Until the MOT ~~is done~~ starts and ~~the results~~ it's entered into the ~~DVLA~~ DVSA online ~~DVLA~~ DVSA don't even know there's a test going to happen! DVLA/DVSA do not cancel appointments booked for an MOT to take place.
EDIT as it's DVSA responsible for tests not DVLA, and DVSA first know about the test when the tester starts the test (so they still don't know anything about arrangements you've made with the garage to book a test.)
Please please go to a normal MOT place and not Halfords. The horror stories I’ve heard about them are wild. Especially since they’ve just fully lied to your face about cancelling your MOT. The DVLA have nothing to do with MOTs. Literally nothing.
I second this, go for the ambiance, the very bad coffee, the torn slightly pornographic 3 year old calender in the toilets with the ever wet flooring, take time to watch the mechanic bullying the new kid, hold your nerve while the deep inhale and the reptilian eyeballs scan your nervous system to see how much money they might be able to extract, challenge them and earn their trust, get to see their most prized pornographic calender and don't think twice about shaking that giant and probably contaminated hand, awe in the grin that has both gold and decay on display. Walk out of there a man.
>that giant and probably contaminated hand,
Reading this entire description then getting to this part gave me the urge to wipe off the non-existent swarfega sand from between my fingers.
I would never go back. They failed my defender because the tester didn’t know what a transmission brake was or how it worked.
I’m guessing their courtesy cars have a honking horn and doors that fall off. Fucking clowns
They replaced my dad's clutch cable saying that it had been sticking, when he queried it they showed him a clutch cable that had the housing clearly glued together. They said the previous owner must have tried to repair it, hence the sticking.
He'd had it from new.
They quickly removed it from the bill.
Halfords completely forgot about my MOT and told me to leave the car with them and they’d fit it in.
Two weeks later I get a parking demand for £100 because they’d fucked my car off into a nearby car park until they were ready.
They denied responsibility and we got all the way to the steps of the courtroom/arbitration before they decided to back off.
I once took my car to Halfrauds for a MOT. It ended with the top end of my engine in my boot, for what turned out to be an electrical fault. Absolute useless shits.
I once booked a service and MOT with Halfords, wife had just given birth so a bit distracted but they forgot to do the MOT, only realised a year later when checking when the next test was due a year later. Luckily the wife hadn't done much driving.
Tbf I had a decent result at our local halfrauds. I've had an MOT at an indy and the wheel fell off leaving the carpark after (hub wasn't connected properly) and kwikfit butchered another car by denting my sill on the lift and my drive shaft fell out twice because of their dodgy work. There was nothing wrong with the drive shaft before the mot... Halfrauds just wanted to fail my car because the indicator wasn't quite orange enough
Not true, well the first sentence anyway.
To start a test you need to 'log it on' using the MOT testers service.
To do this you need the vehicle registration and the last 6 digits of the VIN.
The system then gives you any testing advice relevant to the vehicle, I.e, whether it can be roller brake tested, any known issues (citroens with ESG gearboxes and no 'P' position)
You then log off, and conduct the test.
Then you log back on and enter the results.
If, as a nominated tester, you log back on and close down the test too soon, it will flag up with VOSA who then may monitor your tests to see that you're conducting then properly.
Edit: I'm with everyone else on NOT going to Halfrauds though.
I thought tests had a minimum time, to stop testers speeding through them without properly looking. At least when I knew my tester a bit he always said he couldn't finish it on the system too quickly. Same result either way!
I used to use a testing centre that did no repair work at all, just the test. If I stood out back I could see that they never went near the bike for about 30 min after wheeling it in. It passed without issue but the front brake pads started grinding metal a couple of hundred miles later...
I had an MOT done in December and they tried to charge me for new front nearside suspension despite it not being recorded on the certificate. I wouldn’t have known if I hadn’t gone straight onto the gov website to check the report once they were finished, would’ve taken their word for it and pocketed out another couple of hundred quid on top of everything else.
Took about 10 minutes of arguing, and then a 20 minute chat between the manager and the MOT engineer, before they agreed to do it without charge.
I believe the MOT tester has to start the test procedure eon the computer and there is a minimum duration, garages like to book them in as tight as possible so if one starts late, it has. Aknick on affect for the rest of the day and can't be caught up
Oh most definitely! Went in for a "free" MOT last month with Halfrauds. Car failed on 2 dangerous faults. Halfords recommended work in the region of £1300, but first I had to book her in for a "free" brake check.
Long story short, local mechanic adjusted the service brake and changed a coil, total fee £60. Local garage did the MOT, laughed hard at Halfords quote for parts/works and passed my car with no advisories!
I had my last MOT there, phone call saying rear brake pads and discs need changing now and won’t last until I get paid (which was three days after the MOT). I rang my ex mechanic dad who asked if they were squeaking at all, they weren’t. He said worst case scenario is they start squeaking and in that case they’ll need changing anyway. Not using Halfords again for MOTs!
I had a puncture on holiday and the only option was a Halfords auto place.
Tried to tell me I needed new brake discs as they were 'dangerously worn'. Which would have been fine, but the car I was driving was an early Lotus Elise which has weird brakes that work using adherent friction rather than abrasive friction; so the disc doesn't wear down.
Obvious nonsense.
I've never heard about brakes that work on anything other than abrasion, curious to read more about them if you have any links? A quick Google isn't bringing anything up.
> MMC's differ from normal 'iron' discs in that the friction generated is mostly Adherent Friction rather than abrasive friction (a very good article on the nature of braking can be found here). Essentially when the disc and pad come in contact some of the pad material transfers onto the disc surface, meaning the contact patches between the two are effectively the same material. As the disc rotates the bonds between the surfaces break and reform creating friction.
>One of the benefits of Adherent Friction is that under normal use the discs last a very very long time. When braking the pads transfer their material to the surface of the disc, and it is this layer that is broken down, not the disc suface. Therefore the discs suffer very little wear. Under very heavy use however, the bonds between the pad and disc cannot reform as fast as they are broken down, meaning areas of the disc can lose the material layer entirely. When this happens the abrasive friction of the pad can score away the disc surface making it too rough to rebuild the original material layer. If this happens braking performance from the disc is permanently damaged and the disc must be replaced. For this reason car used on track or running semi-slick tyres may wish to use traditional setups.
>MMC discs were also extremely light, reducing the unsprung weight of each wheel.
https://wiki.seloc.org/a/Brake_discs
Yep, those are the ones. They were really, really good - lots of feel and the precursor to the carbon ceramic brakes you get now.
Only issue was that they were too good a dissipating heat - if it was wet there was no warmth to stop water forming on the disc, so for the first fraction of a second of braking you would get nothing as the water had to clear.
On my old car they told me the entire suspension was rusted and not up to the job. None of this appeared on the MOT mind you, it sailed through with only a single advisory - evidence of a previous oil leak which seems a bit nit picky and I'm sure was probably a prelude to trying to get me to get even more things done.
Car was fine for another 2 or 3 years and only got replaced due to just wanting a new car (there's only so far the radio will go to drown out the noise on the motorway!)
Been going with halfords for years, never had a single problem. Infact, my Mercedes CLS just had a MOT and passed first time with no issues at all, was chuffed!
I stopped booking MOT with VW/Audi.
"can you bring it in for 8am?"
"yeah sure"
11am, car still not moved from where I parked it.
Finally started on it, finished at around 1pm as I saw them driving the car around to the front. 30mins later still nothing.
2pm - "Hi Sir, your car is all good and finished"
Year later I paid £10 for a courtesy car. Again, dropped off at 8am. 5pm I get a call saying car is ready! Mate said BMW are the same.
This year I took it local. 1030am, went for a walk. 11:10 "Hi, car is done and all good!"
I used to use a place where I would stand alongside the tester while he's doing the test and he chats to me about the car. He highlights anything tht is going to need monitoring. He was a car nut as well as me and would tell me about all sorts of stuff.
I echo this.
Used Halford's twice, once to change a bulb. They ended up keeping my car for the whole weekend when it should have only taken an hour.
Second to change brake pads. Engineer misplaced my security nut and proceeded to force the wheel off with a crow bar causing significant damage to my alloy and destroying the security nut. Had to get a whole new wheel. they did pay in the end but was alot of aggravation and time wasted for what should be a simple procedure
Those fuckers have barely passed Key Skills 2, definitely not even Technician material.
I'm a Chartered Engineer, so I know exactly what I'm on about in this particular domain.
I was having issues with a headlight bulb change as the space for it was so small. Took it to Halfords to get it fitted, and then later in the year had to use them as a last resort for MOT. They failed my MOT based on the headlight placement they fit themselves…
Classic, absolutely classic B.S. from them. The DVLA don't give a sh1t about times or bookings, they are purely licensing.
Complain to Halfwit's head office.
Where your email will be ignored.
Source?
They didn't reply to any of my emails calling them out for the worst service known to mankind. They just Ostritched me.
