Forecourt protection system VARS Technology has reached the milestone figure of one million incidents of vehicles previously blacklisted for fuel theft across the forecourts they protect.
Preventing drive-offs before they happen, VARS has protected retailers from millions of pounds in potential fuel losses. Figures from the RAC Foundation showed that there was a 77% increase in incidents of fuel theft in 2023 compared to the previous year. Over a five-year period, fuel theft incidents have increased fourfold.
Drivers previously failing to pay for fuel from a site protected by VARS, including those that had no means of payment but later failed to rectify the missing payment, are added to a national blacklist. When those vehicles are then recorded by ANPR as entering another protected forecourt, automatic notifications are provided to cashiers which allows them to prevent drive-offs before they happen.
With a blacklist of known offenders shared across all sites, VARS customers are protected by an ever-growing database of vehicles and drivers known to have previously committed fuel theft. Across over 1,300 sites protected by VARS, over 72,000 vehicles have been added to the blacklist.
New No Means of Payment or Drive-Offs can be reported and added to the blacklist in less than two minutes. VARS offers the highest recovery rates in the industry, typically in as little as two weeks.
John Garnett, Director of VARS Technology, said: “Fuel theft is a growing problem for forecourt retailers, so we are very proud of the fact that our customers are increasingly bucking that trend and protecting themselves from Drive-Off incidents.
“As our database of vehicles that have previously committed a Drive-Off continues to grow, forecourts ranging from independent retailers to large chains have a growing additional layer of protection against fuel loss. With many Drive-Offs coming from repeat offenders that target sites where they experience little or no repercussions, they are quickly learning theft from sites protected by VARS results in rapid and effective debt recovery.”
VARS also allows forecourts to manage their available parking, helping to free up spaces for paying customers, and is a fully accredited member of the British Parking Association.
For further details, please contact John McVan at j.mcvan@varstechnology.co.uk
Share this:
