UK's leading retailer of automotive, cycling, leisure and outdoor products
Halfords Retail receives a mixed response from customers, with a significant portion expressing dissatisfaction. While some reviewers highlight the helpfulness of staff members like Denis and Mohammed, who provide excellent service and product advice, many others report negative experiences.
Complaints frequently mention unreliable service, such as receiving incorrect items through the click & collect system and poor customer support when issues arise. Customers also criticize the store atmosphere, citing unhelpful and rude staff interactions. Additionally, issues with product quality and misleading information on the website contribute to frustration. Overall, while there are commendable staff members and positive service moments, the prevailing sentiment reflects a struggle with consistency and customer care, leading to a predominantly negative impression.
Summary generated with AI from recent reviews
Each source counts by its number of reviews. Only reviews written by people are scored.
Why sources differ: Sources agree: every scored source rates this company within 0.1 of the others.
| Source | Rating | Reviews | Weight | 6-mo | Fake risk |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
Trustpilot Imported Trustpilot reviews | 2.4 | 1,411 | 82% |
Monthly average rating from reviews written by people · latest review Sep 2025.
| Month | Average | Reviews |
|---|---|---|
| Apr 25 | 2.4 | 269 |
| May 25 | 2.5 | 302 |
| Jun 25 | 2.3 | 692 |
| Jul 25 | 2.4 | 367 |
| Aug 25 | 2.5 | 80 |
| Sep 25 | 5.0 | 1 |
Share of positive (4–5★) and negative (1–2★) reviews mentioning each topic · based on the 500 most recent reviews.
“Visited Halfords in Talbot Green, Llantrisant today to purchase a car seat”
“managers on holiday, short staffed etc all I can say every time I have been into store there is never more than 2 or...”
Same method for every company: overall rating, legitimacy checks, the average rating of reviews mentioning each area and the 6-month trend · Vehicles & Transportation.
| Company | Overall | Legit | Service | Website & app | Delivery | Trend | Reviews |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
 | 2.4 out of 5 (poor) | 100 out of 100 | 2.6 out of 5 (poor) | 1.3 out of 5 (poor) | 1.8 out of 5 (poor) | — | 1,711 |
| 4.5 out of 5 (good) | 100 out of 100 | 4.6 out of 5 (good) | — | 4.6 out of 5 (good) | — | 1,999 | |
| 4.7 out of 5 (good) | 100 out of 100 | 4.7 out of 5 (good) | 4.6 out of 5 (good) | 4.7 out of 5 (good) | — | 1,000 | |
| 4.4 out of 5 (good) | 100 out of 100 | 4.3 out of 5 (good) | — | 4.3 out of 5 (good) | — | 1,000 | |
| 3.4 out of 5 (fair) | 100 out of 100 | 1.9 out of 5 (poor) | 1.5 out of 5 (poor) | — | — | 1,000 |
Bottom line: Halfords Retail is #5 of 5 on overall rating in this group. On website & app, MSP - Motorcycle Spare Parts scores higher (4.6 vs 1.3).
460 reviews of Halfords Retail. Filter by what matters to you.
Wish I had read the TrustPilot reviews before ordering but expected better from a well known UK brand. The item I ordered never arrived, customer service is non existent and still waiting for a refund weeks later. Will not order from Halfords again.
Booked online. They canceled late on the day because the technician was sick. I rebooted for repair to be done 2 days later. Again late in the day they canceled. I've asked for my money back, hopefully I get it. I've re-booked with a different company that can do the repair tonight. Don't use this company.
I visited the bury st Edmund’s Suffolk , to have a car battery fitted that I purchased online , on arrival I was told it was going to take under 1/2 hour ,my car was parked under the gazebo, I returned back 1/2 hr my car was not finished , 10 more minutes I left the store car park , I then received a parking fine for £100 I phoned Halfords head office, they gave me a ref number and told me to return to bury st Edmund’s store and explain with letter and ref number they will sort the fine I arrived at the store explained what I had been told I the member of staff said straight away can’t help… I asked to speak to manager , I was told he was the manager…I asked for his name I hesitated then replied it was Richard I refused to give his surname , I wasted my time and petrol and still have this fine of £100 for a parking space under a Halfords gazebo, and was so upset of the rudeness and manor of the manager ? Richard ? , public in Suffolk avoid this store , horrible customer service , manager needs replacing , and they need to make it clear to everyone about the car park tablet to fill in registration which I wasn’t
Anyone can write a CrowdTrust review. People who write reviews have ownership to edit or delete them at any time, and they'll be displayed as long as an account is active.
| ● Low |
CrowdTrust Written on CrowdTrust | 2.3 | 300 | 18% | — | ● High |
Polarized pattern: few middle ratings. 33% of recent reviews are 4–5★ and 66% are 1–2★.
