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4 Feb 2025

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

31 Jan 2025

The UK Government has decided not to go ahead with proposals to increase the maximum power output of e-Bikes to 500W and to permit throttle assistance following a lengthy consultation process.

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...

23 Jan 2025

ACT parent company Bira is calling for urgent government intervention following disappointing December retail figures, which show sales volumes fell by 0.3% following a modest 0.1% rise in...

22 Jan 2025

Cytech's Australian training provider The Bicycle Academy,  which delivers their courses in Brisbane, Sydney, Melbourne, Adelaide and Perth, paid visits to UK Cytech centres late last year...

21 Jan 2025

The ACT is set to deliver a seminar at both the North and South iceBike* events discussing the current challenges and opportunities facing the UK cycle industry.

17 Jan 2025

The ACT has teamed up with employment law, HR, and health and safety experts WorkNest as the association's new legal partner.

10 Jan 2025

The ACT have presented a formal complaint to the BBC, with Director Jonathan Harrison claiming the program was misrepresentative and made "incorrect claims about regulations".

9 Jan 2025

ACT parent company Bira has warned that disappointing footfall figures for December show mounting pressures on independent retailers, with concerning implications for 2025 as business costs...

18 Dec 2024

Director of the ACT Jonathan Harrison has praised the "resilience and adaptability" of the ACT and its members in an end of year message.

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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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