Caber
So, for the first time I took a Halfords professional tool back. It is a double ended ratchet wrench that has lost one of its direction change levers.
It seems the lifetime guarantee is now only if, 1 They still have the tool in stock and 2 you have the receipt. I went to two branches and got the
same story so it seems that the lifetime guarantee is now worthless!
Caber
Always knew about the needing the receipt but was up to the individual shop really, apparently they had a lot of seconds/imitations appearing at auto
jumbles etc which were failing and then getting swapped out by the shops. Hence the clamp down.
Cheers
Rich
Ah its gay. Ive had that problem they dont want to know unless you have the receipt EVEN THOUGH IT HAS HALFORDS PROFESSSIONAL WRITTEN ON THE TOOL.
I emailed their head office and they said:
Thank you for your email.
Halfords lifetime warranty on the professional range of tools is given to
the purchaser,
and is not transferable to another person . Therefore a receipt or card
statement will be required to prove the person who brings back a faulty
tool is in fact the purchaser.
A lifetime warranty is usually accepted, by retailers to mean the expected
lifetime of the product.
(See attached file: lifetime guarantee.doc)
Thank you for taking the time to contact us.
Kind Regards
Mrs V. Dawson
Halfords Customer Services
http://stulane.com/lifetime guarantee.doc
They can't change the rules after you've made an agreement (by purchasing).
I assume when you bought the tools they were running their "All pro tools are covered by a lifetime replacement warranty" which is what they
ran for years, it's only recently (last year or two) that they've decided there are some exceptions.
AFAIK ratchet spanners are now "exempt" from their guarantee, but I bought my set when they were covered. If I have any problems as and when
I need one replacing, they'll either replace it or it's time for small
claims court 
Are 'Halfords Advanced' tools covered?
I bought a torx 3/8 bit the other week and it snapped in about 2 mins, it came out of the tool rack where all the professional tools live in the
store.
I had both of my professional ratchets replaced under the lifetime warranty; one of the direction pins had broken and kept dropping out if used upside
down.
They initially said they wouldn’t replace it as it was 'part of the mechanism' but they would sell me the parts!!!
I made a right fuss (I had lost my receipt) as they where not even 12 months old - about 7 days after my initial visit they phoned me and told me they
would replace both ratchets
What I did notice when they gave me my new ratchets was that didn’t have 'Professional' written on them, they are exactly the same but just
have Halfords written on - I guess a future cop-out on warranty replacement
quote:
Originally posted by locostbuyer83
Are 'Halfords Advanced' tools covered?
I bought a torx 3/8 bit the other week and it snapped in about 2 mins, it came out of the tool rack where all the professional tools live in the store.
My local store have always replaced my broken bits... even the socket i took back during the week that split when hammering it onto something
No receipt, no questions.... although they dont cover ratches.
Halfords Advanced Professional is the same as professional apparently
[Edited on 14/3/10 by Ben_Copeland]
I found some Halford pro range sockets are a very poor fit would never buy again.
doesn't cover moving parts either, so the main things that break, the ratchets, aren't covered.
pointless in my eyes now
quote:
Originally posted by iank
quote:
Originally posted by locostbuyer83
Are 'Halfords Advanced' tools covered?
I bought a torx 3/8 bit the other week and it snapped in about 2 mins, it came out of the tool rack where all the professional tools live in the store.
Doesn't matter, sales of goods act requires it to be fit for purpose. In the first 6mo they have to prove you were abusing it (after that you have to show you weren't).
You will need a receipt to get your money back or a replacement - and they will probably try to wriggle out of it but persevere and call trading standards if necessary. Everything in writing if the store won't play ball.
When i got my halfords tools about 7-8years ago they had a lifetime guarantee that covered everything regardless of what broke. there were no
conditions in the terms of sale that said i had to retain my receipt etc etc.
when i broke a socket about a month ago prob the 3rd in the whole time i have had them. the girl said i couldn't change it without a receipt.
well i was fuming so had the manager down and explained that these terms didn't exist when i purchased the tools. the manager folded and said
they would change it as he knew it was purchased on the old terms of sale.
the item i got back wasn't a halfords pro socket it was a halfords advanced socket. i asked why. the manager explained that when they brought
the new receipt rule in they changed the name to advanced so they knew which tools were sold under which terms.
i asked him what if the advanced socket broke how would i change it without a receipt, to cut a long story short i walked out with a new socket and a
receipt to go with it.
so if its pro stand your ground get it changed and if its changed for halfords advanced then insist on a new exchange receipt
Only had to take 2 parts back over 10 years of hard use and no probs with replacements.
Pehaps it depends on how much aggro that store has had?
Try a less busy store or move to Scotland where we are are a bit more laid back!!
quote:
Originally posted by goaty
doesn't cover moving parts either, so the main things that break, the ratchets, aren't covered.
pointless in my eyes now
Had no trouble around here with the advanced stuff, the socket retention doobery on the 3/8th ratchet was knackered when I got it (bought online)
Replaced on the spot in store without a receipt.
snap on change mine no matter what gos wrong. ratchets sockets, the lot, no questions asked.
halfrauds are just a pain as all the staff say different things
Snap on's official line is that they won't replace the ratchets under warrenty. However I'd guess it comes down to the rep and how much
stuff you purchase from them. At least thats how it works around here.
Don't get me wrong there is a lot wrong with halfords, not least their prices. I'm just trying to see both sides of this one.
What doesn't help are the munchkins that try it on. We had a customer bring back a rachet a few weeks ago because the rachet mechanism had
failed. and the handle was bent. He had quiet clearly used a piece of tube on the end of the rachet to get more leverage. Obviously the rachet
wasn't designed for this and the he stripped the teeth. Needless to say we refused to exchange it.
On the other hand we have also had a customer that brought one back that looked in perfect condition (and it was almost new)but the rachet wasn't
working correctly, in that particular case we exchanged the mechanism for him. Neither customer had their receipt.
At the end of the day it's up to the manager's / staffs discretion, and rightly or wrongly customer attitude. If a customer comes in with
attitude the member of staff is less likely to bend the rules to help.
just spotted this:
http://www.tooled-up.com/Product.asp?PID=62076&referrer=News230Bri_FacQ1(wk10)
Halfords is alright if I'm stuck for something on a Sunday but it's a bit far away for me. That Britool ratchet is good value, I paid £24 for mine over 10 years ago and that was cheap then. I have a mix of Kamasa, Britool and Bahco that do everything I need and if I have a bolt that is particularly stuck I use a breaker bar to start it before applying the ratchet.
quote:
Originally posted by DorsetStrider
What doesn't help are the munchkins that try it on.