Took car for a full service at £189, dropped car off at 8.20. Recieve phone call at 9.30am (yes just 1 hour for a service) to say the service was done and a list of all the usual “your brakes are just above the legal recommeded” blah blah” basically said if it didnt need doing i’m not getting it done. Then comes the bombshell “oh and your rear silencer bracket is broken so will need to fix it and i have some bad news. Because of the way Peugeot make their cars now, the exhaust is one complete part so the whole thing needs changing i’m afraid which is £357” trusting the mechanic as i’m not one myself, I had the work done. My work colleague drove me to the garage and on the way i explained what was wrong with the car to which he replied with something I cannot relpeat on here! Being a car enthusiast himself, he looked up my car, and the exhaust... along with the various sections it comes in!!! When picking up the car and presenting the mechanic with this along with the fact he lied and said it was one complete part he become very sheepesh and claimed “well it does come in parts yes, but in the past we have struggled to fit the bore size togther on ‘some’ Peugeots! Thanks Mr Halfords ... So i’ve paid £357 for a part i didnt need on the basis that a few of the thousands of Peugeots you probably fix every year the exhaust wouldnt link up properly? DISGUSTING.

My colleague then asked him to see the parts he removed, in which case Mr Halfords became visually uncomfortable and snapped “i’m not trying to rip you off” - No Mr Halfords, you Just DID rip me off.

Having complained to their appalling customer services dept, i recieve a written response completely overlooking the point of my complaint and claiming that having checked with independent technitions, I was informed correctly that 2 parts of the exhaust are better to be changed together for “quality” finish and that i was qouted and authorised for this work to be done - no mention of the fact that the mechanic had wrongly told me that the exhaust can ONLY be changed as a complete part. 4 other garages including Peugeot themselves also stated the rear silencer comes as a seperate part and can be changed on it’s own. In fact, Halfords themselves sell the part for £136! So I ask you.... why would a customer opt to have £400 of work done on a car if they given an option of having it done for a 3rd of the price?? Answers on a postcard please because customer services insist I ‘chose’ to have the whole thing replaced.

And on the issue of the full service that i paid £189 for? “Some of the checks were done within the hour, the remainder were done throughout the allocated morning time slot” - and yet the mechanic was able to tell me the result of every check he had done following my “completed” service and try and get me to have repairs done as a result of my “completed service”

Their final reaponse claimed I could esculate the issue to an independent complaints handler and provided the company that they are registered with to do this.... followed with a statement claiming they reserve the right to refuse to participate in the case - Great complaints proceedure there!

In all in, absolutely appalling and I will be taking them to a small claims court