Halfords complaints continue
My dispute with Halfords looks set to run and run, as my previous complaint against Halfords, dated July 7th, has only just been responded to. Last week I took the day off to wait for delivery of a CD player for the car, only for it to fail to turn up. I complained to Halfords with this email, and in the meantime the item did arrive (on July 8th, when I was in London for the A-Team screening) so I missed delivery.
Anyhow, the item has now been collected and installed in the car, despite my having to pay another £4.99 for a connector that I wasn’t informed about when I ordered the item from Halfords website.
I awaited their response from my last complaint before replying again, and it has just arrived. Here is what they said, count the excuses:
From: David Willis [mailto:David.Willis@halfords.co.uk] On Behalf Of Customer Services
Sent: 13 July 2010 16:05
To: Darren Jamieson
Subject: Re: FW: halfords.com – Order Received (ref ********)Dear Darren Jamieson,
Thank you for your email. Please accept my apologies for the delay in our response, this has been due to an unusually high volume of written correspondence in recent weeks.
I am sorry to read that you have experienced issues with your online order. We regret to inform you that Halfords are undergoing a major warehouse relocation, consolidating 3 warehouses into 1. At this present time stock is being transferred from its original location to the new Distribution Centre and is being booked into to the correct location of picking and despatch. I apologise that due to this relocation your items were delayed within our system and we were unable to meet the advised delivery schedule.
This issue has been rectified and from your order information and DHL tracking information all items have now been delivered to your address.
As previously advised, Halfords have removed all delivery charges in relation to your order due to the inconvenience caused during your online transaction with Halfords. I can also confirm that the 5% discount was also honoured and actioned as per your correspondence with Customer Services. I will however escalate the order details to the correct team member to investigate why a call back was not given by the advisor in the time scale provided to advise you that this had indeed been actioned. The outcome of this action will be dealt with internally.I would like to assure you that it is never our intention to cause distress or inconvenience to any of our customers and although mistakes do happen, we recognise that it is how they are dealt with which is important. I thank you for your patience in relation to this matter.
In reference to your compensation request, Halfords only compensate for actual losses and cannot consider your request for compensation reference a late delivery. As a company, we feel that it more productive and beneficial to address the issue and deal with the matter internally.
I appreciate this may not be the outcome you were expecting, however, please be assured that this matter has received my full attention and consideration. . It is only through feedback from our customers that we are able to identify areas where we are falling short of our customers’ expectations and can redress them.
Please accept my sincere apologies once again.
Yours sincerely
David Willis
Customer Contact Centre Supervisor
Halfords LtdCustomer Services: 0845 057 9000
Web: www.halfords.com
Halfords Limited, Washford West, Redditch, Worcestershire. B98 0DE
Naturally, the fact they are moving warehouses doesn’t really concern me. It doesn’t explain why they failed to call me back or even notify me of the delay to delivery so I could cancel my day off, and it doesn’t explain why I had to pay more money again when I had the item installed at Halfords in Cheadle. So, here is my repost again.
Hi David
Thanks for your email, although again it was almost a week before I received a reply.
The items not arriving on the date I had specified was indeed inconvenient as I had taken a day off to wait in for them, and the day that they did arrive (July 8th) I was in London all day – hence why I selected July 7th for a delivery date. I was not advised that the delivery date would change (otherwise I could have cancelled my day off), and it seems a strange coincidence that the items were shipped hours after I emailed to complain. Perhaps the order was forgotten, or lost, until I reminded you?
However, they have arrived now and I have finally had the item installed at Halfords in Cheadle, Manchester. The staff were very helpful, and indeed quick at installing the item.
On the downside, I had to pay another £4.99 for a connector plug which I was not advised about when I placed the order on your website, despite running the ‘will this work with my car’ check. The fitter in the store mentioned that many customers are angry about this when they go in for fitting because the website never tells them about this connector, or even warns them that it may be necessary.
