home and I had failed to contact them by telephone. So, yes, plenty of time for the staff not to chuck it. Except of course, it required the customer relations staff to pass on the e-mail details😄

i would demand a replacement bike as they have no right to throw it they must return it to you and give you the option of it as it is not thier property to throw away...

Wattie said:

😠 Last Sunday my 13 year old son dropped a bicycle at Halfords for repair. He told me that Halfords had said it was not financially worth repairing. I spent the rest of the afternoon trying to telephone the shop, and got no answer - is this why they are so cheap? So I sent an e-mail to Halfords customer services to explain what I was going to do about the bike. Today, Saturday, at the first available opportunity, I returned to the shop. Guess what, Halfords have thrown the bike out of the shop and, no surprises for guessing this one, it is not now where they threw it last weekend. Any comments, ideas about this please? :eek:

Daft question, why didn't your son just bring the bike back?

Anyway, Hellfords is absolute [censored] for anything (own a bike repair co) the mechanics generally get 1 day of training. Some do the whole Cytech thing but in general very few are knowledgable. What they should have said was its not worth fixing but for the money you would have to spend you can buy this... Basically if you need some good service go to an IBD, if they're really good they'll give a discount (part exchange so to speak) Hellfords should replace the bike but its a sticky point. If I get a bike for repair its then my property until the bill is paid in full although it sounds like your son just left the bike and came home which hellfords then took as him just leaving it for them to dispose off. Get in touch with the ACT 0870 428 8404 on Monday.

What I would do is visit this forum whatmtb.comforumOpen ↗ and post in the general section the same question as two of the regular writers work for halfords!
Nick

you mean you dropped a bike off to get repaired and while you werent looking, they chucked it in the bin?

wow!

i think you are in a strong position for getting a freebie from them..

phone thier customer helpline and complain.

Wattie said:

😠 Last Sunday my 13 year old son dropped a bicycle at Halfords for repair. He told me that Halfords had said it was not financially worth repairing. I spent the rest of the afternoon trying to telephone the shop, and got no answer - is this why they are so cheap? So I sent an e-mail to Halfords customer services to explain what I was going to do about the bike. Today, Saturday, at the first available opportunity, I returned to the shop. Guess what, Halfords have thrown the bike out of the shop and, no surprises for guessing this one, it is not now where they threw it last weekend. Any comments, ideas about this please? :eek:

I tour in Britain frequently and because they are a sponsor of Sustrans, I have visited Halford's several times.

This last trip I was in the Swindon and Newport stores. In the former I purchased a tie-down bungie type thing. I had to find it myself because the staff member said if it wasn't in the cycle department, they didn't carry it (it was in automotive).

I had a flat in Newport and I managed to pinch (put a hole in) the new tube I used to replace the old, so I went looking for bike shops. The only one in town was closed on Monday, so I found myself at Halford's. They didn't have the tube with the valve fitting I wanted. Also to save time I wanted them to put it on. The clerk at the cycle department wanted a [font=&quot]£[/font]2 bribe or I would have to wait until the afternoon. I paid and was on my way to Reading. The tube only lasted about 12 kilometers. I ended up taking the train to Reading and finding a bike shop. I'm still using the same tube today.

contact a lawyer, this is serious and they owe you big time, they cant deem your bike to be irrepairable and then dispose of it, they should just give it you back without charging for repairs etc
this is a disagrace, can you name and shame the branch?

I bought a roadbike from them before and found the service repair absolutely terrible. Im not surprised that they threw your bike out.

could add my tale but we live and learn

hi was in hallfords recently saw a friend who had purchased a montain bike for there son the cycle cost £500 , she mentioned it had spent 8 weeks in halfords for a repair/or awaiting spares.

last sunday went into halfords to purchase a 700 sized tube, they did not have correct size.

awhile ago was looking at the cheaper appollo range £100- £150 asked young salesperson what the gearing of cycle was re rear cassette , oh i never been asked that he replied , most people who have purchased from halfords that i spoke too would not buy from halford again as the service is poor.

tired legs said:

hi was in hallfords recently saw a friend who had purchased a montain bike for there son the cycle cost £500 , she mentioned it had spent 8 weeks in halfords for a repair/or awaiting spares.

last sunday went into halfords to purchase a 700 sized tube, they did not have correct size.

awhile ago was looking at the cheaper appollo range £100- £150 asked young salesperson what the gearing of cycle was re rear cassette , oh i never been asked that he replied , most people who have purchased from halfords that i spoke too would not buy from halford again as the service is poor.

An earlier post hit the nail on the head - lack of training for the staff. I recently bought a very cheap bike for the wife becuase it was all we needed. There was no real sale technique or advice required, just measuring up. She will use it a few times a year so i've got no problem with that. However, some of their bikes are £600 plus. Therefore, the buyer is going to want some good advice before investing in this kind of kit. I don't think the sales kid with a day of training behind him/her could do this.

Dessieboy said:

An earlier post hit the nail on the head - lack of training for the staff. I recently bought a very cheap bike for the wife becuase it was all we needed. There was no real sale technique or advice required, just measuring up. She will use it a few times a year so i've got no problem with that. However, some of their bikes are £600 plus. Therefore, the buyer is going to want some good advice before investing in this kind of kit. I don't think the sales kid with a day of training behind him/her could do this.

Go to a proper bike shop -- I would NEVER go the likes of Hellfords for bike gear --- they don't sell any !!![img]cyclingforums.comicon8.gifOpen ↗[/img]

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Wattie said:

😠 Last Sunday my 13 year old son dropped a bicycle at Halfords for repair. He told me that Halfords had said it was not financially worth repairing. I spent the rest of the afternoon trying to telephone the shop, and got no answer - is this why they are so cheap? So I sent an e-mail to Halfords customer services to explain what I was going to do about the bike. Today, Saturday, at the first available opportunity, I returned to the shop. Guess what, Halfords have thrown the bike out of the shop and, no surprises for guessing this one, it is not now where they threw it last weekend. Any comments, ideas about this please? :eek:

had bad experiences with them myself, but not that drastic.

I have bought some lights from them (which were highly dissatisfying as the charger charges the batteries way to quick and kills the batteris. (a full battery will last about 20 minutes on my bike)

I took my MTB into service there once for a general service. The Gear cable casing was absolutely knackered, the casing was frayed like hell and dangerous as it was sharp edges.

Rather than replacing the knackered gear cable casing, they decided to use wire cutters and cut it down to size a little. It worked temporarily but soon returned as gears were used and it caused strain to it again.

They also had my bike for about 4-5 days, which now in my eyes is not satisfactory.

I will buy supplies (e.g. tyres and slime innertube) from them and sometimes gas cylinders, but that is about as far as it goes with them now.

I now have a road racing bike (dawes gyro 300) - i wouldn't let them touch it if my life depended on it. I take it to the same shop i buoght it from (actually closer to me than halfords).

The bike was set up same day when i bought it, and 2 hours from saying i want it, i was riding it home.

Any repairs i have needed for it, they have always taken it straight into their workshop, and fixed it straight away for me, as they understand i need it for work. Longest ive ever waited for a repair is a hour (take in mind this includes replacing the damaged parts and giving the whole bike a service at the same time. Degrease, regrease, check tyre pressure and so on).

Ok i will give it to halfords, they did give me the 1 service i had with them free as the bike was within guarantee. (well i think i paid about £3 for 1 part)

i might have had to pay £40 for a new back gear unit (the springy bit) - as my bike tipped on black ice and smashed my old one up), but £40 for a high quality replacement part and a full service within a hour / hour and a half is DAMN GOOD SERVICE.

Halfords never again eeevil