I placed an order online for 2 items which were allegedly available to collect in store. Prior to collection I was contacted by the store and told 1 of the items was not available. As a result the store would reimburse me the money and I would have to reorder, resulting in a trip across the city to collect the second item. You might ask why I didn't just go to the second store? Well, the second store did not have the first item in stock. Clearly, this additional trip has cost me time and money in petrol. Why can't the website be more accurate/up to date when looking at product availability?
I visited the Preston store with my grandson who had a minor crash on his bike, which bent the rear gears derailleur bracket. He was also due to go out riding the next day. An extremely helpful guy called Lee in the cycle department not only repaired it quickly but also gave the bike a good check over in case anything else had been damaged in the crash. And after a few adjustments and set ups, my grandson was back on the road and able to do his ride the next day. Very helpful, and great customer service. Thanks, AB.
Waited 2 weeks to get car in for coolant leak, was told it was water pump and that they couldn’t do it as timing chain needed changing as well, very surprising as I have a timing belt not chain. Was told I had to go to a main dealer to sort. Took car to an independent garage as I didn’t believe them, following their checks, lo and behold, I have a head gasket failure. Garage is happily sorting out issue.. Halfords need to stick to changing wipers and bulbs, leave real car mechanics to the experts.
Selling unavailable bikes on their website. They have bikes listed on their website that are not available. They are happy to take people's money but then call and say "oh sorry we can't fulfil the order". Why is this happening? Why are you putting stock on the website available to purchase knowing full well it is not available? We were called and given some excuse about it being a display model and they can't find the key to sell it? Feels like a scam to be honest. Not something you'd expect from a big company.
Booked my service in with Halfords Halesowen, they broke my Coolant Cap and tried to shift the blame, they sent me away with an overheating car, while they waited for the new cap to arrive. They cost me £147.00 in costs not to mention the inconvenience, then after I complained they have the cheek to call me and offer me a £50.00 voucher to spend at Halfords. Disgusting I would never ever use them again poor customer service, poor quality of work and Poor aftercare.
i booked into the halfords auto centre filton for a ac dianostic check a week ago....i turned up today at the stated time to be told there machine isnt working and hasnt been working for over 3 weeks so they cant do my check and thats the end of it....the guy on reception was amazingly clueless and hardly spoke to me when asked what do i do now he simply shrugged his shoulders and looked vacant at me..then he suggested i drive another 8 miles to another centre and see if they can fit me in ???? what a joke....i took the day of work to get this done and drove 8 miles to get there to be told they cant do it .they had my number and email so they could of contacted me to say they cant do it to save me the journey there, better still when i booked it should of told me then it wasnt available instead of taking my payment upfront and letting me go there wasting my time!!! the clueless guy on reception when asked i want my money back looked at me in surprise as if to say( oh i thought you were giving that to us as a thankyou) he said to me with a surprised look on his face ill refund you and itll be in your bank in a couple of days.....couple of days!!!!! it took them a press of a button to take it from me yet it takes days to give it back ...absolutly a very bad expeirce with this company and i wont be trading with them again ever..infact i will be warning others not to trade with them either....staff are useless and dont know what there doing and customer service is disgusting....my refund better be back in my account or ill be on here again and visiting the store.....one very pissed off customer
Halfords Autocentre Tamworth (Watling Street) Used this halfords after using a Dodgey MOT company who ruined my car, Richard from this branch went above and beyond for me when not only did he find the malicious damage caused from the other garage, but assisted me on how to best fix and sort the issue out! 100% recommend this garage, And thank you again Richard for your help!
I am a disabled customer, I had a new battery fitted last year , I found out Halfords had enrolled me into the Auto club without my authorisation. They tried to take £54.00 with no prior emails or text messages. This is a very poor organisation with a South Africa call centre with shocking communication standards.