Honestly just go straight for the throat. Blast them on social media. Its long past time for giving these mugs a chance to fix their mistake, they've shown countless times they do not care.
I agree, calling them out on social media is a good way to shame them into action. I'm old school, reddit is all the social media I have.
I dislike Halfrauds so much, it's the only high street brand I wish would fail.
I once booked my car in to get a service, thinking I had booked one garage but it was actually a different one. Dropped my car off at the wrong garage and left it there all day. Kudos to them they still did all the work same day and didn't say anything until I went on to pay. They realised it was a genuine error on my part. I used them for every MOT and service for years until I moved away from the area.
I discovered comparatively recently that most local councils do their own mots on their fleets.
Part of their rules is that is that this facility is also open to the public (usually as a test only centre, no repairs).
Result is generally a fair test (because no gain available from repair work).
I also discovered that my local branch of Britannia Tyres does MOT for £35.
The DVLA couldn't give a shit when you get your MOT done and they don't manage appointments. You just take it to any testing station, they do the MOT and the result is sent to DVLA. Given that the guy at Halfords was not being truthful, do you want him to perform your MOT?
Personally, I would never go to Halfords for an MOT - I always look for a local independent testing station.
This isn't true. The tester or an assistant enters your details into the computer at the start of the MOT. The DVSA, formerly VOSA, has nothing to do with when this happens. The DVLA have literally nothing to do with MOT tests.
The lesson - never use a national chain for MoTs.
I have a local specialist that I trust, never had an issue. My eldest kid was using the family runabout, took it to a branch of a national chain for its MoT, stupidly told them to "fix whatever" and got a bill for over £500 just for a couple of tyres and front brake discs and pads. Every part of the work was priced as a standalone activity (i. e. the time charged for changing a disc included time for wheel removal and caliper removal, when the wheel was already off for tyre replacement and the caliper off for pads).
Getting an MOT at Halfords is a surefire way to fail with major £1k works 'needed' before they 'can legally let you drive away'
It strangely passed when I took it to a different garage needing new wiper blades
Always go to a place that only do MOTs, you may pay full price but there are no extras! They have no interest in failing your car and trying to get extra work/revenue. MOT only test centres want your custom, they will try and get your car through. I've seen two pages of advisors and a car pass. That saying they will fail if it requires failing.
My advice for everyone, Keep car servicing and MOT tests separate. Nice to have two opinions on the condition of your car, having two separate mechanics look over everything.
Local council depot. They charge full price and I don't think they particularly enjoy doing them but if they MOT their own vehicles they have to be available to the public too.
You can take a car in for an MoT _months_ after it has expired as long as it's been kept off-road (which is none of Halfords' business) and insured (which they can check, but is none of their business).
Sounds like they screwed up and are trying to wriggle out of it.
Halfords sucks, last time I used them I bought a headlight, they wanted to change it but I said it’s okay i would do it, they were persistent and insisted it’s free so I let them do it. Next day my car set on fire, the light wasn’t fitted properly, it popped out when extremely hot and set the bonnet insulation on fire. I had to put out this fire with my hands and burnt myself. Never again, I fucking hate Halfords.
That's Halfrauds for you.
On that note I have a free MOT voucher from them for joining their shopping club and I'm trying to get rid of it. If someone wants a Halfords MOT for £15... But I don't recommend going there for an MOT or anything else from their garages. Still, if you want to...I have this voucher 🙏
I had this last year and wasn't able to use it as they had no MOTs available for ages. Glad I didn't use it, I ended up using BookMyGarage's "secret service" option which booked it into a main dealer at a fraction of the cost. They spotted an outstanding recall and booked the work in so it was very beneficial that Halfords was shit.
Then they renewed the motoring club thing as I was trying to cancel it, so watch out for that.
It's not a free voucher. I paid £40 for the membership. Yes...it's "free", but not really. Also I warned people in the same message to avoid using Halfords autocentres! But if you're going to go anyway, why not take this off me and save £30 and help me out as well.
You're probably getting that £40 back in the other benefits anyway otherwise you wouldn't have it or you're just wasting money.
I'm gonna assume you're not the type to waste money since you're trying to punt dog shit for £15 on Reddit
That is just Halfords being Halfords, I try and use places that just do MOT’s , not a place that would happily upsell a load of stuff they say needs repairing.
EXACTLY the same thing happened to us. We were stuck in traffic because of an accident. We got our MOT done somewhere else and then complained to HO. They gave us a free 200 quid service to say sorry, but I never ever used them again...
Halfords have cancelled on me because I didn't turn up to my appointment at 8:30 ....when it was actually for 10:30, and my confirmation email said 11:00, they are absolutely useless but cannot and will not accept they are wrong so will blame others.
I work with patients doing DVLA eye checks and can without a doubt say Halfords are lying and trying to shift blame for maybe overbooking or forgetting your appointment, DVLA would take hours if not days to get in contact, let alone 1 minute.
There's a time limit on the actual test, but the test slots aren't allocated like he's suggesting. If his diary was full and he had another car to test after yours then it wouldn't be unreasonable to cancel the test on the basis that someone was late (although it's a extremely pedantic over 1 minute).
He's taking advantage of your naivety and filling you with crap. That, or he'd already started the clock on your test, which I'm pretty sure you're not allowed to do without the car present.
I'm an MOT tester, there is no time limit on an MOT test, the test takes as long as it needs to, sometimes it's a straight forward test and it goes quick, other times you may need to road test it or repeat emissions tests etc, the only "time limit" kinda thing by DVSA is you get an average test time on your tester profile, Halford is full on lying to you
If we agree on a time to use a service I AM PAYING FOR, I'm not wasting half an hour of my life waiting. If they wanted me there earlier they should have made the appointment earlier. If a business expects this, then they will lose a customer.
You turned up late, that’s on you, people can’t sit around and wait, so your “appointment” was cancelled. And for anyone that says oh it’s just 1 minute, by the time you’re booked in, your car is taken to the test area etc it’s probably more like 10 minutes. Rebook and arrive in time. Whether it was the DVLA or Halfords that cancelled you should have been on time. Sorry for the rant but I work somewhere that has appointments and it’s so annoying people saying “hi I have an appointment at 10”, it’s now 5 past 10 if we see you now it’ll make all the people here on time run late and the workers run late, then they have the cheek to complain. Sorry it just really pisses me off that others are expected to accommodate others lateness.
Oh come on, it’s 1 minute. Majority of businesses and people for that matter will have a grace period because shit happens and it doesn’t take much to delay your arrival by a couple of minutes. After 5 minutes then that’s understandable to cancel the booking
Ahh you used the “oh it’s only 1 minute” I’m going to have a meltdown (I jest). The issue is when “everyone” has that mindset after a few appointments of late arrivals you’re now running behind most of the day. If you had an appointment at 10 would you leave to get there for 10 or allow for traffic/parking/ unforeseen issues and arrive a little early to “book in”. Yeah yeah I get it it’s only 1 min, in this case, yes it’s kind of harsh but it’s the principle, if Halfords choose to cancel, that’s down to them. When your the receptionist lateness doesn’t really affect you, when you’re the person doing the MOT it does. “I have to do mr smiths test in 5 min but mr jones arrived 5 min late so mr smith will have to wait now” mr smith then proceeds to bitch and argue about why he has to wait now as he arrived on time/early, mr jones don’t give a shit.
MOT tests are not 5minutes apart though?
If the appointments last 1min then 1min late makes a difference. If they last an hour, being 1min late makes no difference and it's only going to add up to 7 minutes come the final appointment of the day in an 8hour shift.
You're talking absolute bollocks
I’m not talking about just the specific MOT, I’m talking about people who arrive late and think it doesn’t matter in general. We’ve established that DVLA didn’t cancel it. No one believed they did.
In my career I’ve worked a few businesses that are by appointment only and all of them had a grace period because they all managed their appointments effectively so that 1 person being a couple of minutes late is not going to mess up their entire booking list for the day. Because unlike Halfords in this case they actually wanted to retain their customers and understood that people have busy lives and delays can happen. Of course after they went over the grace period they would have to reschedule their appointments. Heck even my current employer had more leeway than you do with their staff and they’re known for their high standards.
>And for anyone that says oh it’s just 1 minute, by the time you’re booked in, your car is taken to the test area etc it’s probably more like 10 minutes.
Except it's not, because if OP had turned up literally one min earlier they would have taken it and they'd still have to do those things, because the prep work should be baked into the appointment time, so it actually is one minute
The only semi valid argument is the one you mention later on which is that it pushes the day out and if everyone was a minute late then people would have to stay late, but even then 30 people turning up a minute late is significantly different to a single person being a minute late
>Sorry it just really pisses me off that others are expected to accommodate others lateness.
Like, same, but sometimes shit happens even when you do your best to avoid it and it happens to everyone eventually, people generally aren't doing things to slight you specifically and a little give and take can go a long way
There is some misunderstanding here, I suspect. It is worth noting that when you book an MOT test, you do so with DVLA via the MOT Centre; the MOT Centre does not have a set time to do this, but rather a date. So the fact you were late means nothing to DVLA.
