Terms and conditions for a bicycle and e-bike repair shop

A repair workshop needs terms that deal with the bike on the stand, not a shop counter sale. The estimate that moves once the wheel is off, the customer's own part, the e-bike battery you will not work on, and the bike nobody has collected. I draft customer terms around how your workshop runs for a fixed fee of £995, delivered in five working days.

Who this is for

Independent bike shops, mobile mechanics, e-bike specialists and workshops attached to a retail store, in England and Wales. Most of your customers are consumers, who have protections you cannot draft away. Some are businesses: delivery fleets, hire operators, couriers and employers running cycle schemes. One set of terms can serve both if it is written with both in mind.

What matters in a bike workshop's terms

Estimates, authorisation and work found on the stand

Almost every repair dispute starts with a figure given at the counter before anyone had the wheel off. Your terms should set out what the estimate covers, that a seized bottom bracket, a worn freehub or a cracked frame may only appear once the bike is stripped, and that you will contact the customer for approval before going past an agreed authorisation limit. They should also say what you charge if the customer declines the work after diagnosis, and what happens to a bike you have partly dismantled. Approvals belong in writing: a reply by text or email is evidence, a nod on the phone is not.

E-bike batteries, motors and proprietary systems

E-bike work brings decisions a mechanical service does not. Your terms should let you refuse or stop work on a battery that is damaged, swollen, water ingressed or of unknown origin, on a conversion kit you did not fit, and on any system where the manufacturer restricts diagnostics to authorised dealers. Say who arranges and pays for getting a battery to you and back. Make clear that a firmware change, an altered controller or a non original battery may end the manufacturer's warranty, and that the customer decides whether to accept that before you begin.

Parts, customer supplied components and what you guarantee

Parts you sell are goods, and under the Consumer Rights Act 2015 they must be of satisfactory quality, fit for purpose and as described, with the consumer's short term right to reject in the first 30 days. Your terms cannot cut that down. What they can do is separate your labour warranty from the component maker's, exclude wear items such as pads, tyres, chains and cables from any guarantee, and deal with parts the customer brings in: you fit them, you do not warrant them, and you may decline to fit anything you consider unsafe.

Bikes left with you, collection and storage

A workshop is full of other people's property. The terms should cover how long a completed bike may sit before storage charges begin, how you contact the customer, and what you eventually do with a bike nobody collects: selling it to recover what you are owed needs more care than a clause alone provides. Set out whether bikes are covered by your insurance while on the premises, and whether the customer must tell you about anything unusually valuable. For consumers, storage charges should reflect your actual cost, because the Consumer Rights Act 2015 treats disproportionate default charges as potentially unfair.

Collections, home visits and cancellation rights

If you collect and deliver, repair at the customer's home or office, or take bookings through your website or by phone, the Consumer Contracts (Information, Cancellation and Additional Charges) Regulations 2013 apply and the customer has fourteen days to cancel. Off premises contracts of £42 or less fall outside them. Starting work inside the period needs the customer's express request, and a customer who then cancels pays a proportionate amount. An urgent repair the customer asked for is treated differently. Missing cancellation information can extend the period by up to twelve months, so the booking process and the terms have to work together.

Fleet and trade customers

Delivery fleets, hire operators and employers running cycle schemes are business customers, and they belong in a separate part of the terms: account payment, labour rates, turnaround priority, who supplies parts, and what happens to bikes recalled from riders. For them you can claim interest and compensation on unpaid invoices under the Late Payment of Commercial Debts (Interest) Act 1998, and you can cap your liability and exclude loss of profit, provided the cap is reasonable under the Unfair Contract Terms Act 1977. Liability for death or personal injury caused by negligence cannot be excluded against any customer.

What it costs

Customer or supplier terms and conditions, £995. One set of terms, customer-facing or supplier-facing, drafted around your business. Five working days.

Review of your existing terms, £495. You already have terms and want to know how much of a problem they are. Returned marked up with my amendments and an explanation of the changes. Three working days.

Buying online forms the engagement on payment. The scope is what the terms and conditions drafting page describes, you accept the Terms of Service at checkout, and I email you within four working hours to get started. If you would rather ask something first, email me.

What you get

• A full set of terms drafted around your business, not a template with your name inserted
• A covering note in plain English explaining every commercial choice I made and why, so you can defend the terms in a negotiation without ringing me
• Liability, payment, termination and IP provisions set at a level that will survive a procurement review
• Consumer-facing wording drafted to be enforceable where you sell to consumers
• Guidance on how to incorporate the terms properly, which is where most businesses actually fail
• One round of amendments after you have read them

What is not included

• Negotiating your terms with individual customers
• Sector-specific regulatory compliance beyond the contract terms themselves
• Website privacy notice and cookie compliance, which I quote separately
• Terms governed by the law of another country

Questions I am often asked

Can I refuse to release a bike until the invoice is paid?

Your terms can say that a bike is released only against payment, and most workshops should include it. Whether that holds against someone who is not your customer, such as a finance provider or an employer who owns the bike, is a separate question. The terms should require the person booking the repair to confirm they are entitled to authorise it.

Can I charge for a diagnosis if the customer then takes the bike away?

You can, provided the charge is stated clearly before you start rather than appearing at the counter. Say what the inspection covers, whether it is credited against the repair if the customer goes ahead, and that it is payable whether or not the quoted work is accepted. A consumer told nothing in advance will resist paying it.

How do I get the terms in front of the customer properly?

Terms handed over with the finished bike arrive too late to bind anyone. They need to form part of the job sheet the customer signs or agrees to at booking, with a copy available to read before they commit. I explain how to handle counter drop offs, online bookings and collections in the covering note.

Related guidance and services

• Terms and conditions drafting, £995, the service this page describes
• Ask Caesar, £495 a month
• Employment contracts and handbooks, £595
• Terms and conditions for a handyman service
• Terms and conditions for a locksmith

This page is general guidance for businesses in England and Wales, not advice on your own circumstances. Last reviewed: September 2026. Email geoffrey@caesar.co.uk.