Instances of non-payment at petrol stations (FOI)

​Request

Could you tell me how many reports there have been of people not paying for fuel at petrol stations in Jersey over the past 10 years? If you also break this down by the price of the fuel that hasn't been paid for.

Response

Since September 2007, the States of Jersey police have taken 93 calls from petrol stations where a driver has left the station without paying for the fuel received/taken. In the vast majority of these cases, police have contacted the driver who has then returned to the forecourt to pay. On most occasions, the driver has bought something else in the shop and forgotten to pay for their fuel or attended the cash point and then left without going to the till. Whilst it is entirely feasible that some drivers may be ‘trying to evade payment’, each garage forecourt is fitted with CCTV, so police involvement is inevitable. Where there has been an obvious attempt to evade payment, prosecution will follow, however, when evidence of the driver’s intent is questionable, the method adopted ensures the garage receives payment and public monies are not wasted on failed prosecutions.

In 2015, a driver put £20 worth of petrol into a car and then drove off without making any attempt to pay. He was later found to be driving without a licence and insurance. He was convicted of the three offences and sentenced to 130 hours of community service and banned from driving (40 hours for failing to pay for fuel).

The price of the fuel reported unpaid for is in the following proportions:
(Based on a 50% sample of the incidents)