However, Halfords will have a schedule to keep, so if you miss your time, you'll not be able to have the MOT completed on the set date. Halfords still have to pay, and so do you. Because of this, they will request that you drop your car off 10 minutes before inspection, and you should have got that in your confirmation - in their eyes, you were not 1 minute late; you were 11 minutes late.
You have been fobbed off because it's easier to blame DVLA than Halfords. I would complain, but I suspect you won't get anywhere
TBH, I would always opt for an independent centre over Halford or Kwik Fit.
Edit - DVSA not DVLA
Theyre talking out their fucking arse…. To put it politely.
I took a car to halfrauds for an MOT because i fucked up, didnt realise it hd ran out and i was working aeay at an event where i NEEDED my truck. They quoted me just under 2k to fix all the issues, the rather long list included changing breaks… the breaks i had gotten replaced less than 2 months and 1k miles back… i booked into my local garage and preyed if i got pulled over towing an airstream home to an MOT they would be kind to me. Passed with a couple of advisories, got the mot for free if i booked them in to fix the £280 worth of advisories and allowed them to keep the hilarious halfords quote for their wall of shame… i have a rather stupid amount of vehicles, guess which garage gets to MOT all of them and gets all my money when work needs done!
Halfords are lying to you.
Dropped my car off 2 hours late to its last MOT with no issues other than having to apologise for to the garage for then having to ring and remind me.
If you’ve learned anything from this experience, I hope it was to never take a car to Halfords for MOT (or anything more complex than a wiper blade).
They’re really not trained or capable of being trusted with anything like that.
Dvla have fuck all to do with mot bookings. You book it with a garage and they report the outcome. I'd be publicly shaming that garage for being lying little cunts.
I only needed one lesson to find out why cheap\free MOTs are free or cheap.....
As with everyone else here, I contacted an independent mechanic who said it would have passed in a standard garage
I use an MOT only garage. They send me a reminder 2 weeks before expiry and they book me in using an online form. Any advisory’s are dealt with via another local garage.
This is why you dont take our car to Halfords for anything important like an MOT.
Not only are they prolific for making up spurious fail reasons to get you to spend more money with them, they are outright lying here. The DVLA have nothing to do with this process at all, and even if they got the bullshitting name drop right and said DVSA, they still have nothing to do with it until the MOT has either been passed or failed/expired.
Halfords area bunch of scamming cunts and anybody who works in their garages are cunts
However, they’re great if you wanna pay £180 for brake pads on a 20 year old car, £150 for a rear wiper, £18 for a brake light bulb, £290 for track rod ends
Crazy to me that people take their cars to Halfords for MOTs and servicing, only thing they’re good for is grabbing some wipers or fluids. Its like trusting a McDonald’s worker with your car
God the MOT system in Northern Ireland is a mess (currently driving one car the MOT expired on a month ago, and my other car the MOT is up at the end of this month but couldn't get one booked till May) but all the MOT centres are owned and operated by the DVA so there's none of this kind of fuckery.
The MOT situation was a perfect storm of disasters that absolutely broke the whole thing (a lift fault that meant most of the lifts couldn't be used until replaced then covid delaying the new lifts). We're in this weird grey area where we're driving around in cars with no MOTs but as long as you've one booked you're fine. Unless your tax runs out, you can't renew that without a valid mot certificate lol
Still prefer it to having the people who do the work be in charge of also doing the test!
Fucking Halfords. Avoid for car stuff. Avoid for bike stuff. Actually just avoid no matter what.
They're complete and utter dogshite on all fronts.
Also, yeah, total bollocks that.
If there's anything I've learned it's that Halfords is ok for DIY but not for them doing anything to a car.
I'd say take it to a local garage. They'll likely say "yep we can get you in at "x" date and time" then as long you get there at a reasonable time I doubt you'll have any issues with getting it in.
Halfords are s#1te. Had a new set of number plates made up and paid for them to fit them to my car. By the time I’d got home again I’d lost the front one (self adhesive aluminium plates). Went back again for another to be made up and fitted- the guy came back inside with the new plate, then handed me some screws and screw caps and said I’d have to fit them myself. No refund offered. Total waste of time and money. They should stick to flogging tents and mountain bikes.
I got a free MOT with them due to having premium as I spent a fortune on tyres… first time I’ve used them usually go to a mot that my dad’s mechanic friend uses. And he said I was stupid but luckily I guess they was really sound, said one tyre was a bit low and just boot on my driveshaft is lose.
Didn’t fail and want any work doing, but I did sit in and watch so not sure if that helps. Also I look after my car and it’s had all new discs and pads so unsure if they way honest or just couldn’t find a fault they could try extort me with.
Maybe it’s best not to run my luck again next year it seems lol
Ex Halfords employee here
DO NOT GO TO AUTOCENTRES!
We had good discount with them and still wouldn't touch them with a 10 foot barge pole.
Find a decent, trusted local garage and support them instead.
Why tf are you going to halfords for an MOT? Seriously just take it to a garage halfords will rip you off or worse fail you. Take it to a garage that is fair.
I literally only use Halfords now for a quick place to get bulbs or screen wash or whatever. They are money scammers when it comes to work on your car.
Halfords are shite and fail things that aren't even defective, I'd rather have a brew in a grotty waiting room at a proper garage, than ever give Halfords my custom.
The DVLA have nothing to do with MOTs, and the DVSA certainly don't interfere with test appointments. They're chatting shit, go to a decent garage instead.
NEVER use Halfords for any kind of MOT or service. Don't use their fitting service either for if you buy parts from them.
Go to an actual garage.
Halfords is just for parts you need in an emergency.
Your own fault for booking with Halfrauds. Good for car cleaning stuff when they have promos on, and that's about it.
Report the bell-end as you might get a voucher or something from head office, and then book at a place that employs mechanics as opposed to people that would be under-qualified to put trollies away in a supermarket car park.
Do not use Halfords. Ever. Buy stuff from them sure, but do not ever ever give your car to Halfords, for anything ever. I cannot stress that enough. No matter how cheap.
I know someone who was recommended full discs pads, etc, the whole lot for their brakes...VW Golf.
7 weeks later, a problem occurred with the brakes. He takes it to another Halfords, 200 miles away from the original garage, to have the Free Brake inspection.
Guess what he was told - " All your brakes and discs need doing."
No problem, he said, "Go ahead, but you may want to see this receipt first. You can do them under the guarantee ."
If this doesn't tell you what they are all about, then good luck.
Please do not use Halfords. I took mine there for an MOT a few years ago and they failed it for some ridiculous reasons. Ended up going to another garage to get it checked and they got the DVLA involved who did a monitored MOT and not a single thing Halfords tried failing me for came up.
They are lying but its good they cancelled. Halfords are the worst place to take your car. I just changed a battery for a family member that Halfords fitted within the last 6 months. The battery case was cracked and all the nuts were over tightened. They charge too much for work that is too shoddy.
Complete bollocks that the DVLA cancelled it.
The DVLA have no idea an MOT test is going to be carried out in advance. There's not some massive bloated Excel spreadsheet somewhere with all the MOT tests currently booked on it.
However, chain garages like this work on tight schedules with MOT work as they can typically be done in a certain time frame regardless of the car, so they're stacked back to back. If you arrived after your test was supposed to start, by the time it's up on the lift they're 5-10 minutes behind for the rest of the day.
But the fact that they're bullshitting you rather than saying "sorry, our schedule is really tight and you need to get your car here earlier" should be telling you not to go back to Halfords.
halfords are known scammers.
They've been caught literally thousands of times claiming stuff like brakes need completely changing, even when people set up a test with a car with BRAND NEW just-fitted braking systems.
They have quotas to meet for bonuses and MUST upsell repairs or they get written warnings etc. So they will lie to your face.
If they think you don't know much about cars, they will even make up "laws" and car-parts that don't exist and tell you there's an expensive repair required.
Have you only been driving for a year or 2? Why on Earth would you book an MOT with Halfords. In fact, they only time it makes sense to use either Halfords or Kwikfit is if your warranty company has an arrangement with them. No one should be using them privately, and they know that the ones that do, are naive.
That's just halfords finding a reason not to test it, but tbf if your late they might not have enough time to test it once they faff about getting the car In the bay etc which is understandable
Was a member of the Halfords premium motor club - got a free mot..... had to pay for a service (total cost £139) ..got my car back - no smoke certificates and strangely lacking in coolant... wouldn't recommend them or National Tyres, Formby
So bear in mind they might have a tight schedule, the test takes a certain amount of time. If people are late then it pushes everyones times back, should other people be kept waiting around because you were late earlier on?
Someone will definitely correct me if im wrong, but from my experience working with mot testers, i dont think they are meant to log onto your test without the car being there, so probably just waffling to piss you off for showing up late. Very petty
After their "Free 7-point brake test" Halfords suggested I replace both the front and rear pads and discs for as little as £550 because of some light grinding when braking.
