Drive-off incidents fall over 30% in first two weeks of 2021

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Forecourt operators saw ‘drive-off’ incidents fall by 31.5% during the first two weeks of the third National lockdown, new research reveals.

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However, the data from the British Oil Security Syndicate (BOSS) shows ‘no means of payment’ incidents only fell by 16.5%. The data compares reports of forecourt crime incidents during the first two weeks of December 2020 with reports submitted to BOSS during the first two weeks of January 2021.

Kevin Eastwood, executive director at BOSS, said: “Fuel sales have decline by around one third during the latest lockdown and the decline in drive-off incidents is in line with this reduction and this continues the trend that has seen the volume of drive off crime incidents reduce. However, incidents of ‘no means of payment’, which only fell by 16.5%, indicates that it is becoming the dominant forecourt crime incident type in the UK.

“We would urge forecourt retailers to remain vigilant and, where incidents do occur, that they diligently record details so that those who deliberately evade payment can be followed up and money returned to forecourt retailers.”

During the latest National lockdown BOSS has again deployed its resilience procedures to ensure that the BOSS Payment Watch scheme continues to operate. The service is available 24 hours a day and allows retailers to report incidents of ‘drive-off’ and ‘no means of payment’ via an online portal. The digital service enables forecourt operators to monitor the status of live incidents and analyse trends.

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