Back in January 2010 I bough a 120 piece socket set from Halfords which came with a lifetime warranty. The hinge broke off the case a couple of months ago and so I contacted Halfords by phone to ask about a replacement. They told me to visit my store which I did.

To cut a long story short, after 3 failed attempts to get the right case they’ve now told me they can’t get the case and have offered my a £20 voucher to cover my inconvenience.

I’m really not happy with this, particularly as they destroyed my original case which had locations for all the components. I’d rather have had that one than the one they’ve given me which is wrong and the bits don’t fit. Might seem fairly petty to some but I like to keep all my sockets together so nothign gets lost. Having bought what I thought was security against breakages and faults I’m now left with an incomplete product which I’m not happy with.

Any idea how I stand with Halfords ? Can I ask for a refund or for them to replace the whole set with a modern equivalent ?

Assuming the lifetime warranty covers the case and not just the components,

I’d be pressing for them to make good the warranty. To wit, if they cannot replace, they should be offering an alternative of refunding. I’d expect a refund to be subject to wear and tear though; ie, you wouldn’t get 100% back on a refund.

Is there a current set which is equivalent? I’d be pressing for that. If not, probably just take the voucher and suck it up.

*If* the warranty includes the case.

which kit ? see if you can find a picture – i have the blown case that im not using as my tools are in a rollcab – if that would help

IIRC from my halfords days, the lifetime warranty only covered the tools themselves. Still, the sale of goods act is your friend on this occasion.

I’ve hunted high and low for a picture but I can’t seem to find one. Sadly I can’t even take a picture of my existing broken one as Halfords in their wisdom have disposed of it. If you can take a snap of your existing one that’d be great – I can probably tell you immediately if its right or not. Mine had the chrome silver closing clips, spanners that clipped on flat rather than upright and a load of 3/8″ allen key drives, torx bits and screwdriver bits rather than all the individual bits in a box.

I have just had a rather nasty experience with my local halfords.

The professional range tools are supposed to be warrantied for life. I have broken sockets and bits on occasion which I took back and were exchanged instantly. Some jobsworth and the 2nd in command at the time refused to replace some the other day, now you need the receipt or else your SOL.

So many of my tools I have had for some time & no longer have the receipt for are as good as scrap if they break.

I traveled to the next town over and the guy in that Halfords didn’t even hesitate he went straight to the tools cabinet, unfortunately they didn’t have the sockets in stock.

When I think of all the money I have spent in my local branch…….

Nobs!

Warning Keep your receipts for the lifetime of your tools. When I purchased mine this wasn’t the case, so I feel the warranty/contract I had with my tools has been changed.

Don’t think asking for proof of purchase is unreasonable tbh.

When I bought my 120 piece socket set I was told I needed to keep the receipt for any warranty issues, that was 23/03/95, so its not a new policy, I would say you have just been lucky not to of been asked for a receipt up to now.

Neither would I if I was told when I bought it all originally.

The fact it is all stamped Halfords seems a bit pointless now though.

Not unreasonable to require proof of purchase.

However, “receipt” is not the only acceptable proof of purchase. For generic goods, bank statements will do.

I’d argue with store branded kit, the brand is proof of purchase. Unless they’re suggesting you stole it.

If you get a jobsworth, ask for the manager. If that fails, go to head office.

I still have my receipt but the writing has faded so much so they could not read it and as an aside I am sure the case is not covered in the warranty as is the ratchet mechanism

Cougar – Member

I’d argue with store branded kit, the brand is proof of purchase. Unless they’re suggesting you stole it.

Warranty only extends to original owner- could have bought used.

What about asking them to supply the rails to click sockets into?? Admittedly its no use for the spanners but an idea?

Sadly I can’t even take a picture of my existing broken one as Halfords in their wisdom have disposed of it.

The case may, or may not, be covered under warranty..

But that’s irrelevant now, as they have disposed of your case for some reason.

So they owe you a case (that fits your set) That’s pretty simple.

It’s not your fault they threw it away !!

I would take it to head office / customer services straight away.

No point dealing with the branch any longer if that’s the sort of service they are handing out.

Is this yet another case of Halfrauds dodging their warranty? First it was “lifetime guarantee” then it was “lifetime on everything but the ratchets” (christ, if you can break a half decent ring spanner you deserve a free replacement), now it’s “doesn’t include some part of the product because it’s not the tool” ?

What a joke. As far as I’m concerned the case is part of the product, the product has failed and they need to honour the warranty unless they specifically state BEFORE purchase, that the case isn’t part of it.

Don’t be tricked by halfrauds warranty on tools, they will do anything they can to weasel out of it.

http://www.halfords.com/webapp/wcs/stores/servlet/product_storeId_10001_catalogId_10151_productId_173083_categoryId_255215_langId_-1?cm_sp=Intelligent_Offer-_-Product_List_Zone_1-_-Blank&iozone=PLPz1

mines the 150 piece sorry

When i bought my socket set form halfords the warranty was on all non moving parts. I have no real issue with this and would not have thought the plastic box would be covered.

From tomorrow Lidl have a special on tools and they have magnetic strips for £3.50. If you can get one of the meal tool boxes at a discount price as replacement for the plastic case they will help in organising it.

http://www.lidl.co.uk/cps/rde/xchg/lidl_uk/hs.xsl/index_32302.htm

For the small tools and adapters you could keep them in a small plastic container, i heve used everything from buisnes card holders to tupperware containers.

Do I have to produce a receipt to claim my rights? No. In fact the trader doesn’t have to give you a receipt in the first place so it would be unfair to say that you had to produce one. However, it might not be unreasonable for the shop to want some proof of purchase, so look to see if you have a cheque stub, bank statement, credit card slip etc., and this should be sufficient. Other proofs are own-brand items, or price labels showing the name of the store. You’ll probably find that many retailers try to insist on a receipt, they do not have the right to do this.

http://www.br0wn.co.uk/lawofshopping/

OP – I would insist on giving them your old set back in return for a new set or full refund and go elsewhere

Halfords will be the last place I ever shop now, sorry for derailing the original post somewhat

The sort of till receipts given these days, as someone has mentioned, are a bit like fax paper, and fade fairly quickly, so would be utterly useless in a ‘lifetime’ claim three years own the line. Perhaps taking a photo with your phone as soon as you get the receipt might work?
Having just had a DAB radio, bought on discount in Halfords, installed after they did a poor installation on the previous one, and the bloke shaking his head at the shoddy work, I wouldn’t trust them to do anything properly anymore; not even back up a warranty claim.

Thanks guys, much appreciated. I’ll let you know how I get on. I think the daftest thing they did is throw my original case away – surely they now have to resolve this one way or another.

I fell foul of their ‘lifetime’ warranty as well.

I broke a 3 month old 1/4 ratchet, it wasn’t even a stubborn bolt that I was undoing. They told me I needed the receipt so I went home and turned the house upside down to find it. I returned, then they said its a moving part so not covered.

So I left, with a cunning plan to buy the ratchet from another store, and then return the broken one a short while later. However, I never got this far as a colleague pointed out that they do a ratchet repair kit for a few quid. 20 minutes later on their stupid website and I actually managed to locate it…they don’t make it easy.

I have no real issue with this and would not have thought the plastic box would be covered.

It’s all the same product. You don’t buy a TV then not expect the remote to be covered, or the plastic bezel to fall off. It’s the same principle.