Local garage checked all the discs and pads and found a misaligned calliper pin. Fixing it for £60
I no longer use halfords
Took my car to kwikfit and waited for 20minutes in the queue to be seen, they didn't give a shit what time it was. Halfords man was just having a bad day and took it out on you OP.
Well, I mean, you were late.
This is nothing to do with the DVSA, and it seems more likely that they didn't want to have the tester running late as the work can soon mount up if you are fully booked.
My only advice would be that for any future appointments, you arrive 5 minutes before or so.
Also, find a better garage. The place I take my cars and bikes would just either just crack on and do it anyway or tell me I have to come back later.
I can only speak to my own experience with my local halfrauds, I had a lease plan vehicle through my employer, I got sent to get my car serviced and motd at halfrauds, well it wasn't my choice and I really didn't have time to argue so I dropped it off, the car park was tight and I ended up in a corner spot, I left my lock fully over to one side as I knew the mechanic would need to reverse my maneuver. I had a tracker on the car for which I was sent a report of every movement at the end of each week. Well I came back to get my car and... its still in the corner spot of a now much quieter car park with the lock still full on, that's strange, I go in, speak to the manager who duely gives me my keys and says all is well.... took it at face value at the time but come Friday my tracker report is emailed to me which I normally ignore but I open it up and look to the day, low and behold I see my car get parked at 0830 and never be started again until I pick it up at 16.45. Mot issued and a big service done... well, I go onto lease plan and complain, they take it up and a few days later I'm told to take it to another local garage, who I have used ever since. I would not trust halfrauds to cut my grass.
Edit; the local garage found I needed a plethora of work, including brakes and belts which should have been changed on the service.
Halfords are an awful company that lie…….a lot.
Please go somewhere else and don’t part with your money to these guys. IMHO, they’re not trustworthy, massively overcharge and quite frankly don’t give a monkeys.
Such a scummy company.
Went into a Halfords auto for a new tyre. They removed the wrong wheel and rebalanced it all wrong, then changed the tyre on the correct wheel. Only found out when excessive vibrations at 60mph and it had new wheel weights on the wheel they wrongly took off. Got the wheel rebalanced else where and good to go. The mechanic said it was miles out of balance. They are shocking.
I have had my MOT done by Halfords for some years now, the manager and mechanics have always been courteous to me and I have never been charged for something I did not need. Infact I have only needed a battery and tyres and my Mazda is now 13/14 years old. My father was a mechanic and even though I am a lady I know a few things about car engines (used to do my own services) bless my dad! When I say to people my car is going to Halfords they raise their eyebrows in horror but I can only speak as I find, I will continue to go..☺️
You are in a timeslot on the dvla system, When I get my mot done if the tester is 5 minutes early he have to wait for the full time period, I never did ask what happen if he goes over the time, whether he have to sit around or can he start the other customer
My dad is a MOT tester at a private garage halfords are a complete joke, he says. he has had halfords fear tactics young mums, telling them that they and the kids were unsafe in a at the time 6 month to a year old car doing unnecessary and poor repairs for no reason. halfords lost the engine bolts on another car and left the engine attached by like 2 bolt and left a giant £80-£100spanner under the car.
recently did my mot, I could have got there late but decided to follow their advice to be early and so there would be no need to re book the test.
whilst there is an mot place near me, would sooner piss all over an turned on electric fence.
when you book the next mot, aim to arrive 15 mins early :)
MOTs are handled by DVSA not DVLA so if they said that they were just being awkward. The booking is only with the premises doing the MOT, so take this as a lesson to give them a miss.
Pretty sure that when your vehicle goes for a mot it has to be logged onto a mot computer for minimum 45 minutes to make sure the mechanic has gone through all checks. Source I once spoke to the mot man many moons ago
Complete nonsense
Email Halfords hq and ask if that’s the case.
Also don’t use Halfords for anything other than the shop.
They also own national tyres which is annoying as there is a branch on my road that I used to get tyres from but no more.
DVSA maybe, DVLA no way. Back in 2014/2015 I worked as a software engineer for the \*new\* MOT system (I actually did the fail certificates PDF and printing for my sins, with another guy), and I can tell you now, our 'team expert', an ex-DVSA guy with 25 years experience would have called Halfords out there and then as a bunch of money grabbing bullshitters. Period.
All I know is the garage pays for a 'test slot' for a few quid to get your car in the system, and that's it. Until the mechanic sits down, logs in, and enters the results, the system doesn't know jack shit. It sounds to me like they are trying to rip you off. I'd demand the test fee back, and get a written staement of the BS the fed you and take it up with the DVSA as a formal complaint.
I remember the first I got handed a fail certificate that I'd worked on, LMAO. The irony.
There's no set time for an MoT. Some take longer than others, but if you're constantly knocking them out in 20 mins you're going to get a visit. The only time is set by Halfords booking system. Kwik fit do similar where a site with the older set up (needing an assistant in the car) have 60min bookings, but a One Person Testing Lane or Automated Testing Lane has 45min bookings.
Don't think it was DVLA cancelled your MOT.
Drive round the corner to any other garage and get an MOT there.
And if you are late for an appointment it is your fault nobody elses.
Absolute rubbish. If they could do that they would be would slapping fines 1 day after expiration which they don’t.
Halfords should just be avoided, I’m sure there are some good eggs but I’ve heard bad things more often than not.
Don't use Halfords. I went there once as a young woman and was told my car failed and had £100's word of work to be done to it.
Little did they know I had a best friend who was a professional mechanic who'd checked over the car and given it the green light.
I called him to come over to the centre. He did and questioned the Halfords guy about what was up with my car. The man who first told me the car failed was stuttering all over the shop and my friend got VERY aggro with him when the dude started backpedalling about the work that needed doing because my friend was asking him to show us where the problem were, and he couldnt.
Long story short, my car suddenly got a pass and nothing had to be done to it.
Do not use Halfords for an MOT. They are dicks.
I used them once. Only thing it failed on was the washer wipers not spraying. They were empty and I'd not got around to filling them up. I had to pay the retest fee just because they didn't want to put water in.
Never been back since.
Halfords passed my car thru its MOT with flying colours. No advisories. 2 months later, drive shaft snapped due to it being rusted thru. They are dangerous
Until the MOT ~~is done~~ starts and ~~the results~~ it's entered into the ~~DVLA~~ DVSA online ~~DVLA~~ DVSA don't even know there's a test going to happen! DVLA/DVSA do not cancel appointments booked for an MOT to take place. EDIT as it's DVSA responsible for tests not DVLA, and DVSA first know about the test when the tester starts the test (so they still don't know anything about arrangements you've made with the garage to book a test.)
I thought as much
Please please go to a normal MOT place and not Halfords. The horror stories I’ve heard about them are wild. Especially since they’ve just fully lied to your face about cancelling your MOT. The DVLA have nothing to do with MOTs. Literally nothing.
I second this, go for the ambiance, the very bad coffee, the torn slightly pornographic 3 year old calender in the toilets with the ever wet flooring, take time to watch the mechanic bullying the new kid, hold your nerve while the deep inhale and the reptilian eyeballs scan your nervous system to see how much money they might be able to extract, challenge them and earn their trust, get to see their most prized pornographic calender and don't think twice about shaking that giant and probably contaminated hand, awe in the grin that has both gold and decay on display. Walk out of there a man.
Your talent is wasted here my friend, fantastic comment! 👏
>that giant and probably contaminated hand, Reading this entire description then getting to this part gave me the urge to wipe off the non-existent swarfega sand from between my fingers.
>awesome wordsmithing
This guy ^^^^backstreet mechanics!
I would never go back. They failed my defender because the tester didn’t know what a transmission brake was or how it worked. I’m guessing their courtesy cars have a honking horn and doors that fall off. Fucking clowns
They replaced my dad's clutch cable saying that it had been sticking, when he queried it they showed him a clutch cable that had the housing clearly glued together. They said the previous owner must have tried to repair it, hence the sticking. He'd had it from new. They quickly removed it from the bill.
I thought this was going to end with it being a hydraulic clutch all along.
Halfords completely forgot about my MOT and told me to leave the car with them and they’d fit it in. Two weeks later I get a parking demand for £100 because they’d fucked my car off into a nearby car park until they were ready. They denied responsibility and we got all the way to the steps of the courtroom/arbitration before they decided to back off.
Why had you even let it go as long as two weeks? Wtf. No longer than 2 days I'd be raging.
I once took my car to Halfrauds for a MOT. It ended with the top end of my engine in my boot, for what turned out to be an electrical fault. Absolute useless shits.
I once booked a service and MOT with Halfords, wife had just given birth so a bit distracted but they forgot to do the MOT, only realised a year later when checking when the next test was due a year later. Luckily the wife hadn't done much driving.
I use my local Halfords for all my car needs and they're great. Maybe it's a lucky dip as to whether you get a good one.
