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4 Mar 2025

The Office for Product Safety and Standards (OPSS) has issued a fresh warning about the dangers of UPP e-bike batteries, urging consumers to stop using them immediately.

28 Feb 2025

Independent cycling retailer and ACT member Velo Fit has become the first to stock a new brand of bikes focused on combining quality and affordability.

26 Feb 2025

ACT parent company Bira has cautiously welcomed Labour's Crime and Policing Bill but is calling for urgent action and immediate funding to address the surge in retail crime affecting independent...

19 Feb 2025

Electric cargo bike firm Zedify is set to enter administration following a failed search for new funding, after aiming to be active in 50 cities over the next few years.

18 Feb 2025

Halfords has upgraded its profit expectations for 2025 following a strong end to 2024, signalling a possible boost for the wider cycling retail sector after a difficult period.

17 Feb 2025

A £291m funding package from Active Travel England is set to be used for cycle lanes and improved junctions, while also supporting local businesses and making it easier to cycle to work,...

14 Feb 2025

The UK Government has removed anti-dumping tariffs on non-folding e-bikes imported from China in a move that has raised alarm within the UK’s cycling industry over potential market...

7 Feb 2025

ACT parent company Bira has warned that retailers across Britain face troubled times ahead despite today's Bank of England interest rate cut to 4.5%, as the Bank halves its growth forecast for...

4 Feb 2025

The ACT and legal partner WorkNest are hosting an exclusive webinar on how to remain compliant with employment law while making necessary business changes.

31 Jan 2025

New independent research has confirmed OEM e-bikes are effectively exempt from risk of battery fires, with unsafe post-purchase replacement batteries, conversion kits, and other equipment that...

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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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