Used CarsCar FinanceCar ServicingPart ExchangeClearanceNews COVID-19 | Help & Support Read more Latest NewsLatest news coronavirus company update help and support COVID-19 company update - help and support CarShop 20 October, 202118 min read Published: 19/03/2020 Last update: 09/09/21 Relaxation of guidelines for CarShop colleagues in England Since the start of the pandemic, we have put the health and safety of customers and colleagues first by following Government guidance as well as implementing our own guidelines. In line with Government guidance, we have made the decision to make face coverings optional for CarShop colleagues. All colleagues interacting with customers and colleagues who have chosen to wear a face covering, will be expected to mirror that behaviour. This relaxation of face coverings will only affect CarShop stores in England as guidance across the rest of the UK still states that face covering are required in most settings. Last update: 16/07/21 CarShop colleagues are continuing to keep you safe in all stores across the UK Despite the official advice that COVID-19 restrictions can be removed in England from Monday 19thJuly, we are committed to ensuring the ongoing safety of our colleagues, customers and communities. As a result, we have decided that now is not the time to fully relax our in-store safety measures. All sanitising stations, hygiene and cleaning policies and other distancing measures will still remain in operation for both our team and customers for the foreseeable future. The exception to this is that customers who visit our stores in England will be advised to wear face coverings, rather than them being a legal requirement. Visitors to our Cardiff store will still be required to wear face coverings, due to Government guidance in Wales. Last update: 12/04/2021 In-store browsing, test drives and our colleagues are available in all CarShop stores to support you today In accordance with the Government easing of lockdown measures, non-essential retailers are once again permitted to allow customers inside their premises. For us, that means we can now accommodate in-store browsing, unaccompanied test drives and socially-distanced human advice and support. As always, your safety is our priority, that’s why all of our stores and service centres have strict safety measures in place for your shopping and buying comfort and safety. This includes a reduced in-store maximum capacity, so we strongly recommend you make an appointment beforehand to avoid any disappointment. And because we’re committed to making your CarShop experience as easy and comfortable as possible, you can still buy or finance your next car fully online or over the phone, without leaving the comfort of your own home. Regardless of how you choose to shop, finance or buy, there’s a way to best suit you. Plus, you’ll have the added reassurance of knowing that your next car is covered by our 3-month CarShop Warranty and has been CarShop Quality & Safety Assured. If you’re in need of an MOT, service or car maintenance, our service centres remain open and our teams are still on-hand for pre-appointed work. Welcome back! Last update: 08/04/2021 Our teams are busy getting ready to welcome you back. From Monday 12th April, in-store browsing, test drives and socially-distanced colleague support will once again be permitted…and we can’t wait to see you! Of course, it goes without saying that your in-store safety is always our priority. All of our stores have strict safety measures in place for your shopping and buying comfort and safety. To avoid any disappointment, we strongly recommend holding your car online for a refundable £99 deposit, or booking a priority test drive. Due to social distancing, our stores currently have a reduced maximum visitor capacity. If you’d still prefer to do things remotely, don’t worry, you can still buy or finance your next car fully online or over the phone, without leaving the comfort of your own home. Just hit the 'Buy Online' button on any of our cars to get the ball rolling. Last update: 13/01/2021 Shop safely from home with CarShop during the lockdown. In response to the evolving COVID-19 situation and the latest Government guidance, all CarShop stores across the UK have implemented necessary and appropriate measures to ensure you can shop safely during the current lockdown. The Government has stated that non-essential retailers, such as CarShop, can “continue to be able to operate click-and-collect (where goods are pre-ordered and collected off the premises)” alongside home delivery. More information surrounding the guidance can be found by clicking here. In order to adhere to this, we’re offering Express Click & Collect appointments and Contactless Home Delivery for any customers looking to buy a car in a COVID-secure way. Express Click & Collect Hold any car online for £99, and our team will help get you safely and quickly into your new car. Once you’ve held your car online, our team will be in touch to explain the process and book you in for your Express Click & Collect appointment. They’ll also be able to explain your finance and part exchange options too. Find out more here. Contactless Home Delivery When it comes to buying or part-exchanging your next car, everything can be done remotely! You can even have it delivered to your home, with a COVID-secure contactless handover taking place on your driveway. Once you’ve held your car online, our team will be in touch to explain the process and book you in. Then, simply wait at home for your new car to arrive. MOT & Servicing All CarShop Service Centres will remain open for pre-appointed service and MOT work throughout the lockdown, as “businesses providing repair services may also stay open”. Previously implemented ‘extra care’ measures will remain in place to keep you safe during your visit. Click here to book your service or MOT now. In-store browsing Unfortunately, from