Why don't petrol stations have an exit barrier to stop people driving off without paying?
Posted by FuckingPope@reddit | AskUK | View on Reddit | 185 comments
Sorry if this is a silly question, but I heard on the radio today that drivers leaving petrol stations without paying has gone up loads recently. But i thought that surely an easy fix for that is a barrier, like you get at parking, that would at least lessen the chance of cars driving off without paying? (so attendant inside can lift the barrier after payment is received) Is this a thing in any other countries? Is there a reason it isn't done?
TapeDeckSlick@reddit
They have cameras everywhere so even if somebody does leave they will be found very easily
Limp-Boysenberry1583@reddit
Not with fake plates.
DeifniteProfessional@reddit
I would wager that fake plate fuel theft is not worth the cost of fail-safe barriers, let alone the cost of how much it'd cost in people skipping your station because it's too much effort to wait for an entrance and exit barrier to open (let's face it, you need one at each because nobody stealing fuel is going to just not shove it out the front)
It also creates an uninviting feeling
Training_Yak_4655@reddit
Funny how automated car parks always have an exit barrier, yet for a much smaller cash value risk.
DeifniteProfessional@reddit
Easier than chasing for payment via scary letters to people
Scared-Room-9962@reddit
Or an invisible car
porkmarkets@reddit
You wouldn’t download a car
Ieatsand97@reddit
You wouldn’t download a petrol
shalo62@reddit
You can bet your life I would if I could.
ks_247@reddit
Torrent petrol !
Matterbox@reddit
This is so good.
Snoo63@reddit
I would.
AppropriateDeal1034@reddit
What's to stop them following another car out?
The_Mayor_Involved@reddit
The barrier
AppropriateDeal1034@reddit
You never seen a car park exit with someone sneaking out with the car in front? The barrier is designed to not lower onto a car as it has a sensor. Can't cause thousands in damage to stop someone stealing £50 of fuel. Prepay is the easiest and safest option.
RecentTwo544@reddit
Or real plates but "no fixed address" if you catch my drift.
cryptonuggets1@reddit
To be sure
beernon@reddit
Motorcyclists are also using tricks like ghost letters, magnetic leaves, tilted plates. They can control this with a button if caught to feign ignorance.
GreenShell2014@reddit
I had number plates stolen. After replacing, next time I went to fuel up at Morrisons, they wouldn't activate the pump. Went inside. They said it was coz of the number plate. I told them to look closely at the picture. It clearly wasn't my car. And I had a police report in my email. They let me fuel up after showing them.
Massive-Magician-240@reddit
If it was me stealing the fuel ( I wouldn’t do that kind of stuff ) and the barriers came down I would just sit in my car in front of the barrier until all the paying customers kicked off because they couldn’t leave
No_Macaroon_1627@reddit
An even easier fix is to pay before filling, whether by card at the pump or cash/card in store. It's standard to pay before filling the car in most other countries.
BlokeyBlokeBloke@reddit
I hate that idea. I fill my tank to the brim, rather than put a certain amount of money's worth in at a time.
No_Macaroon_1627@reddit
You could still do it, it would just mean paying a higher amount first, then going in for a refund for any extra money.
khlee_nexus@reddit
Some people would argue that they can't get groceries when the pump holds £99 from their debit card.
JosephStalinho@reddit
For 12 seconds
No_Macaroon_1627@reddit
The solution to that problem is to change banks to one that doesn't hold the money back. I use Santander, they don't block any money in my experience, just the money that was spent.
There is no reason for the pumps/banks keeping any money tied up, as they can check to see if £100 is available without pre charging the card.
khlee_nexus@reddit
They do, and that was the fraud - in the old days someone could present debit with a small balance, take the fuel, and withdraw the money away before the pump can, and the petrol station had to take the loss. That's exactly why pay-at-pump starts to hold £99+ before giving out fuel nowadays.
Santander is either kind enough to not holding your money, or maybe they've written a fine print in their Ts&Cs to force your account into overdraft if that happens.
No_Macaroon_1627@reddit
They do temporarily hold upto £130 for pay at pumps, but upon the transaction completing the release any excess money immediately. As there is no need to keep extra money tied up as the cost of fuel is charged to the account.
Cultural-Meaning5172@reddit
Drivers aren’t know. For obeying the law or rules. They’d just drive out the entry.
Top-Car-808@reddit
they do have exit barriers quite often in italy.
UK petrol stations are covered in cameras.
gorathe@reddit
If it were a serious problem they’d make the pumps pre-pay, like in America. Much cheaper and safer than barriers.
Clothes_Chair_Ghost@reddit
The card payment ones you have to put card in first and you get £99 limit and only charged what you use. Pumps start only after card has been put in. Dunno why they don’t just make all pumps card only. Cause who used cash these days anyway
LemmysCodPiece@reddit
The trouble there is that the £99 limit is too low. That would be about ¾ of a tank in my van.
Bunister@reddit
¾ of a tank in a diesel van is enough fuel to drive literally the length of the entire country.