Perhaps your website should be updated to show this as you’re clearly angering a great many people by trapping them into another £5 purchase at the point of install after they have ordered from your website?
I’m sorry to hear that Halfords has suffered problems with moving its warehouse, but fail to see how that should affect customer orders, delivery dates or the inability to return phone calls. This seems to be nothing more than an excuse on your part.
I should also point out that the 5% reduction and the ‘free delivery’ were not added ‘due to the inconvenience caused’ as you put it. I originally had the 5% discount, plus the free delivery, when I placed the order several weeks ago on 22nd June, and have a text message confirmation to prove this (two messages actually). The failure of your website to process the order meant I was forced to try again, and again, and again, receiving a variety of unhelpful error messages before phoning up to place the order – where the original order price was finally honoured.
So, as you can see I haven’t received anything for my ‘inconvenience’, and have indeed had to pay more again due to the non disclosure of the website with regards to parts required. Perhaps you could look at this again… I’ll await your response.
Let’s see what they say next time.
I'm an Affiliate Marketeer, 
This is interesting. I’m waiting for the reply too. Please do update
[...] wonder how long it will be before Halfords starts to show in this top twenty list… I’ve also included the visitor numbers for June for [...]
I sure will Imran, nice to hear from ya.
It’ll probably take a while though, their average response time seems to be almost a week.
wow yr reply is so nice and the ‘free delivery’ plus ’5%discount’ bit make me laugh…
I have never seen a manager so rude and bossy then the manager store of Hallfords in Alperton. That is in by Hanger lane. Twice I this man shouted at me in the store. I was quite shocked and wondered why? I wanted to buy something but he seems not interested to sell more interested to spoil your day. I have never been so humilated like I did in this store.
Hi I have a similar storey about this store manager in alperton . Tall white with glasses. Shouted at me when I asked him about a child bike carrier. Instead of saying yr child’s too young he said, rudely with a look to match, “you are not allowed to carry a 4 year old” After that followed me round the store and trying to look for something to shout at me for. Later he, shouted saying can u get yr children out of my store. When I told him we were looking to buy a bike fr my son’s birthday he said, Get out all of you. I was really shocked, angry humilated. Still wondering why he did that.
I think he gets away ……but sad for the Halfords store they are deffinately going to lose customers if they have such a manager. ESPECIALLY IN THIS RECESSION YOU WANT CUSTOMERS TO BUY NO MATTER HOW SAMLL.
i work at a halfords store in farnham and the reason why people are complainting so much is bacause halfords is a crappy place for buying things, not to mention a crappy place to work as well, i have worked there for over 2 years and the new manager of the farnham branch keeps bullying me, i have reported him to head office but they do F**K all they just say “we will monitor the manager and see if he carrys on, if he does we will warn him” and do they…….um…………NO bacause they are so up them selves that they dont care about their staff
i worked for halfords for 5 years and ended up being a mangeress of a store .. of which they send you on course to learn and help custom.s also course.s to fit etc………………… i bault a roof box as i was needing it for camping stuff . i used it twice and then left it in my garage for 3 years.. on the day we were going camping we put a double quilt and pillows and a suit case in the box going down the m4 on the fast lane round a corner the box came open and the quilt and pillows came out by the time we stopped car.s we.re swearing to avoid it that had landing in the fast lane.. it was terrifining hoping to god it was.nt going to call.s a accident my partner who is a police officer ran up the road and got the stuff as the traffic police had arrived to stop traffic … when we looked at the box it had broken of at the hige.s my partner had to take the top of the box and leave it hidden on the other side of a feild … we went to bristol halford.s showed the duty manager and he could.nt beleave his eye.s we had to buy another roof box as it was sunday and customer service.s were closed …………………. no one got in touch .my partner phoned them and they said it was 2 old to replace……………….. my point is in all the training and selling ive done for halford.s i was never told a roof box could calls to fall apart on a motorway no matter how long you.ve had it ..it could of killed someone …………….im ashamed i sold so many as a mangeress and been treated by this company i worked so hard for ….