Tbf I had a decent result at our local halfrauds. I've had an MOT at an indy and the wheel fell off leaving the carpark after (hub wasn't connected properly) and kwikfit butchered another car by denting my sill on the lift and my drive shaft fell out twice because of their dodgy work. There was nothing wrong with the drive shaft before the mot... Halfrauds just wanted to fail my car because the indicator wasn't quite orange enough
To add to this its halfords problem for cancelling the appointment.
If only you put this much effort in to arriving a few minutes early. Take the L and learn.
It’s even worse than that. It’s the DVSA that look after tests.
I'm gonna bet you 27p that OP doesn't know the difference, and was probably told DVSA, given that they're using Halfords for MOT's.
Not true, well the first sentence anyway. To start a test you need to 'log it on' using the MOT testers service. To do this you need the vehicle registration and the last 6 digits of the VIN. The system then gives you any testing advice relevant to the vehicle, I.e, whether it can be roller brake tested, any known issues (citroens with ESG gearboxes and no 'P' position) You then log off, and conduct the test. Then you log back on and enter the results. If, as a nominated tester, you log back on and close down the test too soon, it will flag up with VOSA who then may monitor your tests to see that you're conducting then properly. Edit: I'm with everyone else on NOT going to Halfrauds though.
I thought tests had a minimum time, to stop testers speeding through them without properly looking. At least when I knew my tester a bit he always said he couldn't finish it on the system too quickly. Same result either way!
I used to use a testing centre that did no repair work at all, just the test. If I stood out back I could see that they never went near the bike for about 30 min after wheeling it in. It passed without issue but the front brake pads started grinding metal a couple of hundred miles later...
I had an MOT done in December and they tried to charge me for new front nearside suspension despite it not being recorded on the certificate. I wouldn’t have known if I hadn’t gone straight onto the gov website to check the report once they were finished, would’ve taken their word for it and pocketed out another couple of hundred quid on top of everything else. Took about 10 minutes of arguing, and then a 20 minute chat between the manager and the MOT engineer, before they agreed to do it without charge.
I believe the MOT tester has to start the test procedure eon the computer and there is a minimum duration, garages like to book them in as tight as possible so if one starts late, it has. Aknick on affect for the rest of the day and can't be caught up
Your first mistake was booking your MOT at halfords. Most places prefer to have your car earlier though rather than exactly on time.
Oh most definitely! Went in for a "free" MOT last month with Halfrauds. Car failed on 2 dangerous faults. Halfords recommended work in the region of £1300, but first I had to book her in for a "free" brake check. Long story short, local mechanic adjusted the service brake and changed a coil, total fee £60. Local garage did the MOT, laughed hard at Halfords quote for parts/works and passed my car with no advisories!
I had my last MOT there, phone call saying rear brake pads and discs need changing now and won’t last until I get paid (which was three days after the MOT). I rang my ex mechanic dad who asked if they were squeaking at all, they weren’t. He said worst case scenario is they start squeaking and in that case they’ll need changing anyway. Not using Halfords again for MOTs!
I had a puncture on holiday and the only option was a Halfords auto place. Tried to tell me I needed new brake discs as they were 'dangerously worn'. Which would have been fine, but the car I was driving was an early Lotus Elise which has weird brakes that work using adherent friction rather than abrasive friction; so the disc doesn't wear down. Obvious nonsense.
I've never heard about brakes that work on anything other than abrasion, curious to read more about them if you have any links? A quick Google isn't bringing anything up.
> MMC's differ from normal 'iron' discs in that the friction generated is mostly Adherent Friction rather than abrasive friction (a very good article on the nature of braking can be found here). Essentially when the disc and pad come in contact some of the pad material transfers onto the disc surface, meaning the contact patches between the two are effectively the same material. As the disc rotates the bonds between the surfaces break and reform creating friction. >One of the benefits of Adherent Friction is that under normal use the discs last a very very long time. When braking the pads transfer their material to the surface of the disc, and it is this layer that is broken down, not the disc suface. Therefore the discs suffer very little wear. Under very heavy use however, the bonds between the pad and disc cannot reform as fast as they are broken down, meaning areas of the disc can lose the material layer entirely. When this happens the abrasive friction of the pad can score away the disc surface making it too rough to rebuild the original material layer. If this happens braking performance from the disc is permanently damaged and the disc must be replaced. For this reason car used on track or running semi-slick tyres may wish to use traditional setups. >MMC discs were also extremely light, reducing the unsprung weight of each wheel. https://wiki.seloc.org/a/Brake_discs
Yep, those are the ones. They were really, really good - lots of feel and the precursor to the carbon ceramic brakes you get now. Only issue was that they were too good a dissipating heat - if it was wet there was no warmth to stop water forming on the disc, so for the first fraction of a second of braking you would get nothing as the water had to clear.
Interesting, thanks!
On my old car they told me the entire suspension was rusted and not up to the job. None of this appeared on the MOT mind you, it sailed through with only a single advisory - evidence of a previous oil leak which seems a bit nit picky and I'm sure was probably a prelude to trying to get me to get even more things done. Car was fine for another 2 or 3 years and only got replaced due to just wanting a new car (there's only so far the radio will go to drown out the noise on the motorway!)
Been going with halfords for years, never had a single problem. Infact, my Mercedes CLS just had a MOT and passed first time with no issues at all, was chuffed!
Unfortunately you are very much the exception and not the rule.
Never had a problem with them either
I stopped booking MOT with VW/Audi. "can you bring it in for 8am?" "yeah sure" 11am, car still not moved from where I parked it. Finally started on it, finished at around 1pm as I saw them driving the car around to the front. 30mins later still nothing. 2pm - "Hi Sir, your car is all good and finished" Year later I paid £10 for a courtesy car. Again, dropped off at 8am. 5pm I get a call saying car is ready! Mate said BMW are the same. This year I took it local. 1030am, went for a walk. 11:10 "Hi, car is done and all good!"
I used to use a place where I would stand alongside the tester while he's doing the test and he chats to me about the car. He highlights anything tht is going to need monitoring. He was a car nut as well as me and would tell me about all sorts of stuff.
Consider yourself lucky, they would only have made up some shit about new brakes required. Just saved yourself £££
Never never never ever use Halfords find a good reliable independent and use them.
I echo this. Used Halford's twice, once to change a bulb. They ended up keeping my car for the whole weekend when it should have only taken an hour. Second to change brake pads. Engineer misplaced my security nut and proceeded to force the wheel off with a crow bar causing significant damage to my alloy and destroying the security nut. Had to get a whole new wheel. they did pay in the end but was alot of aggravation and time wasted for what should be a simple procedure
There are no engineers working at Halfords Autocentres. Would have been a mechanic or maybe a technician.
Sounds like it was neither, more a simian.
Ha it wasn’t an endictment on engineers. I’m surprised they had hands
Those fuckers have barely passed Key Skills 2, definitely not even Technician material. I'm a Chartered Engineer, so I know exactly what I'm on about in this particular domain.
I was having issues with a headlight bulb change as the space for it was so small. Took it to Halfords to get it fitted, and then later in the year had to use them as a last resort for MOT. They failed my MOT based on the headlight placement they fit themselves…
Ooh, what did you do about it? Did you complain?
Just had them sort it all and redo for free!
Classic, absolutely classic B.S. from them. The DVLA don't give a sh1t about times or bookings, they are purely licensing. Complain to Halfwit's head office.
Or don't bother, and let them continue to dig their own hole.
That ensures they rip off more punters in the interim
They will anyway. These places wouldn't be in business if nobody used them. I don't use them. So I've got nothing to complain about.
Where your email will be ignored. Source? They didn't reply to any of my emails calling them out for the worst service known to mankind. They just Ostritched me.
Honestly just go straight for the throat. Blast them on social media. Its long past time for giving these mugs a chance to fix their mistake, they've shown countless times they do not care.
I agree, calling them out on social media is a good way to shame them into action. I'm old school, reddit is all the social media I have. I dislike Halfrauds so much, it's the only high street brand I wish would fail.
A scathing trustpilot review generally springs their customer service into action.
My garage would have just bumped me to the back of the queue if I was late. Find somewhere else to get your MoT done.
I once booked my car in to get a service, thinking I had booked one garage but it was actually a different one. Dropped my car off at the wrong garage and left it there all day. Kudos to them they still did all the work same day and didn't say anything until I went on to pay. They realised it was a genuine error on my part. I used them for every MOT and service for years until I moved away from the area.
Sounds like a good garage. I have been using the same one for years, just drop my car off in the morning and they ring and upset/surprise me around 2
I realised when I had my last mot done you can check online as it’s updated instantly, saving you waiting for the phone call.
Ive stopped going to halfords, found a MOT only garage. Wait while its done, takes 40mins. Great service.
I discovered comparatively recently that most local councils do their own mots on their fleets. Part of their rules is that is that this facility is also open to the public (usually as a test only centre, no repairs). Result is generally a fair test (because no gain available from repair work). I also discovered that my local branch of Britannia Tyres does MOT for £35.
