Driving Off from a pump without making payment
Forecourt fuel crime falls into two categories. Motorists either Drive-Off without attempting to pay for fuel or drivers claim to have No Means of Payment (NMoP), then agree to pay but subsequently fail to return and pay.
BOSS Payment Watch is the leading debt recovery service for forecourt operators
What is a Drive Off?
Drive-Off incidents fall into two categories and can also be referred to as bilking and making off without paying.
Firstly where a driver draws fuel, makes no attempt to pay and then drives off without paying. Secondly, there are incidents where a motorist draws fuel, enters the store and then fails to pay in-store. There may be many reasons for failing to pay in-store, whether a mistake or deliberate. Some police forces treat these incidents as a civil offence while others treat them as a crime.
Fluctuating fuel prices make it difficult to detail the total cost of forecourt fuel crime at any one time. However, in 2019 BOSS research estimated forecourt fuel crime cost forecourt operators £88 million per annum, when fuel prices peaked at 130.8 pence per litre (ppl). Escalating fuel prices during 2022 could result in the total cost soaring past £100 million.
Annually BOSS members record around 800,000 unpaid fuel incidents.
Historically driving off from a pump was the dominant type of forecourt fuel crime – it accounted for about two-thirds of all reports…but not any more.
Since the pandemic, NMoP has grown steadily and surpassed Drive-Off incidents as the larger percentage of unpaid fuel incidents. NMoP now represents two-thirds of all unpaid fuel incident reports.
To sign up to BOSS Payment Watch contact BOSS on 01926 864 757