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What is the solution for fuel drive offs from garages?

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What happens when a barrier comes down to prevent a motorist driving off as someone else is leaving?

 

Prepay? What if I dont put enough fuel in. How a refund going to work. Thats a bit tricky. No way am I going to leave a card with the cashier. Cash - then I need a receipt first... more paper to faff about with...

 

I believe in the US the pump itself has a card reader. You put the card in, it authorises it and then you pump as much as you want. Finally the cost is debited to your card.

 

---------- Post added 06-11-2018 at 12:40 ----------

 

I'm not sure how big an issue it is. Fuel can't be dispensed until the guys in the shop give permission, and I would assume that that would include some mechanism for registration plates to be caught on camera.

 

If someone does a runner for £40 worth of fuel, it would be easy to track them down.

 

Not always - apparently they often use false number plates...

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Won't be a queue will there if most people are paying at queue.

But for someone who insists on paying cash and putting in an unknown amount of fuel it's the only way to be sure that they pay isn't it.

 

---------- Post added 06-11-2018 at 07:54 ----------

 

 

Do we really want to set a precedent where the victim is charged for the privilege of having the police investigate a crime?

 

In this case why not. There is a readily available solution, and no real reason not to do it for the big boys. It could be brought in sensitively- for example for the large chain/supermarket retailers, not independents. Then they can decide if the investment is worth the loss of revenue from stores and the costs of tracking down the perpetrators V the investment. Let the market decide.

 

---------- Post added 06-11-2018 at 13:38 ----------

 

If I left a hundred pound item unsecured on my drive, I’m asking for it to be taken. Shops put security tags on relatively low value items, but do nothing to secure their valuable fuel.

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Guest makapaka
Not practical for everyone - you ever filled a motorbike up? I always brim my tank, don't know what it's going to cost until its full

 

Yeah but if you know it’s usually (say £35) you would just prepay say £38 and then only the actual amount is debited (say £36). If you drive off the full £38 is deducted.

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It's not cheap to redevelop a petrol station forecourt, I'd imagine the figures just don't add up vs the cost of a few fuel thefts.

 

Probably written off as a cost of doing business, perhaps they should just have a policy of switching all stations to pay at pump when doing a refurb.

That'd require forward thinking though, not always a strong point.

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In this case why not. There is a readily available solution, and no real reason not to do it for the big boys. It could be brought in sensitively- for example for the large chain/supermarket retailers, not independents. Then they can decide if the investment is worth the loss of revenue from stores and the costs of tracking down the perpetrators V the investment. Let the market decide.

 

---------- Post added 06-11-2018 at 13:38 ----------

 

If I left a hundred pound item unsecured on my drive, I’m asking for it to be taken. Shops put security tags on relatively low value items, but do nothing to secure their valuable fuel.

 

A readily available and financially untenable solution and that makes it okay to blame the victim somehow?

I don't see your logic at all.

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A readily available and financially untenable solution and that makes it okay to blame the victim somehow?

I don't see your logic at all.

 

Who says it’s financially untenable?

The retailers who want to attract you into their store? But are happy for general taxation to pick up the tab when they fail to secure their property?

If I leave my keys in the car and my car is stolen do you think the insurance company would be happy to pay out and not blame me for not taking adequate precautions?

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The independent garages (70% of them) who say that.

 

It's a cost of 20k for a refit. Franchised individual garages probably lose a fraction of that every year and make a fraction of that in profit.

Hence not viable. If it were viable, and likely to increase profit then they'd not need encouraging would they. Capitalism.

Edited by Cyclone

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Slippery slope though, cos you could say that about many things.

 

Instead of charging the victims why not charge the criminal?

Not the paltry ticking off they will get from the courts, charge them for the police time taken to capture and prosecute.

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It's not tricky at all. They block (pre-authorise) £100 on your card.

You then put in fuel, £37.49 for example. They release the block and charge £37.49

They would never pump more than the pre-auth amount, and there's no chance of you stealing it.

This is how pay at pump already works.

 

It's not rocket science is it??

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It's not tricky at all. They block (pre-authorise) £100 on your card.

You then put in fuel, £37.49 for example. They release the block and charge £37.49

They would never pump more than the pre-auth amount, and there's no chance of you stealing it.

This is how pay at pump already works.

 

How does it work if you don't have £100 in your account, and you wanted to put say £30 petrol in your car? Are you not allowed to fill up?

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