Tuesday 5th January, browsing in CarShop stores is no longer possible; however, any car can be held online for £99, with our team being able to make you a pre-arranged express Click & Collect appointment. Further information Don’t forget to check out our COVID-19 FAQs blog if you still require further information. Click here to visit the FAQs Last update: 21/12/2020 Keeping you safe in our stores. As the safety and well-being of our customers and colleagues is our number one priority, we’ve made important and necessary changes to ensure you can buy or service your car with us safely and confidently. To find out more about our commitment to your safety, visit our blog. Stores in Tier 3 or below: If your local CarShop is in tiers 1 – 3, then the store and service centre remains fully open with COVID-secure measures in place. Easy and safe ways to buy include: • Pick it, click it and collect it with express Click & Collect. • Hold for £99. Reserve any car with a low, refundable deposit. • Book in or simply pop in, and our team will be happy to help. Our teams are also still available online and over the phone for help and support. Service centres remain open for MOT, service and maintenance work. Stores in Tier 4 and Wales: If your local store is Cardiff, or a store in tier 4, then we’ve made it easy and safe to buy with express Click & Collect. Simply hold your car for £99, apply for finance and value your part exchange online and all from the comfort of your own home. We’ll then get in touch to arrange your collection. Learn more about Click & Collect here. Our teams are also still available online and over the phone for help and support. Service centres remain open for MOT, service and maintenance work. To support Government guidance, we would strongly advise against customers travelling between Tiers and would urge you to contact the dealership before you visit, to check the current local restrictions. Please be remember to always check the latest opening hours of our stores here Further information Don’t forget to check out our COVID-19 FAQs blog if you still require further information. Click here to visit the FAQs Last update: 02/12/2020 All CarShop stores are now fully open. ‘Extra care’ measures remain in place to keep you safe and stop the spread of COVID-19. We are delighted to confirm that all CarShop stores are now fully open to sales and service customers and, as of this morning, in-store browsing in England is once again permitted. All previous ‘extra care’ measures remain in place to ensure your in-store experience is as safe and comfortable as possible. Our team is also still available to help online or over the phone, and will be happy to support your sales and servicing needs remotely. Last update: 09/11/2020 CarShop Cardiff is now fully open, following the ‘firebreak’ lockdown coming to an end. ‘Extra care’ measures remain in place to keep you safe and stop the spread of COVID-19. We are delighted to confirm that CarShop Cardiff is now fully open to sales and service customers and, as of this morning, in-store browsing is once again permitted. All previous ‘extra care’ measures remain in place to ensure your in-store experience is as safe and comfortable as possible. Our team is also still available to help online and over the phone, and will be happy to support your sales and servicing needs remotely. Last update: 04/11/2020 Supporting our customers through lockdown As of Thursday 5th November, the Government is allowing non-essential retail to operate Click & Collect services. At CarShop, we’re offering express Click & Collect appointments for any customers looking to buy a car in a COVID-secure way. All Service Centres are currently operating, and taking service and MOT bookings. Express Click & Collect Hold any car online for £99, and our team will help get you safely and quickly into your new car. Once you’ve held your car online, our team will be in touch to explain the process and book you in for your express Click & Collect appointment. They’ll also be able to explain your finance and part exchange options too. Because we’re committed to your safety, all correspondence prior to your collection will be done remotely. And, when you come to collect your car, our team will safely get you on your way as quickly as possible. All ‘extra care’ measures previously introduced will remain in place, so please ensure you sanitise regularly and wear a face covering at all times during your express Click & Collect appointment. It’s also worth remembering your coat, as car handovers will be taking place in a safe outdoor space. For more information about the ‘extra care’ measures in place, click here. MOT & Servicing All CarShop Service Centres will remain open for pre-appointed service and MOT work throughout the lockdown, and all ‘extra care’ measures will remain in place to keep you safe during your visit. Click here to book your service or MOT now. In-store browsing Unfortunately, from Thursday 5th November, it will no longer be possible to browse in CarShop stores in England during lockdown; however, any car can be held online for £99, with our team being able to make you a pre-arranged express Click & Collect appointment. CarShop Cardiff will be open for browsing on Monday 9th November. Further information Don’t forget to check out our COVID-19 FAQs blog if you still require further information. Click here to visit the FAQs Last update: 02/11/2020 CarShop stores across England Following the announcement that England will be entering into a lockdown on Thursday 5thNovember, teams across the business are currently working to identify and contact all customers who will be impacted by the lockdown. If you fall into this category, please be assured that our teams will get to you as quickly as they can. We’d also like to politely ask that you wait to hear from us, in order to minimise on-hold call times. In accordance with