Vauxhall Vectra C - Halfords Auto centre

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Wed 16 May 2012 16:07
Vauxhall Vectra C - Halfords Auto centre - neil1523
Hi everyone.
I'm trying to find an email address to send this letter.


Hello,

I am writing to you today regarding a problem I have encountered !with your Halfords Auto care garage that recently opened in Wokingham.

So the story goes, On Monday the 7th I go to my local Asda store and fill up my CDTI Vauxhall Vectra SRI 150 with diesel, I then drive the 4 miles to home, go to work in the morning of Tuesday 8th and after work I drive home, 60 mile round trip.
Wednesday 9th, I go to start my car and it starts but is chugging a lot and blue smoking with no revs at all, it eventfully stalls. I drive to work in the wife's car and arrange with the Halfords garage at the top of my road (Halfords Auto care) to look at the car and give me a diagnosis.

At 1pm I get a call, the mechanic (Alan) says he is 100% that the tank is full of petrol!! I ask him to check the receipt in the centre console in the car, he does so and it clearly states "pump 2 diesel" at which I'm very confused but he assures me its petrol in the car and that he !had taken a sample from the tank on a new dry rag, put a flame to it and it burst in to flames and so confirming it is petrol. Slightly dangerous in an environment such as a mechanical garage I thought!
So I go to Asda and start !complaining about their fuel but I'm told by the manager that there was no other complaints at all and that it wasn't possible to have petrol in the diesel pumps.
I now return to the Halfords garage Alan again assures me that it's petrol and that's it, no way it can be diesel. The guy (Alan) then recommended a friend of his who could remove the petrol and replace it with diesel fuel as Halfords couldn't do this. I took the phone number from him and thanked him for his time. The guy also never charged me and said not to mention !Halfords to anyone as he would get in trouble for recommending his friend, unknowing what was to follow I agreed.

I called the number and the drain down guy came out after paying £175 on the phone. The guy was very nice and came out within 30 minutes and started the process of removing the petrol. I asked for a sample to go in to a new petrol can as evidence so I could take this up with Asda head office, he agreed. About a litre went into a brand new petrol can and after many sniffing tests we poured some on to a rag and took a lighter to it, I just had to see with my own eyes to believe it. Would you believe it, no flame up concluding that it was in fact diesel in my car after all!
I took a sample from the fuel filter as well as the tank and it's diesel for sure, it was even yellow in colour! The drain down company refused to refund ANY of the £175 despite only coming a couple of miles to my address and spending 10 minutes taking out a litre or so only.

The car has since been to my usual garage and repaired. The fault was a faulty cam sensor and a crank shaft sensor which has now been fixed and the car is running perfectly on the original tank of diesel.

After many phone calls to the drain down company they have now agreed a £75 refunds. I have also spoken to Steve at your Halfords Garage regarding Alan and Steve offered me a £100 discount on a service but to be frank after Steve told me all the mechanics looked at my car and all agreed that it was petrol and not diesel I've lost all confidence in Halfords Auto care and don't want to take up the offer. I do however still want another solution, I'm £100 out of pocket and I'm afraid it's down to the incompetence of your staff, I don't mean to be disrespectful but how can an !entire team of qualified mechanics not tell the difference between petrol and diesel?? I'm very disappointed in your garage and I hope you can sort this problem out and !return the money I have lost during !what has been a very stressful time.

My car registration should you need it is X** AJL
Also my phone number is 07909******

Regards

have I even got a leg to stand on do you think?
!
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Wed 16 May 2012 17:13
Vauxhall Vectra C - Halfords Auto centre - thunderbird

You called the mobile mechanic out therefore you will have to pay them.

Getting Halfords to foot the bill could be difficult since there was no official recommendation, it was the mechanic himself.

Did you not sniff at the tank before calling anyone out, petrol smells very different to diesel.

Think you will have to put it down as a lesson learned unless you take Halfords to court.

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Thu 17 May 2012 08:32
Vauxhall Vectra C - Halfords Auto centre - oldroverboy

You called the mobile mechanic out therefore you will have to pay them.Getting Halfords to foot the bill could be difficult since there was no official recommendation, it was the mechanic himself.Did you not sniff at the tank before calling anyone out, petrol smells very different to diesel.Think you will have to put it down as a lesson learned unless you take Halfords to court.

The address for halfords is Halfords auto centre, 7-9 Richmond road, Orton wharf, ORTON B92 7RN phone 0800 037 0800.. I agree that you have learned a not too expensive lesson, and the offer from the manager is actually quite generous! I expect the "mechanic" has had a talking to as well. If you need brake pads get them and put it down to exoerience,

Happy Motoring!

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Thu 17 May 2012 20:04
Vauxhall Vectra C - Halfords Auto centre - balleballe

Stick to independent garages; They will do the job right (most of them anyway) and eventually, crappy service 'multiples' will suffer

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