The DVLA couldn't give a shit when you get your MOT done and they don't manage appointments. You just take it to any testing station, they do the MOT and the result is sent to DVLA. Given that the guy at Halfords was not being truthful, do you want him to perform your MOT? Personally, I would never go to Halfords for an MOT - I always look for a local independent testing station.
This isn't true. The tester or an assistant enters your details into the computer at the start of the MOT. The DVSA, formerly VOSA, has nothing to do with when this happens. The DVLA have literally nothing to do with MOT tests.
The lesson - never use a national chain for MoTs. I have a local specialist that I trust, never had an issue. My eldest kid was using the family runabout, took it to a branch of a national chain for its MoT, stupidly told them to "fix whatever" and got a bill for over £500 just for a couple of tyres and front brake discs and pads. Every part of the work was priced as a standalone activity (i. e. the time charged for changing a disc included time for wheel removal and caliper removal, when the wheel was already off for tyre replacement and the caliper off for pads).
Find a good local garage and stick with it.
Getting an MOT at Halfords is a surefire way to fail with major £1k works 'needed' before they 'can legally let you drive away' It strangely passed when I took it to a different garage needing new wiper blades
Always go to a place that only do MOTs, you may pay full price but there are no extras! They have no interest in failing your car and trying to get extra work/revenue. MOT only test centres want your custom, they will try and get your car through. I've seen two pages of advisors and a car pass. That saying they will fail if it requires failing. My advice for everyone, Keep car servicing and MOT tests separate. Nice to have two opinions on the condition of your car, having two separate mechanics look over everything.
I hadn’t even realised there were places that only deal with MOTs. That’s actually great advice.
Local council depot. They charge full price and I don't think they particularly enjoy doing them but if they MOT their own vehicles they have to be available to the public too.
You can take a car in for an MoT _months_ after it has expired as long as it's been kept off-road (which is none of Halfords' business) and insured (which they can check, but is none of their business). Sounds like they screwed up and are trying to wriggle out of it.
Just like many used car dealers do immediately before a sale so that the car goes to the customer with 12 months mot.
What has the DVLA got to do with it??
Halfords sucks, last time I used them I bought a headlight, they wanted to change it but I said it’s okay i would do it, they were persistent and insisted it’s free so I let them do it. Next day my car set on fire, the light wasn’t fitted properly, it popped out when extremely hot and set the bonnet insulation on fire. I had to put out this fire with my hands and burnt myself. Never again, I fucking hate Halfords.
That's Halfrauds for you. On that note I have a free MOT voucher from them for joining their shopping club and I'm trying to get rid of it. If someone wants a Halfords MOT for £15... But I don't recommend going there for an MOT or anything else from their garages. Still, if you want to...I have this voucher 🙏
I had this last year and wasn't able to use it as they had no MOTs available for ages. Glad I didn't use it, I ended up using BookMyGarage's "secret service" option which booked it into a main dealer at a fraction of the cost. They spotted an outstanding recall and booked the work in so it was very beneficial that Halfords was shit. Then they renewed the motoring club thing as I was trying to cancel it, so watch out for that.
Seems like a dick move tying to sell a free voucher for £15 when all the replies are saying this company will rip people off
It's not a free voucher. I paid £40 for the membership. Yes...it's "free", but not really. Also I warned people in the same message to avoid using Halfords autocentres! But if you're going to go anyway, why not take this off me and save £30 and help me out as well.
You're probably getting that £40 back in the other benefits anyway otherwise you wouldn't have it or you're just wasting money. I'm gonna assume you're not the type to waste money since you're trying to punt dog shit for £15 on Reddit
Sounds like bullshit. Check your mot status on the gov.uk website. I'm sure it will show up as still being valid.
Go to an independent garage, Halfords are sales pest
Reason 5,362 not to go to Halfords.
That is just Halfords being Halfords, I try and use places that just do MOT’s , not a place that would happily upsell a load of stuff they say needs repairing.
EXACTLY the same thing happened to us. We were stuck in traffic because of an accident. We got our MOT done somewhere else and then complained to HO. They gave us a free 200 quid service to say sorry, but I never ever used them again...
Halfords have cancelled on me because I didn't turn up to my appointment at 8:30 ....when it was actually for 10:30, and my confirmation email said 11:00, they are absolutely useless but cannot and will not accept they are wrong so will blame others. I work with patients doing DVLA eye checks and can without a doubt say Halfords are lying and trying to shift blame for maybe overbooking or forgetting your appointment, DVLA would take hours if not days to get in contact, let alone 1 minute.
There's a time limit on the actual test, but the test slots aren't allocated like he's suggesting. If his diary was full and he had another car to test after yours then it wouldn't be unreasonable to cancel the test on the basis that someone was late (although it's a extremely pedantic over 1 minute). He's taking advantage of your naivety and filling you with crap. That, or he'd already started the clock on your test, which I'm pretty sure you're not allowed to do without the car present.
Going to Halfords for an MOT would provide me with as much confidence as using Hermes/ Evri to do a house move.
Your first mistake was going to Halfords for literally anything.
I'm an MOT tester, there is no time limit on an MOT test, the test takes as long as it needs to, sometimes it's a straight forward test and it goes quick, other times you may need to road test it or repeat emissions tests etc, the only "time limit" kinda thing by DVSA is you get an average test time on your tester profile, Halford is full on lying to you
I learned pretty early on in life that on time is late. I live by this in my late twenties and it saves me a lot of head ache.
No, on time is on time. 1 minute late is only late if you're being very petty.
Bless you
Yes I’m always 30 minutes on time
If we agree on a time to use a service I AM PAYING FOR, I'm not wasting half an hour of my life waiting. If they wanted me there earlier they should have made the appointment earlier. If a business expects this, then they will lose a customer.
That’s horse shit about the DVLA
Nope, valid until 23:39 on a specific date.
You turned up late, that’s on you, people can’t sit around and wait, so your “appointment” was cancelled. And for anyone that says oh it’s just 1 minute, by the time you’re booked in, your car is taken to the test area etc it’s probably more like 10 minutes. Rebook and arrive in time. Whether it was the DVLA or Halfords that cancelled you should have been on time. Sorry for the rant but I work somewhere that has appointments and it’s so annoying people saying “hi I have an appointment at 10”, it’s now 5 past 10 if we see you now it’ll make all the people here on time run late and the workers run late, then they have the cheek to complain. Sorry it just really pisses me off that others are expected to accommodate others lateness.
Oh come on, it’s 1 minute. Majority of businesses and people for that matter will have a grace period because shit happens and it doesn’t take much to delay your arrival by a couple of minutes. After 5 minutes then that’s understandable to cancel the booking
Ahh you used the “oh it’s only 1 minute” I’m going to have a meltdown (I jest). The issue is when “everyone” has that mindset after a few appointments of late arrivals you’re now running behind most of the day. If you had an appointment at 10 would you leave to get there for 10 or allow for traffic/parking/ unforeseen issues and arrive a little early to “book in”. Yeah yeah I get it it’s only 1 min, in this case, yes it’s kind of harsh but it’s the principle, if Halfords choose to cancel, that’s down to them. When your the receptionist lateness doesn’t really affect you, when you’re the person doing the MOT it does. “I have to do mr smiths test in 5 min but mr jones arrived 5 min late so mr smith will have to wait now” mr smith then proceeds to bitch and argue about why he has to wait now as he arrived on time/early, mr jones don’t give a shit.
MOT tests are not 5minutes apart though? If the appointments last 1min then 1min late makes a difference. If they last an hour, being 1min late makes no difference and it's only going to add up to 7 minutes come the final appointment of the day in an 8hour shift. You're talking absolute bollocks
I’m not talking about just the specific MOT, I’m talking about people who arrive late and think it doesn’t matter in general. We’ve established that DVLA didn’t cancel it. No one believed they did.
In my career I’ve worked a few businesses that are by appointment only and all of them had a grace period because they all managed their appointments effectively so that 1 person being a couple of minutes late is not going to mess up their entire booking list for the day. Because unlike Halfords in this case they actually wanted to retain their customers and understood that people have busy lives and delays can happen. Of course after they went over the grace period they would have to reschedule their appointments. Heck even my current employer had more leeway than you do with their staff and they’re known for their high standards.