the guidance, non-essential retail will still be allowed to open for Click & Collect and servicing throughout November. That means we’ll still be able to support our local communities during the lockdown. As always, we’re committed to your safety, so you can relax knowing that all necessary ‘extra care’ measures will remain in place. We’ll continue to monitor the unfolding situation and provide further information as soon as it becomes available. _______________________________________________________ Last update: 21/10/2020 Following the Welsh Government’s recent “firebreak” announcement, CarShop Cardiff will be temporarily closing its doors to sales customers for a short while. Don't worry though, our team is still available online and over the phone. The temporary closure means: · The store will not be open for browsing, buying or collecting - you can still search for and hold a car online, and collect when we reopen · The service centre will remain open for pre-booked “essential” repair work or MOTs, whereby the work cannot reasonably be deferred until after the lockdown period The planned reopening of CarShop Cardiff is currently 8.00am on Monday 9th November; however, during the “firebreak” lockdown, customers in Wales will still be able to contact our teams using our website’s ‘Live Chat’ feature, through our social channels or over the phone. Plus, you’ll still be able to: · Hold any car online for £99 – 5-day period will be extended for any cars held at our Cardiff store, or for anyone who lives in Wales · Check your finance pre-approval online, and speak to our finance team over the phone · Request a service or MOT appointment Please be assured that any Cardiff service or sales appointments that are due to take place during the “firebreak” will be reviewed as a priority, and our teams will be contacting all customers affected over the coming days to discuss the options. If your car is currently in the Cardiff service centre, you’ll be hearing from the team soon; they are prioritising this work and will contact you as necessary. If you have any further queries, check out our FAQs blog. Alternatively, you can contact our sales, service centre and customer support teams on 0333 800 1695. Last update: 23/09/2020 Keeping you safe in our stores. With the ever-evolving COVID-19 situation, we wanted to reassure you that we remain committed to ensuring our vigilance in protecting our customers, colleagues and communities and that all CarShop stores remain COVID-secure. Following yesterday's announcement, we have updated our practices in line with the new Government guidance and legislation, now ensuring the following: In all customer-facing areas, face coverings will be worn at all times by both colleagues and customers, not just colleagues dealing with customers Plastic face guards will no longer constitute appropriate face coverings All colleagues who can work from home will work from home, to limit the number of colleagues in our stores We're reinforcing the 2-metre social distancing rule, to allow our customers to feel comfortable and safe in our stores All other measures previously introduced will remain in place to keep you safe and stop the spread of COVID-19. Last update: 24/07/2020 CarShop stores across England now require visitors to wear face coverings at all times during their visit. In accordance with the latest government guidance, CarShop store visitors are now required to wear face coverings at all times (England only). Customer-facing CarShop colleagues will also be required to wear face coverings during any customer interaction, to protect themselves and others and help stop the spread of COVID-19. Face coverings will not be required when visiting CarShop Cardiff, although it is advised that all visitors take necessary precautions to protect themselves and others to help stop the spread of COVID-19. Last update: 20/07/2020 Face coverings are to become mandatory for all in-store customers in England from Friday 24th July. In accordance with the latest government guidance, from Friday it will be mandatory for CarShop store visitors to wear face coverings at all times (England only). Customer-facing CarShop colleagues will also be required to wear face coverings during any customer interaction, to protect themselves and others and help stop the spread of COVID-19. This ruling will come into effect from the opening of business (8am) on Friday 24th July. Mandatory face coverings will not be required when visiting CarShop Cardiff, although it is advised that all visitors take necessary precautions to protect themselves and others to help stop the spread of COVID-19. Last update: 19/06/2020 CarShop Cardiff will be fully open for business from 9am on Monday 22nd June. Extra care measures have been put in place to keep you safe and stop the spread of COVID-19. Following the recent announcement from the Welsh Government, we are delighted to confirm that CarShop Cardiff will be reopening its showroom doors to sales customers from 8am on Monday 22nd June. Until then, the store will remain open in a limited capacity for service centre customers and Click & Collect customers only. As of Monday 22nd June, all CarShop stores will have fully reopened for business. Extra care measures are in place in all stores to keep you safe and stop the spread of COVID-19. Last update: 01/06/2020 CarShop stores in England have now reopened, and extra care measures have been introduced to keep you safe and stop the spread of COVID-19. We are delighted to announce the reopening of our stores in: · Bristol · Doncaster · Manchester · Northampton · Norwich · Sheffield · Swindon · Warrington · Wakefield As of 9am this morning, the stores listed above became fully operational again. Our in-store teams are excited to be able to help you find your new car or book you in for a service, MOT or any other maintenance work. As we’re committed to your safety, extra