Bought a bike and saw so many scratches…
Bought a bike and saw so many scratches on it

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.
Bought a bike and saw so many scratches on it
I Went To Halfords Aberdeen Kittybrewster Store On Monday The 1st Of July 2025 With My Road Bike To See About Getting An Extension Bar To Lift My Handlebars Up The Chap I Got Said Nope Don't Have Didn't Even Check The Store Or Go Through The Back To Check Didn't Even Check On The Computer Told Me To Go On To Amazon And Fit It Myself So I Replied What Size He Said Google It I Wasn't Impressed With That. So I Proceeded And Asked Him Could You Put New Slime Tubes In Both Front And Rear Tyres As I Stay Out In The Country He Replied Yes £9 Each And £10 Each To Fit So Just Shy Of £40 Which I Was Happy With So The Chap Proceeded Took My Front Wheel Off Bike Within A Couple Mins He Struggled To Get My Tyre Off The Wheel Stood And Looked At Bike And Replied To Me I Don't Have Time For This And Told Me To Pop Back One Afternoon During The Week So I Said You Are Refusing A £40 Sale He Replied Yes I Am. When I Got Home I Decided To Phone Halfords Head Office As I Was Not Impressed With Chap In The Aberdeen Store, Head Office Apologised But I Said You Dont Need Head Office Were Great To Chat With They Even Said I Could Book An Alternative Appointment With Someone Else But I Opted To Go To A Different Shop I Will Use Halfords Again But Different Store I Think. Incase Anyone In My Area Was Taking A Bike To Halfords Aberdeen Kittybrewster Upstairs Avoid Going In The Morning I Went On The 01/07/2025 Between 10am And 10.20am
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| ● 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★.
Halfords do not lie about products on their website but they are economical with the truth. I bought a Road Angel Halo Play 4K Dual Dash Cam. The installation was fine and the technician more than satisfactory. However, if Halfords had told me the SD card cannot be used in a windows PC, I would not have bought it. The only way to transfer videos is via WiFi and it is incredibly slow. The USB slot is for power only so that is not an option for transfer. When you read reviews for other products there are similar stories.
Halfords Huntingdon When fitting the wiper blades that were recommended / chosen for my vehicle by the staff it was clear when the box was open that they were a cheap option and not the same as those on the vehicle, But as the member of staff has taken off the original and was about to fit the replacement when I instructed him to stop the manager, Dan, instructed his shop floor cashier (who was really helpful) to not refund the fitting fee. How petty and a sad reflection of a poor manager really making Halfords look like an organisation with low standards when it comes to customer service. Two stars (vs 1) as the cashier, Brandon, was excellent, shame he was instructed so badly by the “manager” Dan who did so from his office without even coming down to the cashiers desk.
After AC re-gas and clean I picked up the car and found water sloshing around my footwells, stains on the seats and a mark on the windscreen that still won't come off! 2 stars because they actually did what was required but the quality was terrible.
Usually Halfords have very friendly staff but Cyril in Hendon London talks to you like he’s talking to an animal, entitled and rude!
I've been trying for a week to buy 2 items online. They got added to my shopping basket. But when I click on the shopping baskets an error page pops up and redirects me to their home page. I then opened up a chat request and they advised me to clear cookies and cache which I did and I even installed a new browser but as soon as I login the basket shows 2 items. And when I click on the basket I still get the same error. As a paid member I decided to cancel my Halfords membership as it was f no use to me as I couldn't use the shopping basket to buy anything. I got a response saying that my 'cancellation request' would be reviewed by their team and they'd be in touch with 48 hours. There's nothing to renew. I want to cancel. Needless to say, 48 hours passed and I've heard nothing and subsequently been charged again for my membership. I've been left no other choice than to contact my bank and block the direct debit. I wish I'd read the reviews here before signing up.
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 recently collected my bike from the Dewsbury Halfords store and was not particularly impressed with the ‘have my bike built’ service. My bike itself was dirty and sticky when I collected it. There were marks all over the bell and the saddle pole. One side of the handle bar wrap and cover was not fitted properly. The bolt for the saddle has also been put on so tight I can’t loosen it to move the seat backwards. On the same day I collected the bike I also shopped in the store and the guy on the till who served me was lovely. Shame on the bike section.
Advised son to use halfords for tyres as when under National tyres service was excellent. However, they did tyres ok but less than a day later hubcaps fell off so not refitted properly and are now dented.
I must express my frustration with Halfords’ customer service. I contacted them several times regarding an order, and on every occasion (except the most recent), I was told it had been cancelled and couldn’t be delivered to my address. I was assured a refund would be issued within 3–4 working days. Weeks have passed, and no refund has been received. Today I was suddenly told the order did go through and is now “with the back office” – completely different from what I was previously told. This repeated misinformation has caused me unnecessary stress and negatively affected my mental health. I feel completely misled and let down. Under the Consumer Contracts (Information, Cancellation and Additional Charges) Regulations 2013 – Regulation 16, customers are entitled to accurate information and a prompt refund when goods are not received. This has not been upheld in my case. I hope Halfords resolves this urgently, but I’m very disappointed with the overall experience.
Staff are friendly and professional, but wait times are long - especially at weekends. Parking is an issue: strict 30-60 minute limits enforced by Total Parking Solutions. Overstaying by just a few minutes can land you with £60-£100 fine. Completely unfair to paying customers delayed by Halford's own service queues.
I honestly have had a 50/50 experience with Halfords. I changed my number plate yesterday 15/07 online with the DVLA so I ordered the number plate through Halfords. I turned up at about 7:20 with the v750 and identity documents and one staff member was going to do it yet the other said as I don’t have the v5 I can’t do it. So I just left, one time I spoke with live chat and they said well I had sufficient. At this point, I was confused as to who it was right so I went back today 16/07 with an additional document and it was changed. I questioned whether what I had originally taken should have been fine and it was confirmed that it should have been okay. So it seems the staff members there don’t understand their own policies. When explaining my issue was yesterday too the person I spoke to who seem to be the manager, it honestly seemed like he didn’t really care.
My son was finding it difficult to get he's E-bike wheel fixed. I told him I would take it to Halfords Ivy bridge retail park,they will fix it within 24 hours. Unfortunately the assistant informed me that the technician was on holiday and it would be at least a week and a half before it could be fixed. He was very polite and apolegetic hence I gave 2 stars instead of zero. This is a case of very bad management and I felt like a fool telling my son. He depends on his E-bike for work as do many people. Fortunately someone is coming to the house to fix it on Monday. I will avoid using Halfords in the future .
Halfords website is awful. How can you in 2025 have such an antiquated website? You must lose so many customers, they either fall asleep or lose the will to live. It is SO slow, it should be loading far more than 12 items on each page. Seriously Halfords get yourselves a professional website that is fast. Stop putting pop ups on saying what other people are looking at, who cares, I only want to see what I want to buy. I like Halfords as they have some good people working for them and I would rather have given them 5* but this website is never going to get you good feedback, sadly. You must read what people are saying about your website or sadly they will go elsewhere. Wake up Halfords, before it’s too late.
UK's leading retailer of automotive, cycling, leisure and outdoor products
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