petsathome.com

On 25 February 2026, my family and I had an absolutely awful experience at the Pets at Home Huddersf

On 25 February 2026, my family and I had an absolutely awful experience at the Pets at Home Huddersfield store when trying to purchase a female guinea pig.

My wife and daughter were turned away earlier in the day because they were told they needed proof of a second cage. They explained we were following a sensible bonding process and that a separate cage was arriving that evening.

I then visited at around 18:30 with photos showing the new cage already purchased and set up at home for settling and bonding. Despite this, the duty manager (Emily) insisted she was “legally” unable to sell a guinea pig unless we already had another large cage. That was never clearly explained, and it felt like we were being pressured to buy a cage from the shop instead of using the one we had already bought and set up.

The situation got worse when I asked how to raise a complaint. I was dismissively told to “go to the website”. I went back again purely to clarify and resolve it, and I was refused service multiple times. Even after I offered to buy the guinea pig and a cage in store to meet the requirement she was stating, I was still refused and told “I’m not going to sell you it now”.

A checkout assistant (Nick) was present and when I asked what was happening he shrugged and said “sorry, she’s the manager”. My daughter has been coming in weekly since Christmas waiting for a female, as the store has only had males. The distress this caused her was completely avoidable.

I support animal welfare policies. I do not support staff misrepresenting things as “legal requirements”, refusing to explain properly, and then refusing service in a way that felt retaliatory after mentioning a complaint. We are regular customers and have previously bought guinea pigs from Pets at Home without issue, but after this, we will not return to the Huddersfield store.

Date of experience: Feb 25, 2026