care measures have been introduced in both our stores and our service centres to keep you safe and stop the spread of COVID-19. You can find out more by clicking here. Wales In accordance with the latest advice from the Welsh Government, non-essential retailers (including car dealers) are not yet able to open. As a result, CarShop Cardiff will only be open in a limited capacity for pre-arranged contactless collections. However, CarShop Cardiff Service Centre has reopened with extra care measures in place for vehicle servicing, MOT and repair. And whilst CarShop Cardiff may not be open for browsing, you can browse 1,000s of cars on our website, hold any car for £99 (fully refundable), start a free finance check and get a guaranteed valuation for your part exchange. Our team will also be able to complete a full finance application over the phone and arrange an in-store collection. Updated: 29/05/2020 CarShop stores and service centres will reopen from Monday 1st June Following the Government’s latest announcement, car retailers in England will be able to reopen their doors from Monday 1st June. Here at CarShop, we’ll be acting in accordance with this advice and reopening all stores and service centres located in England from that date. In accordance with the latest advice from the Welsh Government, non-essential retailers (including car dealers) are not yet able to open. As a result, CarShop Cardiff will only be open in a limited capacity for pre-arranged collections and servicing. For any person who has had a car with us during lockdown, either due to waiting to collect your car or it being in one of our service centres, our team will contact you directly to book you in for a priority appointment. In order to limit the number of people in our stores and avoid waiting, we recommend that you make an appointment prior to your visit. How we’ll be keeping you safe. Eight weeks ago, we took the decision to temporarily close our stores and service centres, an unprecedented decision taken in the best interests of our colleagues, customers and communities. Over the last two months ‘extra care’ measures have been introduced to enable our teams to return to work safely, prior to our reopening. We’ve produced these two handy short videos to detail the key ‘extra care’ measures we’ve introduced in our stores and service centres, to keep you safe and stop the spread of COVID-19. 'Extra care' measures in-store - 'Extra care' measures in our service centres - You can find out more information by visiting clicking here and visiting our ‘extra care’ measures blog. Updated 11/05/2020 Following the announcement on Sunday 10th May, our business is being classified as 'non-essential retail' and is not yet permitted to open. Please read below for further information. We're constantly updating our COVID-19 FAQs - check them out here. In response to the evolving COVID-19 situation and the latest Government advice, CarShop will remain closed in order to keep our colleagues, customers and communities safe. As soon as the Government provides more information as to when we can re-open, an update announcement will be posted here, and our FAQs blog will be updated with the latest answers. CarShop status update 11/05/2020 Our stores and service centres will be closed with immediate effect and until further notice following the most recent Government advice. Please read below for further information. We're constantly updating our COVID-19 FAQs - check them out here. Published: 19/03/2020 Updated: 25/03/2020 In response to the evolving COVID-19 situation and the latest Government advice, for these reasons the Board of Directors has taken the decision to temporarily close all CarShop stores and service centres with immediate effect, in order to keep our colleagues, customers and communities safe. Whilst we’ll miss seeing you, we’ll still be available online, over the phone and on social media. Our sales, service centre and customer service colleagues will be available remotely to help you choose and buy a car, secure finance, request a service or MOT appointment and answer any questions you may have. Our website, CarShop.co.uk will continue to be fully operational for you to find a car, carry out a free finance check or get a part exchange valuation. If you want to get in touch, you’ll be able to Live Chat us via our website, via email quality@carshop.co.uk or contact us via Facebook; that’s because we know you’ll have a lot of questions and we want to help where we can. For the foreseeable future, we’ve also relaxed our ‘hold for 5 days’ policy. On receipt of your £99 deposit, we will remove the vehicle you have selected to 'Hold' from sale to the general public until such time you are able to complete the transaction, over the phone or in one of our stores. Our customer contact centre will remain fully operational (staffed by homeworking agents) and in touch with you during this time to follow up on any next steps or answer any questions regarding your reservation. What if I already have an appointment? If you have an appointment booked, but it falls during the period of closure, our teams will be in touch as and when we have any further information or details. You’ll also receive a priority appointment when we reopen. What if I have purchased a car which is due for collection on or after Tuesday 24th March? Due to the closure, unfortunately, our teams will not be able to complete any handovers. Don't worry though, your car is in safe hands and our team will be in touch to arrange a priority collection as soon as we know when we'll be reopening. What if I am due a service or MOT? We're very sorry but, due to the closure, no existing appointments will be carried out and no new appointments will be taken. We are mindful, however, that there may be keyworkers among our customers who may have cars currently in our service centres. If you are a keyworker, please contact