Halfords trade card info req'd

[Kayos]

are electricians on it

I think so, I’ve told them I’m a plumber and need to take some ID and proof of trade, even a business card will do

Easier than borrowing my mates if I need it at short notice

 

[addjunkie]

are electricians on it

Yes

http://www.halfords.com/advice/customer-services/trade-card

 

[clift_d]

Generally the best discounts are on service parts and tools, and there doesn't seem to be any discount on 'non-essential' items like sat-navs, or any of their cycling ranges.

 

[aguycalledsteve]

I've just got one and I work in I.T

The guy glanced my payslip put something in the computer and "here you go mate all done"

 

[Bryan Williams]

I just asked the boss for a letter head and showed some wage slips ,we are a sheet metal fabrication shop..just told them we make car bits..no one bothered,dead easy.

 

[brightspark]

registered today just need to go in and show address etc thanks Gordon

 

[Millentubby]

Car bulbs attract one of the biggest % discounts from memory, oils, workshop consumables & service items and tools get some discount also.

Having worked at Halfords and then as a partsman at a Toyota Dealership almost a decade ago I usually source from eBay/Amazon/Local Motor Factor/Euro Car Parts/Halfords- in that order, depending on how long I can wait to get it and how important it is that I can view/measure the part on collection.

 

[brightspark]

Halfords = last resort on a Sunday afternoon in desperation

 

[chris y]

The batteries get a decent discount, I borrowed my sons card to get one, but want my own card.

Beware though, I'm in the middle of a problem with a Halfords battery purchase.

Its a long story but basically I bought the lifetime guarantee battery for lots of money, after nvestigating and learning that the warranty is void if you don't look after it and keep it charged.
When I got the battery home it turned out to be flat and 18 months past the marked recharge by date. Customer services explained that that date is 1 year from manufacture, therefore the battery was 2 1/2 years old.


Long story cut short, they couldn't find a newer battery so are refunding me, selling me a 5 yr warranty one, then when the right one is made exchanging it.

My warning is to check that any battery you buy is charged and isn't too old.

 

[chris y]

On the other hand, the lifetime warranty tools are fantastic value and often on offer.

 

[slim_boy_fat]

I applied for my card online, nobody has yet asked me for ID or to prove that I'm in any trade.......

 

[reb78]

I applied for my card online, nobody has yet asked me for ID or to prove that I'm in any trade.......

That’s interesting... do they send the card in the post then? I assumed you had to pick up in store.

 

[slim_boy_fat]

That’s interesting... do they send the card in the post then? I assumed you had to pick up in store.

Picked up in store...
Me: I have a Trade Card to collect"
Him: "Oh yes, what's the name please?"
Me: told him
Him: "Ah, yes, here you go"

End of conversation

 

[gt6s]

I got mine using a car club membership card. No longer in the trade due to disability.

Laurence

 

[vw-al]

After applying on-line for mine I have been waiting 3 weeks for my local Halfords to get the trade cards in,went there the other day only to be told still not got any, probably be another 2 weeks ,they will ring when they get them.

 

[chris y]

I asked today.

I explained that I work in car parts manufacture (been turned down before btw).
She asked if I have any qualifications, I said only in Manufacturing Engineering. She said, that'll do, the requirements have been changed and many trades are now accepted whereas it was only motor mechanics and they had to prove it with documentation.
She asked me to bring proof of Engineering trade such as qualification document.

It seems like the rules have changed.
Probably because Halfords management had the sense to realise that giving more people a card doesnt mean they sell things at a cheaper price, but that people now buy from Halfords where they would have gone elsewhere without the discount.
Better to make more sales at trade prices than to not have the customers.

 

[Kayos]

Still need to pick mine up, plumber is on the accepted trades list

 

[ibrooks]

I worked at my local store for nine months leaving 4 weeks ago so I can confirm some of the points here.

Getting a card.
We were actively encouraged to sign people up as a trade card customer is 4 times more likely to return. It can depend hugely on who you speak to just how far they are prepared to bend the already loose rules.

Discounts.
Vary from product to product and change regularly - the staff don't get any sort of notifications so it's no point asking them as they've no better way of finding out than you have. It's stated that the discount is on tools and service parts so no you won't get anything on Satnavs or bikes. Products on offer are a bit of a lottery, originally the trade price would over-ride the offer so sometimes using a trade card could make the price go above the retail offer price. This is something that's in progress and generally doesn't happen any more but if something is on offer the trade card will generally give little if any additional discount.

