I made a booking through blackcircles.com for 4 tyres to be supplied and fitted by my local Halfords Autocentre on my dads vehicle; he would normally use the local ATS Euromaster however due to lockdown they had closed so we thought to try Halfords Autocentre as we believed them to be reputable as they are a chain but they turned out to anything but reputable. My dad drove the vehicle in and decided he would take a walk while they carried out the work, once complete he drove the vehicle away. Approximately 2 weeks later he heard a light noise coming from the engine and I called the AA, on arrival the AA advised it was the engine knocking very lightly meaning a replacement engine is required to rectify this, they then pulled the oil dipstick which was completely dry, at this point we believed this was our fault. The engine still ran on all 5 cylinders, just a light bottom end engine knock, believed a bottom end bearing which has spun. I then asked for the vehicle to be recovered to my local Ford main dealer to see what can be done. While the vehicle was awaiting inspection my dad asked the service advisor if they could arrange for the vehicle to have an MOT while it was there as it was due and he had every intention of putting this vehicle back on the road regardless of cost as this is his pride and joy which he has owned from new. The MOT was carried out before the inspection and it had passed the MOT. The vehicle was then taken in be inspected to see what had happened. Upon removal of the under tray it was found the sump had been cracked and there was a corresponding mark on the under tray which resembled a trolley jack indicating the front of the vehicle was lifted using a trolley jack on the oil sump and not using the correct jacking points. I was then asked by the service manager if the vehicle had been into any garage recently to which I replied it had been into Halfords Autocentre for 4 tyres approximately 2 weeks ago. It was their belief as well as mine that this vehicle was damaged as a result of faulty workmanship on the part of Halfords Autocentre. I being the more automotive minded person my dad asked me to deal with the situation for him. My first step was to approach the branch where the work was carried out, they didn't want to know and were not very helpful so I next contacted customer services and head office where I put in a complaint, this was then passed onto a senior manager who called me back to discuss what had happened. I explained in full and in detail what had happened and the senior manager advised he would call me back, in this time I found him to be a very unpleasant person to talk to. A day later he called me back and this time before proceeding with the phone call he informed me the call was being recorded to which I stated I have no objection to. He then went on to question the MOT the vehicle had, I explained that at the time we were waiting for the vehicle to be inspected to find out how the vehicle had lost oil (bearing in mind at this point we did not know the vehicle had been damaged) my dad had asked for the vehicle to have an MOT while it was there as it was due and we had every intention of putting the vehicle back on the road therefore we couldn't see a reason not to put an MOT on the vehicle for a year. The manager then went on to pass the blame on to the Ford main dealer and wanted nothing to do with this despite the fact the vehicle was already damaged and had lost oil due to a crack in the sump before it had got to the Ford main dealer (hence we had called the AA who recovered it to the Ford main dealer) and there was a clear mark on the under tray resembling a trolley jack and the only garage the vehicle had been to before the AA recovery was Halfords Autocentre. I reiterated these points to him again and he decided to be oblivious to this, I also asked about CCTV footage to which he stated they do not have CCTV in their workshop which I highly doubt is true. A google search of "avoid Halfords autocentre" and similarly worded searches brings up results showing Halfords Autocentre has a history of poor workmanship; I wish I had known this before so we could have avoided having to spend over £4,000 repairing damage caused by mechanics who should be nowhere near cars.