Halfords dodgy on battery guarantee

[ejenner]

What would you do?

I have a Halfords battery I bought in 2019 which doesn't hold a charge.

Took it back to Halfords expecting them to change it... but instead they're trying to shaft me. Instead of swapping it right there and then they said "we'll charge it up and then test it". So I left it with them as they weren't being helpful and I assumed that was going to continue so thought I'll go along with it.

I used to work in Halfords so I'm aware of what normally happens. I also used to be a mechanic so I know a dud battery when I see one.

My plan is to leave the battery with them for a few days so when I go to pick it up it will have lost the charge they put in and be proven faulty. The only problem with this plan is they might leave it continuously charging until the moment I turn up. Then they can quickly remove the charger and test it immediately and say "there you go SIR, it's fine"

In the meantime I can't use the car so that's a bit annoying, but insured on the wife's car so not the end of the world.

[MB140]

Just take it back to a different Halfords. Preferably try and find one with a spotty irk teenager on a Sunday morning who doesn’t give a flying fk.

Chances are they will change it no question asked. I had an issue with a black view dash cam that would fail to power up 50% of the time. First time round some manager happened to deal with it.

Plugged it in and it worked that time. Next time I went in and spoke to one of the teens working the bike section. No questions asked. Just got me an exchange unit out the back.

[Tommo87]

ejenner said:

What would you do?

I have a Halfords battery I bought in 2019 which doesn't hold a charge.

Took it back to Halfords expecting them to change it... but instead they're trying to shaft me. Instead of swapping it right there and then they said "we'll charge it up and then test it". So I left it with them as they weren't being helpful and I assumed that was going to continue so thought I'll go along with it.

I used to work in Halfords so I'm aware of what normally happens. I also used to be a mechanic so I know a dud battery when I see one.

My plan is to leave the battery with them for a few days so when I go to pick it up it will have lost the charge they put in and be proven faulty. The only problem with this plan is they might leave it continuously charging until the moment I turn up. Then they can quickly remove the charger and test it immediately and say "there you go SIR, it's fine"

In the meantime I can't use the car so that's a bit annoying, but insured on the wife's car so not the end of the world.

If it died suddenly, despite the car in question being in perfect order and used daily, I would stick to your guns.

But, if the car concerned had/has some charging gremlins, or never gets the chance to charge it, I would probably bite the bullet and get a new one somewhere else.

[Hereward]

ejenner said:

What would you do? ...
My plan is to leave the battery with them for a few days so when I go to pick it up it will have lost the charge they put in and be proven faulty. The only problem with this plan is they might leave it continuously charging until the moment I turn up. Then they can quickly remove the charger and test it immediately and say "there you go SIR, it's fine" ...

If the battery is toast then the Cold-Cranking Amps will be below spec regardless of the voltage / state of charge.

[steveo3002]

isnt it fair that they charge it and see ...other everyone that had left the lights on would be back getting a new one when its only needing a charge

[ejenner]

Good point about the CCA. I seriously doubt it'll be up to spec.

[ejenner]

steveo3002 said:

isnt it fair that they charge it and see ...other everyone that had left the lights on would be back getting a new one when its only needing a charge

I'm not sure exactly what the guarantee says despite having worked there. We used to change them over after a quick test.

On this occasion the battery I brought into them didn't have enough juice in it to power up the tester.

[mickyh7]

I had this last Month with a Lion Battery bought online from CP4L. (Lion=Cheap =Rubish) for the wifes Twingo.
Bought May this year
Lost its charge after a week.Every week.
Phoned my local ECP (same company) And they refunded it no question. I paid extra and ordered a Bosch unit, delivered free next day, again CP4L.
Guy at ECP said they were selling loads of batterys due to C19 as no one is using their car regularly.

[vikingaero]

At ECP there are signs saying that they will test all batteries before issuing an exchange/refund. I imagine Halfords do the same probably to stop people exchanging batteries when all they need to do is to drive the car or use a battery charger.

[ejenner]

mickyh7 said:

I had this last Month with a Lion Battery bought online from CP4L. (Lion=Cheap =Rubish) for the wifes Twingo.
Bought May this year
Lost its charge after a week.Every week.
Phoned my local ECP (same company) And they refunded it no question. I paid extra and ordered a Bosch unit, delivered free next day, again CP4L.
Guy at ECP said they were selling loads of batterys due to C19 as no one is using their car regularly.

Dunno if Halfords let you upgrade. Never had anybody ask that when I was there.

[mickyh7]

ejenner said:

mickyh7 said:

I had this last Month with a Lion Battery bought online from CP4L. (Lion=Cheap =Rubish) for the wifes Twingo.
Bought May this year
Lost its charge after a week.Every week.
Phoned my local ECP (same company) And they refunded it no question. I paid extra and ordered a Bosch unit, delivered free next day, again CP4L.
Guy at ECP said they were selling loads of batterys due to C19 as no one is using their car regularly.

Dunno if Halfords let you upgrade. Never had anybody ask that when I was there.

I was so annoyed that they sold such rubbish in the first place. However, I should have known £40 delivered was too good to be true! Even though it had 2 years warranty.
The Bosch replacement was under £70 with a 5 year guarantee.
I googled Lion after it let me down the reviews were very poor.
I didn't really exchange for better.
My bad Grammar I think.
I got a refund under 'Not fit for purpose' Then I ordered a new battery. The guys at ECP were not suprised about the Lion brand. They were a pleasure to deal with.

[Steve-B]

ejenner said:

What would you do?

I have a Halfords battery I bought in 2019 which doesn't hold a charge. Took it back to Halfords expecting them to change it... but instead they're trying to shaft me. Instead of swapping it right there and then they said "we'll charge it up and then test it". So I left it with them as they weren't being helpful and I assumed that was going to continue so thought I'll go along with it. In the meantime I can't use the car so that's a bit annoying, but insured on the wife's car so not the end of the world.

So do we! I bought a battery from them in March 2024 (4yr warranty!) for my wifes '64 reg Forrester and every 1-2 days it goes flat, green light in it (sealed battery) doesn't illuminate. Took it out of car, charged for 2 days w/ a Halfords(!!) charger, car won't start. So I called their customer UNspport 03xx number, told to take it to the shop where it would be tested, before a replacement given.

Took it to their local shop, the Einstein who plugged in a tester said "no problem, works perfectly" which is B.S. . I explained not even being plugged into her car it goes flat. Said store's Einstein said "The problem is CLEARLY with your car" to which I replied "Subaru has identified YOUR battery as defective".

The Einstein wouldn't budge, so when it dies next I'll be right back in there with it flat and will demand the manager (or their manager) until someone does something.

Why does this have to be so hard FFS???