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1 Jun 2023

A new Cycle to Work Scheme that launches this week is claiming to offer partner bike shops the lowest commission fees in the industry at 4%, with an introductory offer of 3% until 31st December...

31 May 2023

A report published by financial institution Claro Money’s wellbeing division on the effects of money worries for retail workers found that 73% of retail workers feel negatively about their...

31 May 2023

ACT partners V12 Finance, who are headline sponsors for this year’s National Cycle Show, have an allocation of free tickets that they would like to share with you!

30 May 2023

ACT Gold Member ICE Trikes is looking for high quality independent bike shops to become new agents or dealers. The company already has dealers and agents in over 32 countries all the way from...

18 May 2023

A lobby group has warned of the “startling rise in the cost of accepting cards” for small businesses after the European chief of Mastercard defended the fees it levies on merchants.

18 May 2023

It has been reported by This Is Money that HMRC now holds 55 billion items of taxpayers' data, including email and bank records, as it cracks down on tax avoidance. The data is held on its...

18 May 2023

Sustrans is working with local businesses to provide bike maintenance stations and pumps at key stops along the National Cycle Network in Scotland, which, it says, will support more people to...

16 May 2023

Cycling UK has opened nominations for its annual 100 Women in Cycling list, which celebrates the inspirational women working in the cycle sector.

16 May 2023

Bike sales in 2022 were lower than 2021 throughout Europe's main markets, Bike Europe has reported, but e-bike sales continue to thrive - although the UK seems to be the exception.

9 May 2023

A mixed picture is emerging about the effect of the Coronation weekend across the UK's retail sector.

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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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