Car parts do come from Eurocarparts and are priced by them - they would often undercut us when selling direct but remember Halfords will price match any bricks and mortar store within 20 miles so if you are looking at something on Eurocarparts site for collection and Halfords is more convenient for you then just show the people in Halfords the proof (web on your smartphone or they can browse the web on the tills).

In general
Attitude - yours. Go in all guns blazing over a complaint or seem like you are demanding a card and they'll do the bare minimum. The people in there are paid minimum wage whether you are happy or not so if they can defend upsetting you (he didn't have the right documents or receipt/proof of purchase) then it makes zero difference to them whether you are happy or not or whether you complain or not. If you're friendly and nice then you'll get your problem sorted as soon as they can and quite likely walk out with a goodwill gesture of some sort.

Pick your time too (it can work both ways) - walk in mid-day on Saturday when they've got a queue a mile long, having done the online application, and they aren't likely to even glance at documentation just to give you the card and get rid of you to deal with the next person. Similarly go in then with a problem to sort and don't expect them to spend any more than the minimum time sorting it. Go in when it's quiet and be nice/strike up a conversation and they'll go the extra mile - there's usually a trade card behind the till that they'll use to give an instant discount when warranted - a magician was in one evening and demonstrated some sleight of hand with chocolate coins for us (he was killing time whilst his wife was shopping in Asda), his car cleaning/polishing stuff went through on the shop trade card.

These can probably be applied to most places.




The battery problem mentioned - The only reason a recharge date on the battery would even be looked at is if you don't have proof of purchase because that's the date you "bought" the warranty. So the implication is that you've bought an expensive item and seem surprised that the warranty is conditional on you taking reasonable care of it and you've not kept the receipt.

The batteries are almost all Yuasa and have a vanishingly small percentage of genuine problems - in every case where we replaced or refunded one under warranty the battery would subsequently accept a proper charge and work fine (no they didn't go back on the shelf). They did serve duty as "boost packs" during the winter for all the people we jump started on the carparks of the retail park the store was in and all my cars have Halfords batteries that I was allowed to buy cheap and have never been let down yet so it's not just a case that we charged them, saw 12+ volts and declared them good. Even before working there I had a trade card and would buy batteries there and have yet to have a genuine problem (and I have allowed a couple of those batteries to go completely flat on cars in storage and stay that way for years - they'll still accept a proper charge and work just fine for years). They don't warrant these things if they think there's a big risk that they will actually have to refund or replace them.
This doesn't mean that a battery will last forever - the warranty is against defects, not against it simply wearing out. Yuasa were getting a bit stricter about crediting returned batteries that didn't have genuine faults, Halfords are currently absorbing the cost of these but I wouldn't be surprised to see the stores being told to be more stringent on testing the returns and refusing to swap batteries that just haven't been looked after.

 

[chris y]

I




The battery problem mentioned - The only reason a recharge date on the battery would even be looked at is if you don't have proof of purchase because that's the date you "bought" the warranty. So the implication is that you've bought an expensive item and seem surprised that the warranty is conditional on you taking reasonable care of it and you've not kept the receipt.


.

Excellent post, thanks for taking the time.

Regarding the battery, I have no problem with being expected to look after the battery or with that date being used if I lost the receipt, thats all fine.

My issue was that the battery already hadnt been looked after before I bought it, so in the very unlikely event that it failed later due to neglect before I bought it and I felt I'd taken good care of it yet was told that it wont be replaced because I hadnt looked after it, I'd feel that my claim was unfairly rejected.


The local store staff were great, checked other stores, found nothing better, in fact one battery was completely dead 0v.
They then refunded me, sold me a 5 year warranty battery as a temporary fix, then are going to exchange it for the lifetime warranty one for no extra cost when it arrives. In the end I get the battery I wanted for a lower cost, it just cost me some running around.

I've spent over a grand in Washington Halfords this year (thats not normal) and had two problems, in both cases the staff have been great. I would highly recommend Washington Halfords to anyone in the area. Maybe going in with a decent attitude helped as you said.

 

[Robbie260]

The Halfords staff in Inverness are also very helpful, I have bought quite a few tools from them and they have gone to the effort of finding out if its cheaper to buy some of the tools that have been on special on my trade card or just normally so top marks to them. I only saved an extra ten quid but it was an extra ten quid to spend on more tools.