I am delighted to inform you that this month the Chartered Trading Standards Institute (CTSI) has approved Trust My Garage under the Consumer Codes Approval Scheme (CCAS). That means that Trust My Garage is now a government backed consumer code, which reinforces consumer confidence by placing the Trading Standards logo alongside the TMG shield.

You’ll start to hear a lot more about Trust My Garage in the coming months as we start a new campaign to take the message to consumers. You can play your part in this by ensuring that you promote your membership of Trust My Garage in all your business activity. You can start by proudly displaying the TMG shield at your business and in all your marketing activity and together we will ensure that Trust My Garage, the code scheme exclusively for independent garages is in the forefront of motorists minds.

If you’re not already part of Trust My Garage, now is definitely the time to sign up and you can find out more by calling the member helpline.

Once we receive the information from Trading Standards, we’ll share their rules and guidance for the use of the CCAS logo in your own marketing material, so keep an eye on your inbox and our social media feeds. You will also be able to hear more about the next steps for TMG at our last two Member Events for 2015. These will be held in Taunton on the 24th November and Havant on the 25th where, as usual, we will be joined by the DVSA. You can register to attend by following the link on the IGA website.

Last month I mentioned the launch of our multimeter course which we are now rolling out around the country. This course, the first in a suite of three culminating in oscilloscope training is a pre-requisite for the coveted IGA Diagnostic Specialist status and demand is already growing so make sure your name is on the list by calling the member helpline.

I am delighted to share another piece of good news for the independent sector. Earlier this month I was at a meeting of CECRA (The European Council for Motor Trades and Repairs) in Brussels where we were informed that it is increasingly likely that the EU Commission will “sign off” access to manufacturer security information under the SERMI scheme before the end of the year. We know that it has been a long time coming but I feel that with this news we are genuinely on the home straight of achieving a level playing field for independent garages.

Lastly, look out for the relaunch of the ProMOTe campaign this November, where we will be joining with other aftermarket trade bodies to highlight the road safety implications for a 4 year MOT system to the public.

With all that is happening in the independent sector at the moment, there’s never been a better time to be an IGA member and if you need our help on any aspect of your business, the member helpline is only a phone call away.