us and will make every endeavour to return your car to you in a safe and compliant manner. Our customers will continue to receive MOT and service reminders and, whilst customers won’t be able to book an appointment slot online, we’ve made it easy to register for a priority appointment for when our service centres reopen. CarShop status update 24/03/2020 Finally, please remember to use this blog as your official source of information. We're constantly updating our COVID-19 FAQs - check them out here. Published 19/03/2020 Coronavirus company update - help and support We’re still open and our teams are available to help We know this time of great uncertainty is something that’s impacting us all, so we want to keep you in the know about what steps we’re taking to help and support you. All our stores and service centres are currently open, and we have teams in place to handle any questions online, over the phone and in-store. We’re also constantly monitoring the guidelines and advice provided by the UK Government and Public Health England, and are doing everything we can to make your experience as safe as possible. Our customers, colleagues and our communities are our key priority, that’s why we’re committed to making the right decisions and keeping you up to date with any changes. Please use this page as your continued source of the latest information. What we’ve done so far Shortly after the COVID-19 outbreak occurred in China, we began reviewing and implementing provisions as a part of our overall business continuity plan. This plan outlines specific steps CarShop has and continues to take to safeguard employees’ and customers’ health and well-being during a pandemic while ensuring the Company’s ability to maintain fundamental operations and continue providing essential services to our customers. The plan includes: The formation of a Coronavirus Action Team who monitor and action UK Government and Public Health England guidance Ensuring colleagues receive regular briefings regarding new operating procedures aimed at protecting our colleagues, customers and the business Restricting inter-site travel and attendance to industry meetings and conferences Increasing the frequency of store cleaning and disinfecting practices Increasing the deployment of antibacterial hand sanitisers and wipes across the business Regular disinfection of cars’ handles, gear knobs and steering wheels Introduction of a no handshake policy across the Group Installation of posters to reinforce good practice regarding hand-washing Introducing software to enable remote working for non-customer facing colleagues The cessation of field-based employees visiting multiple showrooms Segregating contact centre operatives into smaller teams If you are planning to visit CarShop or have an appointment CarShop takes the COVID-19 threat seriously and is taking all reasonable measures to prepare for and mitigate the risk of the infection to our colleagues, our customers and our communities. Therefore, we ask that you inform us prior to your visit to let us know if you have been to any of the affected locations listed on the UK Government website, or if you have had to self-isolate due to potential exposure to the virus, so that we may discuss the best way in which to manage your requirements. If you have recently purchased and collected a car Please be assured that our customer service teams will be working throughout this period in accordance with the government guidance. A number of provisions have also been put in place to ensure our teams can work from home should they need to. You can contact us during normal opening hours by calling 0333 800 1695, getting in touch over Live Chat, sending us a message on Facebook or by filling out the enquiry form on the relevant store page. If you have any questions surrounding your finance payments, your credit agreement will have details of the customer support number for your lender, if you are unable to find your credit agreement you can contact our customer support team who will be able to assist with obtaining these details. If you have recently purchased and are awaiting collection Please contact our team on 0333 800 1695. Updated: 23/03/2020 Temporary Addendum to our order and deposits - Hold Policy Due to COVID-19 and in the event we are forced to close any of our stores, or you are not able to visit one of our stores due to self-isolation or otherwise, we are temporally amending our Terms and Conditions relating to reserving a vehicle online via our website carshop.co.uk. On receipt of your £99 deposit, we will remove the vehicle you have selected to 'Hold' from sale to the general public for an unrestricted period of time and until such time you are able to complete the transaction in one of our stores. Our Customer Contact Centre will remain fully operational (staffed by homeworking agents) and in touch with you during this time to follow up on any next steps or answer any questions regarding your reservation Previous Article Tips for driving at night Next Article Covid 19 faqs Freephone: 0808 163 9042 About Us Careers News Used Cars Part Exchange Car Finance Servicing Products FAQs Sitemap Price match promise 7-day exchange policy 3 month guarantee HPI vehicle history check 114 point safety check Extended warranty © Copyright Car Shops Ltd 2021. All rights reserved. Car Shops Limited is authorised and regulated by the Financial Conduct Authority (FCA) for consumer credit activities. Our Firm Registration Number (FRN) is 447727. Car Shops Limited is also an Appointed Representative of Sytner Group Limited, which is authorised and regulated by the FCA for Insurance Mediation Activities, under FRN 310540. Registered Office: 2 Penman Way, Grove Park, Leicester, LE19 1ST Registered No: 05331512 VAT Registration No: 610 6250 86 Cookie Policy|Privacy Policy|Terms & Conditions|Accessibility Modern Slavery Statement|Gender Pay Gap Reports