Pre-pay pumps to stop drive-offs

Paying for fuel at the pump will soon be the only option at filling stations. The traditional method of handing money to the cashier is being phased out, the Petrol Retailers Association has warned, and could be gone entirely three years from now.

PRA chief Ray Holloway said self-service pumps, such as those used in the US, would help curb drive-offs, which have soared recently in response to rocketing fuel prices.

The new system will also force motorists to switch to plastic, as the pumps will only accept payment by credit or debit card. That’s bad news for the one in three motorists the PRA says still pay for fuel with cash. It argues drivers are sticking with money because it’s increasingly difficult to gain credit, as banks are now more likely to turn down high-risk applicants.

Holloway explained: “The industry’s fuel theft bill has risen by several million pounds a year. One forecourt owner told us he was losing around £1,400 a month from drive-offs! But the new pumps force drivers to pre-pay – as they won’t dispense fuel until a credit card has been inserted into the machine and been approved.”

Motorists already have the option to ‘pay at the pump’, or ‘pre-pay’ for fuel at some supermarket forecourts. But Holloway says all filling stations will have switched to the new technology by 2011.