Motorist is left fuming after nine-hour ordeal at car spares store (From The Wiltshire Gazette and Herald)

Motorist is left fuming after nine-hour ordeal at car spares store

5:00pm Saturday 5th May 2012 in News

Andy Reeves outside Halfords

DRIVER Andy Reeves has hit out at car spares store Halfords after he was left out in the cold for nine hours while they failed to carry out a job that should have taken an hour.

Mr Reeves, of Taw Hill, Swindon, took his Honda Civic to the Chippenham store earlier this month for a hands-free kit to be installed.

He was told it would take 60-90 minutes, but on arrival, learnt it would be nearer two to three hours, so he made alternative arrangements with work to move meetings back until the afternoon.

However, three hours later, Mr Reeves, who works for Swindon Council, was told by the engineer that he had “drained the battery and even with a new battery the car will no longer start”.

Over the following five hours, a number of staff made temporary repairs, assembled and reassembled the car, took apart the spark plugs and made alterations.

After eight hours, Mr Reeves was told the team could not repair the car and he would have to pay for it to be towed away.

During this time, he says he was refused the use of the Halfords staff toilet and was left waiting in the rain.

“When my RAC engineer arrived, the damage was so significant he could not make the roadside repair and I had to arrange for a local garage to have the vehicle towed away,” he said.

“At 6.30pm the vehicle was towed away to a local depot for storage. I was trapped in Chippenham, 20 miles from my house and no way of getting home.

“At 6.40pm I noticed the staff that I had been dealing with were leaving the building with their coats on. I asked if they could help me get home to which one advised I ‘could sweet talk the tow truck man’ for a lift.

“At this point I refused to leave the store until someone helped to get me home.”

Mr Reeves, who is seeking compensation, said: “The incident caused me catastrophic inconvenience. I lost one-and-a-half days in work productivity; it required me to reschedule six work meetings to other times.”

Mr Reeves says he has since received an apology letter from Halfords which said they felt the service was below their expectations.

A spokesman for Halfords said: “We strive hard to provide the best possible service for our customers.

“We are very sorry that on this occasion we let Mr Reeves down. We are in direct communication with him and are working hard to resolve the issues to his satisfaction.”