LemmysCodPiece@reddit
That isn't the point. I would like to fill it.
PuzzleheadedLow4687@reddit
You just put your card in a second time and continue to fill up.
LemmysCodPiece@reddit
Which is a pain in the arse. Why don't they just authorise a larger amount? Lots of cars these day will take more than £99 to fill from nearly empty.
PuzzleheadedLow4687@reddit
Not everyone has that much money in their account/credit limit.
LemmysCodPiece@reddit
I pay using my phone, there is no limit.
terryjuicelawson@reddit
That may be the limit of pre-authorisation anyway, but I do remember they increased it a while back from £50 which really was measly.
bryan_rs@reddit
It’s a truly intractable problem.
Difficult_Egg_4350@reddit
The Morrisons petrol station near me has just removed all the pay at the pump machines on the forecourt. Seems a bit odd really because everyone has to go into the garage, there's always a queue so they've had to put on an extra member of staff, and they're getting fewer cars fuelling per unit of time because each transaction takes longer and putting off people who don't want to mess around queueing etc., in addition to increasing the risk of someone driving off without paying (or accidentally filling up without the means to pay). Surely it's costing them more money than maintaining the machines? Makes no sense to me.
DoorFinch@reddit
Morrisons want you to enter and buy other stuff. It's as simple as that.
Clothes_Chair_Ghost@reddit
That’s wild. Yeah seems very counter productive
terryjuicelawson@reddit
A lot of them with a shop attached likely want people going in as they spend a lot of money on overpriced snacks, more profit in that than petrol.
pip_goes_pop@reddit
I mentioned this on another comment, but my issue is that I often don't have my physical card just my phone for payment, and the pumps at my local petrol station don't support contactless (the kiosk inside does though).
Also when I did have my wallet on me, I'd find my Barclaycard always crashed the Tesco pump so I had to go in anyway!
Hopefully the technology will improve though.
RecentTwo544@reddit
Or just do what they do in Spain, and I believe various other countries, where paying first is just normal.
Solves the problem completely.
Also avoids that really annoying thing where you want to put £20 but it goes to £20.01 no matter how careful you are due to rounding.
Phat-Lines@reddit
You’d be surprised. Definitely not a majority by any means but a fair amount of old people still prefer using cash.
Also some people with mental disabilities find it easier to learn budgeting by primarily using cash, as it’s easier for them to physically see how much they have for the shop.
SanchXX@reddit
Because they still want people to go in and do some shopping as well.
spoo4brains@reddit
While I would like it in theory, in practice there is so much faff with pay at the pump transactions which is made worse by the machines seemingly designed for people 3 foot tall so I have to contort myself down to try and read the screen. Consequently I just go and pay at the kiosk.
Kimbo-BS@reddit
Installing barriers and slowing customers down will cost a lot more than the rare occurance of someone stealing fuel.
And even if they do, their car/appearance/license plate will be caught on camera.
Direct_Armadillo755@reddit
In the US, you can't fuel until after you pay. Pumps automatically shut off when it reaches pre-paid amount.
stm2657@reddit
I don’t know why they don’t have a system where you pay first and can then only dispense the value you paid. Although I guess that stops you filling up your tank fully. I think the barrier idea could work, but might stop the flow a bit which can be very high vehicle-wise.
zero_sevenn@reddit
These exist. My local Texaco does this, but only after 9pm since the shop is closed. A sign is lit up saying “pay first”, you say how much you want to pay and the pump will stop dispensing fuel at the price you paid for it
Should be the norm to prevent drive offs. Seems more efficient
Swimming_Map2412@reddit
Or whist have pay at the pump like petrol stations in Belgium so.
Poonpatch@reddit
What?
draenog_@reddit
I hate this, I normally fill up completely or decide as I'm filling up when I want to stop.
I'd rather the thing they do with pay at pump where they put a hold on your card.
AppropriateDeal1034@reddit
This has got fun lately with diesel prices, I was still on about 1/4 tank today and still cost me £105 with a pre-authorisation of £120
neilbartlett@reddit
That's how it works in America. I was so confused the first time I went through this! I don't know how much petrol will go into the tank, so how do I know how much to pay??
Bunister@reddit
In Thailand you don't even get out of the car. You tell the attendant how much fuel you need and they do it for you and give you a nice cold bottle of water before you drive away. All very civilised.
Neither_Set_3048@reddit
Yeah, but knowing Thailand, you probably have to visit the fuel pump attendants preferred suit shop before they let you leave.
scarby2@reddit
This is how it's done in the USA. Go in $40 on 3 thanks then just pump until it stops. Works pretty well. The only annoying thing is paying cash and putting too much on the pump, then you have to go in again and get the change.
terryjuicelawson@reddit
That's the problem, I wouldn't know how much to put in as I just want it filled up. Pay at pump pre-authorises a card up to £99 (I think) so you just do your thing and it charges the card the right amount on finish. A lot easier.
scarby2@reddit
Well, most places do both, you either pay at pump with the pre-authorization or go inside first for cash/a specific amount.
terryjuicelawson@reddit
Pay at pump is pretty common, my local Asda that is the only way you can do it. The ones with a shop really want people going in as they make more money from expensive purchases there than on fuel.
