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Child Item

Fitted by Halfords, failed NCT - trying to reclaim retest fee

beer enigma

Just wondering if anyone has had any luck getting an NCT retest fee back from Halfords after incorrect fitting.

Ok, so normally I wouldn't touch Halfords fitting but I was away and my wife was due to take the car in for NCT the following day when a headlight bulb blew. She took it to Halfords who fitted a new bulb, but it was the wrong one & the car failed the NCT.

As it needed to go back on the ramp for the retest, she incurred the €28 retest fee. Having paid €8 for the fitting, I'm quite reasonably looking to get the fitting fee and the retest fee back from Halfords, but I'm hitting a brick wall.

Just wondering if anyone has managed similar ?

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Tigger

Alun wrote: »

H7 is certainly the most common one, but the other most common ones would be H1 which only has 1 spade terminal on it and is much smaller, and H4 which is a combined main/dip beam bulb with 3 spade terminals on it, so the connector would be wrong too. The only other ones in common use are the H8/H9/H10/H11 types which have a plastic 90 degree bit on the bottom, and a totally different connector.

So as I mentioned earlier, I'm a bit baffled as to what type the other bulb was and how they not only managed to force it into place, but connect it too.

Probably just not seated properly but the fact op is saying that it was a different bulb makes me feel funny
Op did you fit the new bulb or did a shop do it and tell you halfoeds fitted the wrong bulb ?

[Deleted User]

I know this thread is about a man and his bulb, but i just want to throw out this comment:

Halfords installed a handsfree kit in my old car (a 407). During the process, they blew the head unit in the car. Naturally, I was a bit annoyed by this. However, they asked me to price a new one, and when I did, they gave me a cheque for the amount.

Now, obviously I didn't inflate the price, get a cheaper one elsewhere and pocket the difference, because that would be the wrong thing to do... but I just wanted to throw some balance out to the thread that, whilst halfords do make mistakes (and they don't always, in fairness, the same chap did a stellar job on my dash-cam installation) where they're at fault they are quick and easy to deal with, in my experience.

Just posting that incase anyone sees this thread and it puts them off ever using Halfords, as I feel they can be quite good and will stand over things if they're in the wrong.

*Kol*

It's bizarre that the Halfords guy was able to remove a H7 bulb, have it in his hands and then place a totally different bulb in the car.

Alun

*Kol* wrote: »

It's bizarre that the Halfords guy was able to remove a H7 bulb, have it in his hands and then place a totally different bulb in the car.

Especially as the only bulb that would have looked vaguely similar would have been an H4 which has 3 spade connectors instead of 2, so one would have to have remained unconnected, and has a larger diameter base which has 3 locating tabs instead of one.

Tigger

Alun wrote: »

Especially as the only bulb that would have looked vaguely similar would have been an H4 which has 3 spade connectors instead of 2, so one would have to have remained unconnected, and has a larger diameter base which has 3 locating tabs instead of one.

I'd be sure that the right bulb went in wrong
Or even that the fitting caused the alignment to go off or if the guy that did the pre nct is the guy that said the bulb was wrong I think that he didn't want to pay for the retest
On a side note halfoeds standard h7 bulbs seem to cost €20 fitted
Motor factors sell standard bulbs for €2

Alun

Tigger wrote: »

I'd be sure that the right bulb went in wrong.

Me too, but the OP seems sure it was different somehow.

beer enigma

Thanks lads, I only asked for an opinion about halfords after care !

The bulb that was fitted by halfords looked very similar but the base plate ? Excuse my laymans language was different to the Correct bulb (H7) that was in there previously. The prongs Edit: 'Tabs' were slightly different and although it went in, it was a forced fit, slightly different angles.

I'll be home again in a couple of days and will photo the one they fitted, but it wasn't the correct one.

The two bulbs have a different base plate. As it happens I missed a call from halfords tonight, so I'm hoping it's good news.

screamer

I had one fitted before and it failed nct because the bulb was fitted upside down it was working fine but failed because it was upside down!

PukkaStukka

OP, You paid halfords to supply and fit a bulb. Their errors, acts and omissions in fitting the wrong bulb has caused you loss of time and money. Assuming there is nothing in their whatever receipts they gave you or in the signs about the place that they accept no responsibility in cases like this, then your request to be covered for your loss is fair, reasonable and worth pursuing. Everything henceforth in your dealings with them should be in writing. The threat of small claims court might work, but point out to them that once you go this route that the cost of settling will rise be virtue of the additional expense you will obviously incur in going the SCC route.

Do you still have the incorrect bulb they fitted, and your receipts?

beer enigma

PukkaStukka wrote: »

OP, You paid halfords to supply and fit a bulb. Their errors, acts and omissions in fitting the wrong bulb has caused you loss of time and money. Assuming there is nothing in their whatever receipts they gave you or in the signs about the place that they accept no responsibility in cases like this, then your request to be covered for your loss is fair, reasonable and worth pursuing. Everything henceforth in your dealings with them should be in writing. The threat of small claims court might work, but point out to them that once you go this route that the cost of settling will rise be virtue of the additional expense you will obviously incur in going the SCC route.

