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7 Nov 2024

Torq Zone Academy proudly celebrates 10 years as the pioneering institution for bicycle technician trainingRead more…

7 Nov 2024

Accell Group, owner of Raleigh, Lapierre, Babboe, and other bike brands, has announced that its parts and accessories inventory levels are back to normal, with bike inventory expected to follow...

6 Nov 2024

Glasgow is set to receive a substantial boost for cycling infrastructure and community facilities, with over £500,000 of funding to be provided to two major projects.

6 Nov 2024

ACT members won numerous awards and dominated certain category nominations at last week’s BikeBiz Awards 2024 in Birmingham.

1 Nov 2024

Independent retailers across Britain have reacted with dismay to yesterday's Budget, with many warning of store closures, job losses and cancelled expansion plans.

30 Oct 2024

The British Independent Retailers Association (Bira) and the ACT have condemned today's Budget as the most damaging for independent retailers in recent memory, with...

30 Oct 2024

Retailers and hospitality businesses are paying three times their economic share in business rates, according to analysis by the British Retail Consortium (BRC) and UK Hospitality.

30 Oct 2024

eBay is tightening regulations on e-bike and e-bike battery sales in the UK from 31 October, in a change aimed at prioritising consumer safety.

30 Oct 2024

ACT parent company Bira is working with UK Finance and other organisations who form the UK’s wholesale cash industry to gain vital information to ensure businesses get the best possible...

29 Oct 2024

Eighteen organisations, including Cycling UK, Greenpeace, The Centre for Mental Health, and The Association of Directors of Public Health, have urged the Chancellor to allocate 10% of the...

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COVID-19 Operational Advice for Mobile Mechanics

Posted on in Business News , Cycles News

Following the Prime Minister's announcement last night in which he stated non-essential businesses and premises must now close, further information regarding bicycle shops has now been published.

As bicycle shops are considered an exception to the measures and can remain open for business, it follows that mobile mechanics would also be included as an exception from our understanding.

You can read the Government guidance here.

The ACT has made the following recommendations for mobile mechanics staying open.

Adopt a contactless model

Following Government advice, you should eradicate all forms of contact between yourself and the customer and maintain a two metre distance at all times. Collections and deliveries should take place as follows:

Collections

  • When arriving at a customer's address maintain a two metre distance from the door and call them to alert them that you are outside. Failing this, ring the doorbell and then step back to the two metre distance.
  • The customer can then bring their bike outside the house and leave it in a suitable place before stepping back inside the house or to a two metre distance away.
  • You should then handle the bike wearing gloves and disinfect the entire bike- paying particular attention to contact points such as the handlebar, brakes, gears etc. - before loading it into your method of transport.
Deliveries
  • Again, call the customer when you are outside or ring the doorbell before stepping back to a two metre distance.
  • Disinfect the bike wearing gloves to make it as safe as possible for your customer to handle.
  • Leave the bike in a suitable place where the customer is able to collect it while maintaining the two metre distance.

Your workshop

  • All employees should be wearing disposable gloves in the workshop and whenever handling bikes.
  • You should remind all employees to wash their hands for 20 seconds more frequently and catch coughs and sneezes in tissues.
  • Frequently clean and disinfect objects and surfaces that are touched regularly, using your standard cleaning products.
 
For more guidance on operating your businesses during coronavirus visit the Government website.
 

Avoid card-not-present fraud 

A major security issue at present is scammers taking advantage of card-not-present (CNP) fraud. We advise all merchants to follow CNP rules down to the letter, and to obtain important information from the card owner during some or all CNP transactions. This can include:
  • cardholder's name as it appears on the card
  • card expiration date (month, year) as it appears on the card
  • billing address
  • card security code
  • phone number and/or email address
  • account number
More information on avoiding CNP fraud can be found here.


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