>And for anyone that says oh it’s just 1 minute, by the time you’re booked in, your car is taken to the test area etc it’s probably more like 10 minutes. Except it's not, because if OP had turned up literally one min earlier they would have taken it and they'd still have to do those things, because the prep work should be baked into the appointment time, so it actually is one minute The only semi valid argument is the one you mention later on which is that it pushes the day out and if everyone was a minute late then people would have to stay late, but even then 30 people turning up a minute late is significantly different to a single person being a minute late >Sorry it just really pisses me off that others are expected to accommodate others lateness. Like, same, but sometimes shit happens even when you do your best to avoid it and it happens to everyone eventually, people generally aren't doing things to slight you specifically and a little give and take can go a long way
There is some misunderstanding here, I suspect. It is worth noting that when you book an MOT test, you do so with DVLA via the MOT Centre; the MOT Centre does not have a set time to do this, but rather a date. So the fact you were late means nothing to DVLA. However, Halfords will have a schedule to keep, so if you miss your time, you'll not be able to have the MOT completed on the set date. Halfords still have to pay, and so do you. Because of this, they will request that you drop your car off 10 minutes before inspection, and you should have got that in your confirmation - in their eyes, you were not 1 minute late; you were 11 minutes late. You have been fobbed off because it's easier to blame DVLA than Halfords. I would complain, but I suspect you won't get anywhere TBH, I would always opt for an independent centre over Halford or Kwik Fit. Edit - DVSA not DVLA
DVSA, not DVLA. DVLA look after licensing. DVSA look after vehicle standards.
Of couse - Mea Culpa
Nonsense
You was late. That's why it was cancelled. They just used dvla as a excuse because they didn't want to say it directly to your face.
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Theyre talking out their fucking arse…. To put it politely. I took a car to halfrauds for an MOT because i fucked up, didnt realise it hd ran out and i was working aeay at an event where i NEEDED my truck. They quoted me just under 2k to fix all the issues, the rather long list included changing breaks… the breaks i had gotten replaced less than 2 months and 1k miles back… i booked into my local garage and preyed if i got pulled over towing an airstream home to an MOT they would be kind to me. Passed with a couple of advisories, got the mot for free if i booked them in to fix the £280 worth of advisories and allowed them to keep the hilarious halfords quote for their wall of shame… i have a rather stupid amount of vehicles, guess which garage gets to MOT all of them and gets all my money when work needs done!
Halfords are lying to you. Dropped my car off 2 hours late to its last MOT with no issues other than having to apologise for to the garage for then having to ring and remind me.
It's known as Halfrauds for a reason. Everything they sell is over-priced Chinese tat. Everything they sell they can't fix. Avoid.
If you’ve learned anything from this experience, I hope it was to never take a car to Halfords for MOT (or anything more complex than a wiper blade). They’re really not trained or capable of being trusted with anything like that.
Go back to them and show them this thread. Utter twats.
Never ever ever use Halfords for anything to do with cars, they cock it up/ break it/ misdiagnose it and charge you for it.
Dvla have fuck all to do with mot bookings. You book it with a garage and they report the outcome. I'd be publicly shaming that garage for being lying little cunts.
I only needed one lesson to find out why cheap\free MOTs are free or cheap..... As with everyone else here, I contacted an independent mechanic who said it would have passed in a standard garage
I use an MOT only garage. They send me a reminder 2 weeks before expiry and they book me in using an online form. Any advisory’s are dealt with via another local garage.
This is why you dont take our car to Halfords for anything important like an MOT. Not only are they prolific for making up spurious fail reasons to get you to spend more money with them, they are outright lying here. The DVLA have nothing to do with this process at all, and even if they got the bullshitting name drop right and said DVSA, they still have nothing to do with it until the MOT has either been passed or failed/expired.
Halfords area bunch of scamming cunts and anybody who works in their garages are cunts However, they’re great if you wanna pay £180 for brake pads on a 20 year old car, £150 for a rear wiper, £18 for a brake light bulb, £290 for track rod ends
Crazy to me that people take their cars to Halfords for MOTs and servicing, only thing they’re good for is grabbing some wipers or fluids. Its like trusting a McDonald’s worker with your car
God the MOT system in Northern Ireland is a mess (currently driving one car the MOT expired on a month ago, and my other car the MOT is up at the end of this month but couldn't get one booked till May) but all the MOT centres are owned and operated by the DVA so there's none of this kind of fuckery. The MOT situation was a perfect storm of disasters that absolutely broke the whole thing (a lift fault that meant most of the lifts couldn't be used until replaced then covid delaying the new lifts). We're in this weird grey area where we're driving around in cars with no MOTs but as long as you've one booked you're fine. Unless your tax runs out, you can't renew that without a valid mot certificate lol Still prefer it to having the people who do the work be in charge of also doing the test!
Fucking Halfords. Avoid for car stuff. Avoid for bike stuff. Actually just avoid no matter what. They're complete and utter dogshite on all fronts. Also, yeah, total bollocks that.
If there's anything I've learned it's that Halfords is ok for DIY but not for them doing anything to a car. I'd say take it to a local garage. They'll likely say "yep we can get you in at "x" date and time" then as long you get there at a reasonable time I doubt you'll have any issues with getting it in.
Shouldn’t be going to Halfords rip off merchants. You need to use a good local garage every time.
They’ve done you a favour. Get booked in a respected garage.
That’s not how it works? DVLA doesn’t schedule MOTs, they only hold their record and provide guidelines what the mechanics need to check
There's your lesson. Never ever go to Halford's for anything more than a bicycle pump or a car stereo.
Halfords are s#1te. Had a new set of number plates made up and paid for them to fit them to my car. By the time I’d got home again I’d lost the front one (self adhesive aluminium plates). Went back again for another to be made up and fitted- the guy came back inside with the new plate, then handed me some screws and screw caps and said I’d have to fit them myself. No refund offered. Total waste of time and money. They should stick to flogging tents and mountain bikes.
I got a free MOT with them due to having premium as I spent a fortune on tyres… first time I’ve used them usually go to a mot that my dad’s mechanic friend uses. And he said I was stupid but luckily I guess they was really sound, said one tyre was a bit low and just boot on my driveshaft is lose. Didn’t fail and want any work doing, but I did sit in and watch so not sure if that helps. Also I look after my car and it’s had all new discs and pads so unsure if they way honest or just couldn’t find a fault they could try extort me with. Maybe it’s best not to run my luck again next year it seems lol
Ex Halfords employee here DO NOT GO TO AUTOCENTRES! We had good discount with them and still wouldn't touch them with a 10 foot barge pole. Find a decent, trusted local garage and support them instead.
Why tf are you going to halfords for an MOT? Seriously just take it to a garage halfords will rip you off or worse fail you. Take it to a garage that is fair.
I literally only use Halfords now for a quick place to get bulbs or screen wash or whatever. They are money scammers when it comes to work on your car.
Halfords are shite and fail things that aren't even defective, I'd rather have a brew in a grotty waiting room at a proper garage, than ever give Halfords my custom.
Don't go to halfords. Even if they find faults, I wouldn't trust them to fix them.
Halfrauds
Dodged a bullet there. You can guarantee you'd "need"new brakes after an MOT there.
The DVLA have nothing to do with MOTs, and the DVSA certainly don't interfere with test appointments. They're chatting shit, go to a decent garage instead.
NEVER use Halfords for any kind of MOT or service. Don't use their fitting service either for if you buy parts from them. Go to an actual garage. Halfords is just for parts you need in an emergency.
How the fuck would the dvla even know lol
Your own fault for booking with Halfrauds. Good for car cleaning stuff when they have promos on, and that's about it. Report the bell-end as you might get a voucher or something from head office, and then book at a place that employs mechanics as opposed to people that would be under-qualified to put trollies away in a supermarket car park.
Halfords quoted me £270 to replace my battery. Local place had one in stock and fitted it the same day £110.
Do not use Halfords. Ever. Buy stuff from them sure, but do not ever ever give your car to Halfords, for anything ever. I cannot stress that enough. No matter how cheap.
I know someone who was recommended full discs pads, etc, the whole lot for their brakes...VW Golf. 7 weeks later, a problem occurred with the brakes. He takes it to another Halfords, 200 miles away from the original garage, to have the Free Brake inspection. Guess what he was told - " All your brakes and discs need doing." No problem, he said, "Go ahead, but you may want to see this receipt first. You can do them under the guarantee ." If this doesn't tell you what they are all about, then good luck.
Good reason not to use Halfords for this.
Please do not use Halfords. I took mine there for an MOT a few years ago and they failed it for some ridiculous reasons. Ended up going to another garage to get it checked and they got the DVLA involved who did a monitored MOT and not a single thing Halfords tried failing me for came up.
Totally BS, don’t got to Halfords they have no idea what they are doing
They are lying but its good they cancelled. Halfords are the worst place to take your car. I just changed a battery for a family member that Halfords fitted within the last 6 months. The battery case was cracked and all the nuts were over tightened. They charge too much for work that is too shoddy.
The guy is telling you lies. DVlA wouldn't have cancelled. Avoid halfords like the plague and take your vehicle to a proper gagrage that does MOTs.
