What does Halfords "Lifetime Guarantee" mean?
Discussion
Hi all,
I'm afraid i have a dissapointing story to tell that will buck the trend on here. I have one of Halfords professional range socket & spanner sets, which i bought about 10 months ago following many recommendations on here.
I was helping the F-i-L fit some new discs & pads to his van at the weekend, which required a Torx 55 bit to crack the hub and carrier off the disc. I started telling him how excellent my socket set from Halfords had been, just as the T55 bit sheered itself with next to no pressure on it! Anyway, much ridicule later the job was done with a cheapo bit the F-i-L had from B&Q!!
Anyway, to cut a long story short, i dropped into Halfords yesterday to get the bit changed, and the muppet girl behind the counter said i MUST have a receipt to change any of the bits. Now, of course, as it has a lifetime warranty, i naturally assumed i would not need the receipt - will i still need it to get bits in 5 years time?
After having this arguament with the monkeys behind the counter, they tried to excuse it by saying that they had a number of bits stolen in the past (they are always kept in locked cabinets) and therefore they wanted to see a receipt. I finally managed to get the bit replaced after complaining like hell to the manager, but it took me around 20 mins to get it sorted.
Did i just get a monkey behind the counter? Or is Halfords exchange policy on this pretty standard? As it stands at the moment, i spent £150 on a socket set, it's been an excellent bit of kit, but the first time something breaks and i find it's very difficult to exchange.
I'm afraid i have a dissapointing story to tell that will buck the trend on here. I have one of Halfords professional range socket & spanner sets, which i bought about 10 months ago following many recommendations on here.
I was helping the F-i-L fit some new discs & pads to his van at the weekend, which required a Torx 55 bit to crack the hub and carrier off the disc. I started telling him how excellent my socket set from Halfords had been, just as the T55 bit sheered itself with next to no pressure on it! Anyway, much ridicule later the job was done with a cheapo bit the F-i-L had from B&Q!!
Anyway, to cut a long story short, i dropped into Halfords yesterday to get the bit changed, and the muppet girl behind the counter said i MUST have a receipt to change any of the bits. Now, of course, as it has a lifetime warranty, i naturally assumed i would not need the receipt - will i still need it to get bits in 5 years time?
After having this arguament with the monkeys behind the counter, they tried to excuse it by saying that they had a number of bits stolen in the past (they are always kept in locked cabinets) and therefore they wanted to see a receipt. I finally managed to get the bit replaced after complaining like hell to the manager, but it took me around 20 mins to get it sorted.
Did i just get a monkey behind the counter? Or is Halfords exchange policy on this pretty standard? As it stands at the moment, i spent £150 on a socket set, it's been an excellent bit of kit, but the first time something breaks and i find it's very difficult to exchange.
You got one of the many clowns who work there who sadly ruin the reputation of the company and the knowledgable staff who work there.
When I used to work for them we swapped parts like that no questions asked. Write a letter to the head office. They usually (used to certainly) bend over backwards to help people who complain.
When I used to work for them we swapped parts like that no questions asked. Write a letter to the head office. They usually (used to certainly) bend over backwards to help people who complain.
eltax91 said:
Hi all,
I'm afraid i have a dissapointing story to tell that will buck the trend on here. I have one of Halfords professional range socket & spanner sets, which i bought about 10 months ago following many recommendations on here.
I was helping the F-i-L fit some new discs & pads to his van at the weekend, which required a Torx 55 bit to crack the hub and carrier off the disc. I started telling him how excellent my socket set from Halfords had been, just as the T55 bit sheered itself with next to no pressure on it! Anyway, much ridicule later the job was done with a cheapo bit the F-i-L had from B&Q!!
Anyway, to cut a long story short, i dropped into Halfords yesterday to get the bit changed, and the muppet girl behind the counter said i MUST have a receipt to change any of the bits. Now, of course, as it has a lifetime warranty, i naturally assumed i would not need the receipt - will i still need it to get bits in 5 years time?
After having this arguament with the monkeys behind the counter, they tried to excuse it by saying that they had a number of bits stolen in the past (they are always kept in locked cabinets) and therefore they wanted to see a receipt. I finally managed to get the bit replaced after complaining like hell to the manager, but it took me around 20 mins to get it sorted.
Did i just get a monkey behind the counter? Or is Halfords exchange policy on this pretty standard? As it stands at the moment, i spent £150 on a socket set, it's been an excellent bit of kit, but the first time something breaks and i find it's very difficult to exchange.
I've had the same. The first time i argued it....i mean, where else could i have bloody got it? Its all got Halfords written on it!I'm afraid i have a dissapointing story to tell that will buck the trend on here. I have one of Halfords professional range socket & spanner sets, which i bought about 10 months ago following many recommendations on here.
I was helping the F-i-L fit some new discs & pads to his van at the weekend, which required a Torx 55 bit to crack the hub and carrier off the disc. I started telling him how excellent my socket set from Halfords had been, just as the T55 bit sheered itself with next to no pressure on it! Anyway, much ridicule later the job was done with a cheapo bit the F-i-L had from B&Q!!
Anyway, to cut a long story short, i dropped into Halfords yesterday to get the bit changed, and the muppet girl behind the counter said i MUST have a receipt to change any of the bits. Now, of course, as it has a lifetime warranty, i naturally assumed i would not need the receipt - will i still need it to get bits in 5 years time?
After having this arguament with the monkeys behind the counter, they tried to excuse it by saying that they had a number of bits stolen in the past (they are always kept in locked cabinets) and therefore they wanted to see a receipt. I finally managed to get the bit replaced after complaining like hell to the manager, but it took me around 20 mins to get it sorted.
