Halfords staff wreck owners car and deny it
Fuming reading this today. A guy has taken his £23k Alfa Romeo into Halfords for a service and the staff have taken it for an apparent joyride and wrecked it, damaging many other cars then denying it's their fault
https://www.theguardian.com/money/2024/apr/13/halfords-service-car-owner-alfa-romeo-insurance
The owner basically got told to get lost and they wouldn't take responsibility or provide a temporary car and their insurer then made a low offer making things worse and added the claims tor the other cars to his insurance, utter scumbags. They're only negotiating with him now due to media attention, but they were quite happy to screw the guy for 1000s beforehand.
Their quasi-mechanic idiot claims he was driving professionally at 25mph...
No bleeding way at 25mpg paying attention you strike 3 vehicles and careen off the road backwards through a steel fence with this damage at 25. It's insulting peoples intelligence. Witness statements apparently claiming it was being drove like an idiot weaving about. Allegedly the driver tried to blame the third vehicle he hit for the collision, nothing wrong with that logic at all.
Definitely a reminder to never take your car to Halfords or National, they're OK for buying products of their shelves and that's it, this is the sort of people they often hire. As someone who loves their car I'd probably dismantle whoever did this.
https://www.theguardian.com/money/2024/apr/13/halfords-service-car-owner-alfa-romeo-insurance
The owner basically got told to get lost and they wouldn't take responsibility or provide a temporary car and their insurer then made a low offer making things worse and added the claims tor the other cars to his insurance, utter scumbags. They're only negotiating with him now due to media attention, but they were quite happy to screw the guy for 1000s beforehand.
Their quasi-mechanic idiot claims he was driving professionally at 25mph...
No bleeding way at 25mpg paying attention you strike 3 vehicles and careen off the road backwards through a steel fence with this damage at 25. It's insulting peoples intelligence. Witness statements apparently claiming it was being drove like an idiot weaving about. Allegedly the driver tried to blame the third vehicle he hit for the collision, nothing wrong with that logic at all.
Definitely a reminder to never take your car to Halfords or National, they're OK for buying products of their shelves and that's it, this is the sort of people they often hire. As someone who loves their car I'd probably dismantle whoever did this.
OMG - who would take a car like that to Halfords? But either way, it is only a car. It isn't as if someone was killed or seriously injured and the insurance will work itself out in the end. I think the point where we revere a metal box with four wheels over the lives of human beings is a point where we perhaps need to look in the mirror and ask what is important in life.
Reply 3
Original post by hotpud
OMG - who would take a car like that to Halfords? But either way, it is only a car. It isn't as if someone was killed or seriously injured and the insurance will work itself out in the end. I think the point where we revere a metal box with four wheels over the lives of human beings is a point where we perhaps need to look in the mirror and ask what is important in life.
Well that's kind of the point, the insurance wouldn't have worked it out in the end if they weren't forced to reconsider due to publicity, all down to the joyrider lying about what they had done - the owner would have been hit for maybe £3-4k (mibbie even £10k+ depending how he's billed) total taking the falsely increased insurance into account, and this sounded like exactly the sort of reckless driving that does end in deaths and injuries (and if someone had been hurt they'd likely be facing the same uphill battle due the other drives dishonesty)
It's not that I think my car is worth more than a persons life, it's just worth more than that lying mechanics...
(edited 1 year ago)
Original post by StriderHort
Well that's kind of the point, the insurance wouldn't have worked it out in the end if they weren't forced to reconsider due to publicity, all down to the joyrider lying about what they had done - the owner would have been hit for maybe £3-4k (mibbie even £10k+ depending how he's billed) total taking the falsely increased insurance into account, and this sounded like exactly the sort of reckless driving that does end in deaths and injuries (and if someone had been hurt they'd likely be facing the same uphill battle due the other drives dishonesty)
It's not that I think my car is worth more than a persons life, it's just worth more than that lying mechanics...
It's not that I think my car is worth more than a persons life, it's just worth more than that lying mechanics...
Nah. It would have worked out. He could have reported to the police and gone through the courts. All businesses have public liability insurance for this propose and pretty much any no win no fee solicitor could have taken this on and won regardless of how Halfords and their insurers had tried to play it.
The Muppet appears to be the chap who has the car who seems to not really know much about anything. This is why I don't massage my ego with expensive metal boxes. I think ours turns 14 this year! Many years happy motoring ahead too.
Original post by StriderHort
Fuming reading this today. A guy has taken his £23k Alfa Romeo into Halfords for a service and the staff have taken it for an apparent joyride and wrecked it, damaging many other cars then denying it's their fault
https://www.theguardian.com/money/2024/apr/13/halfords-service-car-owner-alfa-romeo-insurance
The owner basically got told to get lost and they wouldn't take responsibility or provide a temporary car and their insurer then made a low offer making things worse and added the claims tor the other cars to his insurance, utter scumbags. They're only negotiating with him now due to media attention, but they were quite happy to screw the guy for 1000s beforehand.
Their quasi-mechanic idiot claims he was driving professionally at 25mph...
No bleeding way at 25mpg paying attention you strike 3 vehicles and careen off the road backwards through a steel fence with this damage at 25. It's insulting peoples intelligence. Witness statements apparently claiming it was being drove like an idiot weaving about. Allegedly the driver tried to blame the third vehicle he hit for the collision, nothing wrong with that logic at all.
Definitely a reminder to never take your car to Halfords or National, they're OK for buying products of their shelves and that's it, this is the sort of people they often hire. As someone who loves their car I'd probably dismantle whoever did this.
https://www.theguardian.com/money/2024/apr/13/halfords-service-car-owner-alfa-romeo-insurance
The owner basically got told to get lost and they wouldn't take responsibility or provide a temporary car and their insurer then made a low offer making things worse and added the claims tor the other cars to his insurance, utter scumbags. They're only negotiating with him now due to media attention, but they were quite happy to screw the guy for 1000s beforehand.
Their quasi-mechanic idiot claims he was driving professionally at 25mph...
No bleeding way at 25mpg paying attention you strike 3 vehicles and careen off the road backwards through a steel fence with this damage at 25. It's insulting peoples intelligence. Witness statements apparently claiming it was being drove like an idiot weaving about. Allegedly the driver tried to blame the third vehicle he hit for the collision, nothing wrong with that logic at all.
Definitely a reminder to never take your car to Halfords or National, they're OK for buying products of their shelves and that's it, this is the sort of people they often hire. As someone who loves their car I'd probably dismantle whoever did this.
Not the least bit surprising, and this is coming from a person who works (not for much longer) at Halfords! Wouldn’t even trust them to change a bulb🤦
Agree with @StriderHort Halfords is only as good as the mechanics and people they employ. Some places are very good and have superb staff but the top management and sometimes local management never look after their staff at shop floor level. Usual stuff. So here you have a customer who has had his car totalled whilst it is in the care of Halfords. It's a car. It's a place that does repair or service. Nothing else really matters. Shame there is no dash cam!! Retain any emails, confirmation of agreed works, booking in etc Presuming the police took a collision report, your nominated solicitor will have access to the witness reports and details of the collision (for a fee). It's not a minor bump. Get hold of any cctv that may have been recorded along the route where the car went. Use any legal expenses, or find a specialist solicitor to make a claim against Halfords insurance. The car is only one piece here. Have they identified the driver? Was Halfords negligent leaving the keys out? Make a claim against Halfords and provide supporting documents for every single expense created by this. Go to court and you will soon find that companies don't like their dirty laundry washed in public. Most legal teams will advise to settle out of court.
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