Fuel Thefts Soar as Thousands Drive Off Without Paying at Forecourts

Fuel prices are seen at a petrol station in Wimborne, England, on March 11, 2022. Finnbarr Webster/Getty Images

Cases of petrol and diesel theft at garage forecourts have increased dramatically, new data has revealed.

Information obtained by the RAC Foundation showed that in the third quarter of the year, the Driver and Vehicle Licensing Agency (DVLA) received close to 40,000 requests in relation to fuel theft.

This is 77 percent higher than in the same quarter in 2022, when the DVLA received 22,335 requests. The pre-COVID-19 pandemic numbers showed 8,558 requests filed from July to September 2019.

With retail crime on the rise, it comes as no surprise that theft of petrol and diesel from forecourts “looks to be a big and growing problem,” said RAC Foundation Director Steve Gooding.

He warned that the latest figures “might only hint at a much bigger issue.” In the past year, police forces in England and Wales reported a 25 percent surge in shoplifting offences.

“While it may be that the cost-of-living crisis is tempting some people to risk driving off without paying, the real headache for fuel suppliers is if this is a sign of more systematic criminal activity,” Mr. Gooding said.

The majority of thefts at filling station forecourts were likely connected to the so-called practices of “bilking.” Vehicle owners fill up their tanks with no intention of paying before they drive off.

“Bilking” is different to “no means of payment events,” reported by the DVLA. The latter include cases when drivers refuel but then realise they had forgotten their wallets or are unable to pay for other reasons.

The drivers would then inform the forecourt staff and pay the fuel bill subsequently.

The average annual financial loss caused by fuel theft, as reported by the British Oil Security Syndicate (BOSS), is £10,500 per site.

Forecourt crime has been estimated to cost retailers £88 million annually, with two thirds of fuel crime being “no means of payment” incidents and the rest being “bilking.”

“The message to anyone tempted to bilk the service station must be ‘don’t fill up if you can’t pay up’ because getting caught is a real possibility, and financial losses to companies ultimately lead to higher prices for us all,” said Mr. Gooding.

Unacceptable Level

BOSS data showed that approximately 2.5 million incidents of unpaid fuel occur every year. This takes a toll on the cost of committing police officers to deal with forecourt crime incidents.

Operations Director at BOSS Bruce Nichol said that unpaid fuel incidents are “at an unacceptable level,” which echoed the government’s position on the overall rise in retail crime.

Last month, policing minister Chris Philp said that police will prioritise shoplifting incidents that involve violence against shop workers. A new national police intelligence unit, Project Pegasus, will aim to tackle organised shoplifting gangs.

Under the project, a team of analysts will build an intelligence picture of organised crime gangs in charge of shoplifting schemes across the country. So far, 13 of the UK’s top retailers, including Co-Op, Sainsbury’s, Next, and Boots have announced funding for the project.

The police will also use facial recognition technology and national databases to identify retail crime offenders, a practice contested by human rights campaigners, who call it “an unjustified expansion of state surveillance.”

The government wants to instate a “zero-tolerance approach” to tackling shoplifting. Joining forces with retailers and the police is the way to deliver a “smarter” approach to curbing retail crime, said Mr. Philp.

Fuel prices have decreased since the peaks of July and November 2022, but have been creeping back up since this year’s summer months. This, coupled with the cost-of-living crisis, could result in more “bilking” incidents and “no means of payment events.”

Those found guilty of making off without payment, which is an offence under the Theft Act 1978, face up to two years in prison.