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15 Oct 2024

The ACT is launching a campaign to ensure fair and accurate reporting of e-bike-related news while promoting the positive aspects of e-bike usage.

11 Oct 2024

ACT parent company Bira has responded to the BRC-KPMG Retail Sales Monitor for September 2024

10 Oct 2024

Cycle to Work scheme provider Gogeta has reported a significant increase in the number of employers signing up to its scheme.

9 Oct 2024

A UK cycling charity focused on recycling unused bikes and providing them to disadvantaged people has set up a fundraiser to help tackle significant increases in its costs.

9 Oct 2024

Long-standing independent bike shop Cyclesense has revealed a complete rebrand as it seeks to reflect its evolution from a local shop to a nationally recognised cycling retailer.

3 Oct 2024

The Federation of Small Businesses has launched a new initiative, which it says aims to transform high streets across the UK, by advancing economic, social, and cultural benefits, while also...

3 Oct 2024

3 in 4 Britons (77%) would ban paper receipts if they knew how many trees were cut down to generate them – and millennials are the most eco-conscious (rising to 87%).

25 Sep 2024

Major media outlets, including the BBC and Sky News, as well as regional and cycling-focused media to the growing  have been giving significant coverage to E-Bike Positive, the largest-ever...

25 Sep 2024

The Association of Cycle Traders (ACT) is excited to announce its new partnership with Renticy, the dynamic platform transforming retail through rental solutions. This collaboration brings a...

24 Sep 2024

The British Independent Retailers Association (Bira) is set to address critical issues facing the UK's high streets at its upcoming Annual Conference, marking the event's return after a six-year...

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More people leaving shops without paying amid cost-of-living crisis

Posted on in Business News , Cycles News

This covers the type of theft where on the spot payment is expected. It can include leaving a restaurant without paying the bill, putting fuel into a car and driving away, jumping out of a taxi without paying, or failing to scan items in a shopping basket through a self-service till.

It could also involve using a credit card to buy goods without the authority to use that card, depending on whether the card company honours the payment. The increase in this type of offending is partly due to shops reopening after the pandemic - but it also comes as costs are rising at an unprecedented rate.

These rising figures coupled with the cost-of-living crisis have raised fears that many may turn to this type of offending through desperation. Andrew Goodacre, CEO of the British Independent Retailers Association (Bira), says:

“It is disappointing to see the increases in making off without payment.

"This type of event is damaging to retailers whose margins are already being eroded due to the rising costs of running a business. The increase may reflect shops being open as usual, but I believe there may also be other factors starting to influence this.

"The cost-of-living crisis will invariably influence consumer behaviours and desperate people will do desperate things."
In almost eight out of 10 completed making off without payment investigations last year (78%) no suspect was identified, while only one in 100 cases (1%) resulted in someone being charged or summonsed to appear before a court.

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