COVID19 – January 2021 Update

Updated as of 9:00am 20/01/21

As we all know by now a new lockdown has been instructed until at least the end of January. We will continue to adhere to the laws currently laid out by the Scottish Government here. https://www.gov.scot/publications/coronavirus-covid-19-stay-at-home-guidance/

As such please see the details below on our current restricted services.

Please also note that if we are visiting your property the crew will not make a delivery unless you are wearing a facemask. We are sure you understand this request to keep our drivers and crew as safe as possible. Where possible we will not enter the property and will call you to ask if we can deliver or pickup from outside the property.

This is another very difficult period for our charity but are committed to continuing to help our communities. We hope once this is over you can continue to support us. If you do feel you can make any type of cash donation to help us our please click on our donate button.

The current position as of today, is therefore as follows.

Emergency Help and Welfare Requests

We continue to meet the ever increasing demands due to coronavirus and we are working with Fife Council Welfare team to ensure those in need don’t go without. We will maintain our commitments to provide support to those who may be homeless, or find themselves in the various other challenging circumstances that we help with each week.

Online Sales

We will continue to update our online store page with the latest stock and can provide a click and collect service as permitted by law.

https://www.gov.scot/publications/coronavirus-covid-19-stay-at-home-guidance/

You can also continue to make requests online for deliveries. Our shops are closed until at least the end of January.

Furniture Plus Stores

Both of our shops are closed until at least the end of January, however we will soon be launching our “virtual personal shopping” trial which will allow you to shop safely from the comfort of your own home.

Collections

We can continue to make deliveries or provide a collection service to fulfill orders received online, by phone, text or post.

We will not make a delivery or collection unless members of the household are wearing face  masks. You will receive a phone call from outside to say we have arrived.

If possible remove the items from your home yourself, but please do not leave outside in adverse weather as we cannot re-use items that are damaged.

See “Questions and Answers” https://www.gov.scot/publications/coronavirus-covid-19-retail-sector-guidance/pages/close-contact-services-questions-and-answers/

Click & collect appointments can be booked here:

Book Appointment

 

House Clearances

Our house clearance work normally comes about due to someone moving or vacating a home. All home moves are still permitted providing they can be carried out safely, and “relevant businesses can also continue to support people to move home in all protection levels.

Government guidance is here https://www.gov.scot/publications/coronavirus-covid-19-guidance-moving-home/

COVID19 Safety Measures

When you visit our stores

  • Hand sanitiser is provided at the entrance to each store and we encourage all visitors to make use of this before entering
  • As per government law we ask that any visitors wear a face covering while in store

  • We encourage visitors not to touch any items for sale, although gloves are provided at the sales desk if you would like to further inspect an item

  • Disposable seat coverings are used where a customer would like to try out a sofa or chair in order to limit contact

  • All point of sale kiosks have been fitted with Perspex screens to provide a barrier between customer and staff

  • All workspaces and store areas are cleaned and sanitised often throughout the day

  • Contactless payments are encouraged where possible

When we deliver/collect

  • All of our vans are thoroughly sanitised before each days jobs

  •  Our collections and deliveries are carried out in separate vans in order to prevent any cross contamination between sold items and newly donated items

  • A quarantine warehouse is used to store donated items which are held here for 72 hours before arriving in our stores

  • All of our delivery/collection teams are fully kitted out with all the PPE you would expect, masks, gloves and sanitiser etc.

  • Our delivery/collection teams are following strict social distancing guidelines and may ask you to leave the room while they handle your furniture in order to maintain distance

  • We have limited the number of crew on each van to 2 and all crews are fixed to the same two people each day in order to maintain distance and limit exposure between colleagues where practical.

We know how important our services are to our community and do not want to find ourselves in a position where we are unable to provide our services. As a result we are taking the threat of Covid-19 very seriously and are staying ever vigilant to the changing circumstances.

During lockdown we carried out extensive risk assessments so that we could reopen and continue to provide vital services to our local community in a safe manner. All of our staff and volunteers have received certified Covid-19 Awareness training before returning to work to ensure we are all aware of the risks this virus poses and how to effectively deal with the ‘new normal’ that we are all slowly becoming used to.