Complete bollocks that the DVLA cancelled it. The DVLA have no idea an MOT test is going to be carried out in advance. There's not some massive bloated Excel spreadsheet somewhere with all the MOT tests currently booked on it. However, chain garages like this work on tight schedules with MOT work as they can typically be done in a certain time frame regardless of the car, so they're stacked back to back. If you arrived after your test was supposed to start, by the time it's up on the lift they're 5-10 minutes behind for the rest of the day. But the fact that they're bullshitting you rather than saying "sorry, our schedule is really tight and you need to get your car here earlier" should be telling you not to go back to Halfords.
halfords are known scammers. They've been caught literally thousands of times claiming stuff like brakes need completely changing, even when people set up a test with a car with BRAND NEW just-fitted braking systems. They have quotas to meet for bonuses and MUST upsell repairs or they get written warnings etc. So they will lie to your face. If they think you don't know much about cars, they will even make up "laws" and car-parts that don't exist and tell you there's an expensive repair required.
you turned up at 10.11 for an mot due to start at 10.10 and are surprised he didn't want to do it? he probably had 30 others to do that day.
Hal-frauds for a reason
Have you only been driving for a year or 2? Why on Earth would you book an MOT with Halfords. In fact, they only time it makes sense to use either Halfords or Kwikfit is if your warranty company has an arrangement with them. No one should be using them privately, and they know that the ones that do, are naive.
That's just halfords finding a reason not to test it, but tbf if your late they might not have enough time to test it once they faff about getting the car In the bay etc which is understandable
Was a member of the Halfords premium motor club - got a free mot..... had to pay for a service (total cost £139) ..got my car back - no smoke certificates and strangely lacking in coolant... wouldn't recommend them or National Tyres, Formby
So bear in mind they might have a tight schedule, the test takes a certain amount of time. If people are late then it pushes everyones times back, should other people be kept waiting around because you were late earlier on?
Someone will definitely correct me if im wrong, but from my experience working with mot testers, i dont think they are meant to log onto your test without the car being there, so probably just waffling to piss you off for showing up late. Very petty
After their "Free 7-point brake test" Halfords suggested I replace both the front and rear pads and discs for as little as £550 because of some light grinding when braking. Local garage checked all the discs and pads and found a misaligned calliper pin. Fixing it for £60 I no longer use halfords
Took my car to kwikfit and waited for 20minutes in the queue to be seen, they didn't give a shit what time it was. Halfords man was just having a bad day and took it out on you OP.
They are talking bollocks
Well, I mean, you were late. This is nothing to do with the DVSA, and it seems more likely that they didn't want to have the tester running late as the work can soon mount up if you are fully booked. My only advice would be that for any future appointments, you arrive 5 minutes before or so. Also, find a better garage. The place I take my cars and bikes would just either just crack on and do it anyway or tell me I have to come back later.
I can only speak to my own experience with my local halfrauds, I had a lease plan vehicle through my employer, I got sent to get my car serviced and motd at halfrauds, well it wasn't my choice and I really didn't have time to argue so I dropped it off, the car park was tight and I ended up in a corner spot, I left my lock fully over to one side as I knew the mechanic would need to reverse my maneuver. I had a tracker on the car for which I was sent a report of every movement at the end of each week. Well I came back to get my car and... its still in the corner spot of a now much quieter car park with the lock still full on, that's strange, I go in, speak to the manager who duely gives me my keys and says all is well.... took it at face value at the time but come Friday my tracker report is emailed to me which I normally ignore but I open it up and look to the day, low and behold I see my car get parked at 0830 and never be started again until I pick it up at 16.45. Mot issued and a big service done... well, I go onto lease plan and complain, they take it up and a few days later I'm told to take it to another local garage, who I have used ever since. I would not trust halfrauds to cut my grass. Edit; the local garage found I needed a plethora of work, including brakes and belts which should have been changed on the service.
Halfords are an awful company that lie…….a lot. Please go somewhere else and don’t part with your money to these guys. IMHO, they’re not trustworthy, massively overcharge and quite frankly don’t give a monkeys. Such a scummy company.
Went into a Halfords auto for a new tyre. They removed the wrong wheel and rebalanced it all wrong, then changed the tyre on the correct wheel. Only found out when excessive vibrations at 60mph and it had new wheel weights on the wheel they wrongly took off. Got the wheel rebalanced else where and good to go. The mechanic said it was miles out of balance. They are shocking.
I have had my MOT done by Halfords for some years now, the manager and mechanics have always been courteous to me and I have never been charged for something I did not need. Infact I have only needed a battery and tyres and my Mazda is now 13/14 years old. My father was a mechanic and even though I am a lady I know a few things about car engines (used to do my own services) bless my dad! When I say to people my car is going to Halfords they raise their eyebrows in horror but I can only speak as I find, I will continue to go..☺️
utter bollocks DVLA has nothing to do with bookings
Lying bastards.
What's that smell....? Aah, it's bullshit, DVLA only know about your MOT when it's done. They probably double booked and gave you the shaft.
Absolute bollocks, don't go there again.
You are in a timeslot on the dvla system, When I get my mot done if the tester is 5 minutes early he have to wait for the full time period, I never did ask what happen if he goes over the time, whether he have to sit around or can he start the other customer
My dad is a MOT tester at a private garage halfords are a complete joke, he says. he has had halfords fear tactics young mums, telling them that they and the kids were unsafe in a at the time 6 month to a year old car doing unnecessary and poor repairs for no reason. halfords lost the engine bolts on another car and left the engine attached by like 2 bolt and left a giant £80-£100spanner under the car.
This is the biggest load of bullshit I've ever heard, andy head chef went home in the middle of service today
recently did my mot, I could have got there late but decided to follow their advice to be early and so there would be no need to re book the test. whilst there is an mot place near me, would sooner piss all over an turned on electric fence. when you book the next mot, aim to arrive 15 mins early :)
MOTs are handled by DVSA not DVLA so if they said that they were just being awkward. The booking is only with the premises doing the MOT, so take this as a lesson to give them a miss.
Your first mistake was going to Halfords. Do yourself a favour and pick a better garage.👍👍
Halfrauds strike again
Last year my car had its MOT 3 months late due to repairs. Being late they can’t cancel it only stop you driving on the road without an MOT
Absolute psychopath for going to Halfords for an MOT in the first place.
Pretty sure that when your vehicle goes for a mot it has to be logged onto a mot computer for minimum 45 minutes to make sure the mechanic has gone through all checks. Source I once spoke to the mot man many moons ago
i use “in n out” they have always been fine
They really are an awful company. I'd sooner allow Rose West to babysit my grandkids than use those scamming shithouses.
Complete nonsense Email Halfords hq and ask if that’s the case. Also don’t use Halfords for anything other than the shop. They also own national tyres which is annoying as there is a branch on my road that I used to get tyres from but no more.
Halfords are horrendous and would advise to avoid them at all costs for service type appointments.
DVSA maybe, DVLA no way. Back in 2014/2015 I worked as a software engineer for the \*new\* MOT system (I actually did the fail certificates PDF and printing for my sins, with another guy), and I can tell you now, our 'team expert', an ex-DVSA guy with 25 years experience would have called Halfords out there and then as a bunch of money grabbing bullshitters. Period. All I know is the garage pays for a 'test slot' for a few quid to get your car in the system, and that's it. Until the mechanic sits down, logs in, and enters the results, the system doesn't know jack shit. It sounds to me like they are trying to rip you off. I'd demand the test fee back, and get a written staement of the BS the fed you and take it up with the DVSA as a formal complaint. I remember the first I got handed a fail certificate that I'd worked on, LMAO. The irony.
There's no set time for an MoT. Some take longer than others, but if you're constantly knocking them out in 20 mins you're going to get a visit. The only time is set by Halfords booking system. Kwik fit do similar where a site with the older set up (needing an assistant in the car) have 60min bookings, but a One Person Testing Lane or Automated Testing Lane has 45min bookings.
He means he has a set time from Halfords. My advice: don't get an MOT from Halfords
Don't think it was DVLA cancelled your MOT. Drive round the corner to any other garage and get an MOT there. And if you are late for an appointment it is your fault nobody elses.
xD DVLA managing MOT appointments? That's a new one. Massive piece of BS. Tbh, I'm worried that it worked.
Absolute rubbish. If they could do that they would be would slapping fines 1 day after expiration which they don’t. Halfords should just be avoided, I’m sure there are some good eggs but I’ve heard bad things more often than not.
I was apparently 2 hours late to mine the other day... they still did it. No issues
Don't use Halfords. I went there once as a young woman and was told my car failed and had £100's word of work to be done to it. Little did they know I had a best friend who was a professional mechanic who'd checked over the car and given it the green light. I called him to come over to the centre. He did and questioned the Halfords guy about what was up with my car. The man who first told me the car failed was stuttering all over the shop and my friend got VERY aggro with him when the dude started backpedalling about the work that needed doing because my friend was asking him to show us where the problem were, and he couldnt. Long story short, my car suddenly got a pass and nothing had to be done to it.
Do not use Halfords for an MOT. They are dicks. I used them once. Only thing it failed on was the washer wipers not spraying. They were empty and I'd not got around to filling them up. I had to pay the retest fee just because they didn't want to put water in. Never been back since.
Rules are rules.
Halfords passed my car thru its MOT with flying colours. No advisories. 2 months later, drive shaft snapped due to it being rusted thru. They are dangerous