Petrol theft: Number driving off without paying on the rise

The number of people driving off without paying for their petrol has spiked in recent years according to figures obtained by 1News.

The figures, obtained under the Official Information Act (OIA), show that after a slight drop at the start of the pandemic, there was a spike in reported incidents in 2022, and it’s only become worse since then.

Last year there were 27,782 reported petrol thefts at the pump, according to the OIA figures from police

"Fuel crime very much directly relates to financial stress," says Motor Trade Association chief executive Lee Marshall.

One petrol station owner, who did not want to be identified, said the thefts were happening at least twice a week, taking a big toll on his business.

"People think that when they're stealing the fuel they're stealing from a big company, but it's not a big company, we are individual operators working just like everyone else, we have big investments in our business, and when it happens, it hurts."

Lester Gray, the owner of Caltex Ōpōtiki, said the cost of petrol theft to his business is huge, particularly over busy holiday periods.

"It's just got crazy, the little swines driving their cars into their service stations and taking next to nothing, but causing 20 grand's worth of damage.

"Most fuel franchises are operating on a 3 to 4% margin, so if someone has for example $7000 worth of fuel stolen in a year they may have to sell $150,000 worth of fuel to pay back that loss," said Marshall.

Pre-pay models have become a popular solution, but some owners are reluctant to use them, fearful that it will erode customer trust and drive them away.

In a statement police said: "Our efforts are on holding the most prolific retail offenders to account, and those who are undertaking brazen and harmful retail offending, such as ram raids and aggravated robbery".