Did i just get a monkey behind the counter? Or is Halfords exchange policy on this pretty standard? As it stands at the moment, i spent £150 on a socket set, it's been an excellent bit of kit, but the first time something breaks and i find it's very difficult to exchange.
Next time i couldn't be bothered. Oh, and its been the allen/torx sockets that break every time. They just shear, as you say, without any real pressure. When they do i just buy a replacement from somewhere else.
dern said:
I broke one of the allen key sockets I bought and they just gave me a new one. I didn't have a receipt and couldn't even remember when I'd bought them. Speak to the manager.
+1 I went in with a socket that I'd hammered onto a locking wheel nut to get another one. They offered to replace it for free without me even asking. I decided it wasn't very honest, so I paid for it anyway!Jimboka said:
It's a bit disrespectful to refer to their staff as Monkeys. Probably a student on minimum wage working for the first time in their life, give them a break!
I was a student working my first job in a factory. I gave it 100% effort for 100% of the time, and i prided myself on a very high quality of work!If i'd worked in Halfords as a student, i'd have given it 100% too, not stood around with two other collegues, annoyingly "clicking round" ratchet spanners (yes, all 3 of them were doing this) in front of a customer who was obviously not pleased at their lack of service. It seems they can have lots of little bits of kit behind the counter for the staff to play with, but if a customer wants one changing, it's all of a sudden a ridiculously difficult experience!!
papercup said:
Oh, and its been the allen/torx sockets that break every time. They just shear, as you say, without any real pressure.
Interesting - the one Halfords tool I have is a set of allen sockets. And the one I bought the set for broke first time out with no force whatsoever. I was taking up the strain, and it went 'snap' and broke in two. It went straight back, and I spoke with the same assistant who served me when I bought it 20 minutes earlier. Exchange wasn't a problem that time ...
Oli.
Other products wouldn't be swapped over without a receipt. Nothing wrong with that, most shops do it as without one the product could've been bought somewhere else, over the return period or stolen. This doesn't apply to the pro range of tools, as long as it's a non moving part and has no obvious signs of abuse it should be swapped over.
However, maybe the person you spoke to didn't know that? Staff training and motivation are pretty much non existent at said company, job prospects are low and the senior management are a bunch of tossers. What normally happens if you use your own initiative is that the management will have a go at you for not following policy to the letter
However, maybe the person you spoke to didn't know that? Staff training and motivation are pretty much non existent at said company, job prospects are low and the senior management are a bunch of tossers. What normally happens if you use your own initiative is that the management will have a go at you for not following policy to the letter
dern said:
I broke one of the allen key sockets I bought and they just gave me a new one. I didn't have a receipt and couldn't even remember when I'd bought them. Speak to the manager.
+2. Saturday, 6.30pm rushed in with a 24inch 1/2 drive breaker bar I'd just managed to shear the end off (memo to self - don't use a scaffold pole on the new one) - one minute later walked out with brand new replacement. No receipt, proof of purchase, etc, - didn't even need to fill in any kind of claim , name address.proof of purchase is not unreasonable imo?
besides most people today spending that sort of money use a CC - so the proof of purchase is on the statement?
i buy gifts for people but still keep receipts because
a) warranty
b) they may not like the gift and wish to change it
there is also a 'scam' which relates to these matters - but no way will i post it!!!!
besides most people today spending that sort of money use a CC - so the proof of purchase is on the statement?
i buy gifts for people but still keep receipts because
a) warranty
b) they may not like the gift and wish to change it
there is also a 'scam' which relates to these matters - but no way will i post it!!!!
Edited by grand cherokee on Monday 3rd November 12:09
grand cherokee said:
proof of purchase is not unreasonable imo?
besides most people today spending that sort of money use a CC - so the proof of purchase is on the statement?
i buy gifts for people but still keep receipts because
a) warranty
b) they may not like the gift and wish to change it
there is also a 'scam' which relates to these matters - but no way will i post it!!!!
I would probably tend to agree with you that proof of purchase is not necessarily unreasonable. However, with a lifetime guarantee product, can you really be expected to save that little bit of paper for life? They certainly managed to sell it to me on the strecgth that it was so easy to change bits with "no quibbles". besides most people today spending that sort of money use a CC - so the proof of purchase is on the statement?
i buy gifts for people but still keep receipts because
a) warranty
b) they may not like the gift and wish to change it
there is also a 'scam' which relates to these matters - but no way will i post it!!!!
Edited by grand cherokee on Monday 3rd November 12:09
I'm sure i just managed to catch the wrong employee at the wrong time, and from what NC says, it seems he's been on the other side of the counter at Halfords! Hopefully i won't need to test the replacement policy again!!
Having an arguement this morning with Halfords. Battery with 3 year warranty isn't holding a charge at 1 year old. First of all the oik triumphantly asked me for the receipt. Luckily I had the forethought to tape it in a coin bag onto the battery, he looked a little disapointed. Then he tested it, and said it just needed a charge. 
I've tried charging it with a HALFORDS charger and it doesn't help. Stuck it on my CTEK charger which says it is sulphadated. About to take a deep breath and prepare myself for round 2 with the manager....
I've tried charging it with a HALFORDS charger and it doesn't help. Stuck it on my CTEK charger which says it is sulphadated. About to take a deep breath and prepare myself for round 2 with the manager....Gassing Station | General Gassing | Top of Page | What's New | My Stuff