Do you still have the incorrect bulb they fitted, and your receipts?

I have the bulb, the receipt which shows both the bulb purchase and the fitting fee and all I'm looking for is recompense for the nct retest the cost of the fitting and the bulb (which they can have back).

mickdw

Seems like a valid case to me.
Stick with them.
Proof of being sold that part number which will be shown to be incorrect for the car and nct fail sheet affecting that headlight should be a slam dunk.
Sure, it could have been an alignment issue but given that the wrong bulb is there, any reasonable person would have to agree that the bulb fitting was the issue.

Del2005

Andip wrote: »

I have the bulb, the receipt which shows both the bulb purchase and the fitting fee and all I'm looking for is recompense for the nct retest the cost of the fitting and the bulb (which they can have back).

What bulb does the reciept say? I recently purchased a few items from them and they have exactly what I purchased on the reciept. But I haven't got bulbs in a while from there and never looked at the receipt as I picked the same bulb I took out.

Esel

I know this is a bit OT, but don't BMW dealers offer a free bulb replacement service? Or was that a time-limited offer?

keyboard_cat

I had to fix a bulb that halfords had put into a passat they only got the wire clip around only one side of the base so the bulb was sitting at an angle and blinding people on the footpath. they also managed to loose the dustcap for the headlight while they were at it.

Alun

screamer wrote: »

I had one fitted before and it failed nct because the bulb was fitted upside down it was working fine but failed because it was upside down!

You can't correctly insert any headlight bulb upside down I'm afraid. There are metal tabs on the base which slot into cutouts in the bulb holder. You can put it into the holder upside down, and with a bit of messing also engage the retaining clip, but the tabs not engaging with the cutouts will cause the whole bulb to be tilted slightly, messing up the alignment.

So you didn't fail for the bulb being upside down per se, you failed for having a misaligned headlight, one that definitely wasn't "working fine", caused by the bulb being upside down.

biko

Esel wrote: »

I know this is a bit OT, but don't BMW dealers offer a free bulb replacement service? Or was that a time-limited offer?

That was last year

Special Circumstances

biko wrote: »

That was last year

It has run a few years now, coming into winter time.

beer enigma

Call from Halfords UK this morning offering a full refund of NCT retest fee, fitting fee, bulb & a €10 gift voucher for the inconvenience. Sounds like the Manager either didn't have the authority or had to check with Head Office.

I'm fairly impressed with that in fairness.

GavMan

Good stuff. Can't fault that

Tigger

Andip wrote: »

Thanks lads, I only asked for an opinion about halfords after care !

The bulb that was fitted by halfords looked very similar but the base plate ? Excuse my laymans language was different to the Correct bulb (H7) that was in there previously. The prongs Edit: 'Tabs' were slightly different and although it went in, it was a forced fit, slightly different angles.

I'll be home again in a couple of days and will photo the one they fitted, but it wasn't the correct one.

The two bulbs have a different base plate. As it happens I missed a call from halfords tonight, so I'm hoping it's good news.

Did you get a chance to see what bulb they fitted?

biko

Do you mean "bulb they fitted"?

jca

biko wrote: »

Do you mean "bulb they fitted"?

What would you think Sherlock?

jca

Andip wrote: »

Call from Halfords UK this morning offering a full refund of NCT retest fee, fitting fee, bulb & a €10 gift voucher for the inconvenience. Sounds like the Manager either didn't have the authority or had to check with Head Office.

I'm fairly impressed with that in fairness.

That's a great result. Well done.

Alun

Slightly OT, but I've just bought a brand new car, and it has H9 bulbs fitted which is new for me. A million times easier to fit than H7 or H4 as the bulb itself is fitted to a 90 degree plastic mount which simply screws with a quarter turn into the back of the headlight housing, and connects to the wiring with a simple plastic connector with a locking tab. Absolutely 100% impossible to fit incorrectly even for Halfords.

Only downside is that for some bizarre reason, Osram and Philips only make bog-standard bulbs for them, no Nightbreaker or X-treme Vision versions

biko

jca wrote: »

What would you think Sherlock?

No need to be a dick when I was just asking a question.

jca

biko wrote: »

No need to be a dick when I was just asking a question.

Maybe try a small bit of lateral thinking like all the rest of us did.....

endacl

jca wrote: »

Maybe try a small bit of lateral thinking like all the rest of us did.....

What? When people are being shot in the neck on other threads?!?

See what I did there?

bear1

Jesus lads.

jca

endacl wrote: »

What? When people are being shot in the neck on other threads?!?

See what I did there?

Sad individual.