According to the latest Forecourt Crime Index from BOSS, the trade body the British Oil Security Syndicate, cases of unpaid fuel are holding at high levels, but there are signs that they are beginning to ease.
The Index for the third quarter of 2023 shows incidents of unpaid fuel increased by 1.3 per cent (compared with a rise of 4.7pc in the previous quarter) pushing the Forecourt Crime Index to 259.1 in the third quarter (compared with 256.0 in the second quarter), the highest level since it was introduced in 2015. Drive-Off-Failure-to-Pay incidents rose 5pc, while No-Means-of-Payment (drivers claiming to the retailer that they came out without the money or card for paying) reports fell 2.6pc.
BOSS collates the Forecourt Crime Index from reports of No Means of Payment (NMoP) and Drive- Off-Failure-to-Pay (DO-FP) incidents made to Payment Watch, the unpaid fuel debt recovery service operated by BOSS.
During the third quarter, the average number of unpaid fuel incidents per site was 30.9 per site (28 the quarter before) with NMoP incidents accounting for 62pc of all Payment Watch reports. The average cost of NMoP incidents was £64.79 (£68.19, the previous quarter), while the average cost of a DO-FP incident fell to £50.98 per incident (£52.51, the quarter before).
As the body points out, the increases in DO-FP incidents occurred at a time when the cost of fuel began to rise to an average of 153 pence per litre (ppl) for unleaded fuel (145 ppl: in the first quarter of 2023). Fuel prices are now at a similar level of the first quarter of 2022.
Litres of fuel taken in DO-FP incidents fell to an average of 33.54 litres per incident (34.32 litres: the second quarter of 2023). The average litres drawn in an NMoP incident fell to 42.02 in Q3 from 43.16 in the second quarter, and 41.5 litres in the first quarter of 2023.
Bruce Nichol, the operations director at BOSS, said: “Incidents of unpaid fuel are at an unacceptable level. A recent surge in fuel prices has seen Drive-Off-Failure-to-Pay incidents begin to rise at a time when No-Means-of-Payment reports have plateaued and decreased slightly.
“The change has pushed the Forecourt Crime Index to reach record levels. Our Payment Watch debt recovery team is working hard with site operators to check and verify the details of vehicles involved in an unpaid fuel incident and as a result, recovery rates remain high.
“Incidents of unpaid fuel cost UK forecourt operators millions of pounds annually and customers driving away without paying leads to lost revenue and increased operational expenses. We encourage forecourt operators to be vigilant, especially at peak periods when most incidents tend to be reported.”
About BOSS
Forecourt crime reduction guides aimed at forecourt retailers for reducing incidents and keeping forecourts safe places, are available from BOSS. Visit – https://bossuk.org/guidance/.
