Rising gasoline prices have led to an increase in the number of drivers trying to leave without paying, with an average of three robbery attempts a day, according to industry experts.
As the cost of filling has skyrocketed in recent weeks, so has the number of incidents in which motorists have left without paying or claiming to have no means of payment.
Figures from Forecourt Eye, a company that collects payments on behalf of some 1,000 garages in the UK, show a 39% increase in default reports between January and May this year.
The company’s chief executive, Nick Fisher, said there were up to 3,000 robbery attempts a day in the places where he works.
The British Oil Security Syndicate (Boss), another organization that pursues debts for petrol retailers, said attempted robberies rose 22% in the first week of June compared to the same period in May.
Claire Nichol, Boss’s chief executive, said: “There is no doubt that there is a link between rising fuel prices and rising fuel crime incidents at the forefront.”
AA spokesman Luke Bosdet said: “When bomb prices hit record highs, stealing fuel from cars and backyards attracts two types of thieves: the desperate and the organized.
“He is robbed of some fuel because the thief is someone who depends on his car, motorbike or scooter to go or do his job, but his finances have been broken by the crisis of the cost of living. Then, stealing fuel becomes an act of despair. And then you have the organized thieves who see that the high price of an essential item is very lucrative and that it is easily sold. “
Forecourt Eye and Boss said more drivers claimed to have forgotten their wallet than to simply leave without paying, a change from what was previously a 50-50 split.
The average cost of refilling a typical family car with petrol was more than £ 100 for the first time this week, in what experts called a “truly dark day” for UK drivers. RAC figures showed that the average price of a liter of petrol reached a record 183.16 pence on Thursday, bringing the average cost of filling a 55-liter family car to £ 101.06. .
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In addition to rising fuel prices, consumers are facing a wider cost-of-living crisis, with rising energy and food bills also putting pressure on budgets.
Rishi Sunak introduced a 5p fuel tax cut in the March March statement to help cut costs, but some activists have said the cut is not passed on to the bombs.
RAC Fuel spokesman Simon Williams accused the government of being “forced to make sure retailers are completely passing the March 5p tax cut”, claiming that this “ignores the fact that wholesale fuel costs have skyrocketed since then. “