Placed an order online for roof bars and box, nearly £300 with fitting. Made payment and was taken twice. Waited 2 days to see if it would be corrected. Contacted them when it wasn’t. Explained that my bank account is in an unauthorised overdraft, and told them I had no money to do a food shop or to pay for any gas or electric. I am disabled with severe mobility and pain issues, a heart condition and diabetes. Absolutely could not care less, said 48 hours for contact back to resolve. That was on Friday morning, it’s now Tuesday and they still owe me £292.43, causing significant financial hardship, not to mention upset, stress and anxiety. I can raise a dispute via the bank tomorrow but it could take weeks for that process to resolve the matter. If I could give zero stars I would, robbing crooks! Shame on you Halfords 😢
Absolutely appalling behaviour from halfords. Purchased a carrera bike for sons birthday. It came with a broken peddle bar so I took it to my nearest halfords and they said they could fix it but I'd have to pay. Long story short I agreed to pay as this is my sons birthday present and I need it sorting. They had the bike for 1 week and then emailed me saying it had been cancelled. That was two days ago iv been ringing them ever since and they don't answer the phone. My son has no bike and no idea when his bike can be fixed. This is extremely unprofessional customer care
Came in for some advice on electric bikes and met a young man called jack who was absolutely outstanding in all aspects of customer service he advised and was expert in field
A flawed item in terms of it's design and the manner in which it needs to be fitted. It provides a adequate support for your back, sides and seat and my previously worn and hard driver's seat is now quite a bit more comfortable. So, that's fair enough but you would expect that, at least. The portion you sit on is too long, however, protruding over the end of the seat and there is no adjustable and elasticated band to hold it in position - as there is with the part that attached to the back of the seat - so it moves around as a result and has to be pulled back into position frequently. As has been mentioned in other reviews the fabric is a magnet for dust and hair, is prone to creasing and will need regular vacuuming. So, overall, it's not a bad product and will do the job that it's name suggests but it could be much better designed. Mark. Limerick IE.
I would rate 0 if I could, we have raised a complaint about the service we had. The incompetence of their staff has left us without a car and they are refusing to admit they are in the wrong/ fix our issue. Definitely would not recommend them to anyone. Their staff haven’t got a clue what they are doing.
Signed up to the premium motoring club thing under false pretense in store. Was told I can cancel within 14 days no problem. Went online to cancel, then you have to reach out to customer service to cancel, then the webchat ended and the rep kindly follow up by email. Emailed them back after being told initially I'm roped on for a year then back tracked and said I can cancel after 14 days but have to pay a fee. Now after going back to them to ask for compliments process and pointing out that I was signed up in-store and none of this was explained they aren't replying anymore. Called the customer service and they said that I will have to physically go to the store to complain to the store manager. Will I have to complete a ritualistic dance in order to insight the Halfords cancellation gods after that? Will I need to sit on the next shareholder meeting? Is there a a cancellation button hidden in some remote location which I need to solve a series of clues to uncover? Shady company, shady practices
I used to be a loyal customer, but after my recent experience, I won’t be returning. I purchased a van battery from them (their own brand), and when it stopped working, I went back to request a replacement under warranty. However, the staff at the Corby store tested it and claimed the battery was leaking or damaged due to a vehicle fault not a battery failure and refused to honour the warranty. Nowhere on their website do they clearly state such warranty exclusions. It feels like the warranty is just for show they advertise it, but when you actually need it, it’s useless. Very disappointing experience. I won’t be coming back.
I purchased some spray paint using Halfords matching service offering me a coded product S2-020 for a test area. The match was ok, so I went online again put in my registration number of my car and the recommended paint code was offered which I bought. The paint was applied and upon drying had a brownish tinge. I checked both lots of paint and noticed they recommended a different code on their website. They have since reversed this again highlighting that this was their error. I contacted Halfords, they agreed that they had changed this incorrectly and raised a complaint. I was offered £5 gift card, which I did not accept as they just did not accept that I had a car panel in the wrong colour. I contacted them again in writing with a follow up complaint- they responded with a comment saying the complaint had been closed- appalling
Halfords at its worst!!The item was advertised incorrectly as the coolbox said it had wheels and an extending handle. This was INCORRECT & MISLEADING as it doesn't!! WORSE STILL, it was brought for a camping trip and picked up in store on the way for our holiday, when we opened the box it didn't have the leads in so useless and we wasted expensive food. So I called customers services (WHICH ARE IN SOUTH AFRICA), they promised me a call back within 48hrs and guess what, NO CALL BACK even though they have my number as I got them to repeat it. SO I went to the store, they were rude unhelpful and told me to ring customer services. Another two hours wasted and terrible experiance!!So I spoke to customer services today, they have promissed another call back. I also spoke to the motoring club which I have now cancelled my membership. They were putting me in contact with someone but kept me on hold then just switched me to feed back so got rid of me! I also rang to ask how to leave reviews on Halfords site and was told I couldn’t - so theres no point reading the reviews! This is not the first time I have been let down by Halfords and as many others leaving reviews I think they are hopeless and they can't be trusted. The compresor 32L coolbox does not have “STURDY WHEELS” wheels as advertised, it has no wheels what so ever or an “PULL OUT HANDEL” as advertised so very difficult to manoeuvre and not as advertised / paid for!! IT DIDN’T EVEN HAVE THE LEADS WITH IT!! Also customers services do not care and will not call you back and they are totally rude and unhelpful and this is the same in-store also. Avoid HALFORDS IF YOU EXPECT GOOD ACCURATE WORKING PRODUCTS AND CUSTOMER SERVICES-THEY'LL TAKE YOU’RE MONEY AND THEN DON’T CARE!!
UK's leading retailer of automotive, cycling, leisure and outdoor products
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