SavlonWorshipper@reddit
Drive-offs are a solved problem due to pre-payment, but fuel has small profit margins. They want people to enter the shop and make a few purchases, especially high profit items like snacks and drinks. If a driver wants fuel but they have to pre-pay, they will walk in, pay, walk out, fill up, and leave. That doesn't make the retailer much money.
So the retailers decide to rawdog it, and sometimes they get fucked.
Pale_Slide_3463@reddit
Because they take a £100 deposit
Timely_Egg_6827@reddit
They do at night - the problem is that it sets a limit higher than you pay - £100 and it takes ages for excesss to be returned from bank holding to bank account. Also they don't work with all cards - got caught out that way once at an unmanned station.
scarby2@reddit
This is one of the reasons why credit cards are useful. It's just a hold and it doesn't hit your statement balance until the transaction finalizes. Just pay it off every month.
Timely_Egg_6827@reddit
Except the company didn't accept them - they only accepted debit and not of a type I was carrying. Credit is a promise to pay. Thankfully someone with a valid card let me pay them in cash for the petrol as 2am in rural Dorset.
scarby2@reddit
Weird! I've never encounter a station that hasn't taken my card.
Credit may be a promise to pay but as far as the merchant is concerned it's a payment. You're promising to pay the credit card company who pay the merchant irregardless of you paying or not.
Timely_Egg_6827@reddit
This was early days (2010s) and ASDA so maybe I got unlucky. But it was a bad night and memorable as being stranded without petrol on a long trip not needed. When Lidl started up, they didn't accept credit either because of risk of chargebacks. I had a credit card from major bank at that time.
KT180x@reddit
I have used several 'pay at pumps' that wont accept my credit card (completely normal high st bank, not Amex or anything) and only accept debit. Quite common in my experience!
andrew0256@reddit
They do. That's how the pay at the pump systems work, or at least the ones I have used do.
ComeHereUk@reddit
And the pay at kiosk and then use the pump sites.
celem83@reddit
Reading license plates using the cameras on the forecourts has been a thing we've been able to do for about 25 years.
You just let them go and prosecute based on the vehicle registration. If the car is stolen thats just a loss for the gas station, but a loss thats likely less than having an attendant or installing such a gating system
gridlockmain1@reddit
Is it a safety thing because of potential fires?
velos85@reddit
It's exactly this.
Zestyclose_Key_6964@reddit
And wasps too, wasps will not pass over a safety barrier. This, combined with their love of hydrocarbons is also a very important reason why they don’t have barriers.
Matterbox@reddit
Wasps absolutely love cured meats. Bacon and especially Parma ham. Love hand feeding wasps in the Summer. They are also partial to a little scrumpy cider. Not the best after a few though. Bit stabby.
imtheorangeycenter@reddit
Is it wasps that have chewed the plastic cap away on my petrol casinster AND the identical cap on my lawn mower at the other end of the garden?
I was stumped, but now it's clear.
Zestyclose_Key_6964@reddit
It’s always the shitting wasps fault
imtheorangeycenter@reddit
Martin!!!
DoIKnowYouHuman@reddit
Tonybham01@reddit
That may be a reason but it doesn’t stand scrutiny. When fitted said barriers simply need to be connected to the fire detection system. When fire is detected they fail safe automatically, just like fire doors in buildings.
Buddy-Matt@reddit
Doors in buildings are held closed by electricity. If the power goes out in a fire the lock fails and they open.
Barriers are typically held down by gravity and raise by electricity. If the power goes out in a fire the barrier fails and it closes.
They are not the same.
And yes, im aware barriers can be built that a driver cam crash through in an emergency, but 1) such an easily defeated barrier makes in pointless at keeping wrong'uns in anf 2) judging by the amount of people who get stuck on a level crossing and chose to face the train and not the barrier, I dont fancy my chances when Grandma Gurney is first in line to evacuate when the 4 star ignites.
Tonybham01@reddit
I’m not even going there As you agree it CAN be done. We are not discussing economics but technology. Thank you and good luck
Ieatsand97@reddit
How do you suppose a barrier that has to lift up with motors to fail safe? Surely if it fails it will shut.
Unless it defaults up, but then the staff will need to be pretty quick about detecting it.
Furthermore, if they just break away, like other types of barriers, can’t the thieves just drive into them.
And if the fire alarm system would open the barrier, whats stopping the criminals from setting off the alarm and driving straight out.
930913@reddit
It's not too difficult. You just make the motor hold the barrier down instead. Any failure and they will naturally open.
DoctorOctagonapus@reddit
Is that even a thing though? I can't think of anywhere I've ever seen a barrier that opens when power is cut.
Tonybham01@reddit
Barriers can be made to fail safe automatically. They already exist in some car parks within buildings.
As for thieves breaking them, let’s be clear. I am NOT arguing in favour of barriers. I responded to the post stating that it wouldn’t work, when technically it can be made to work.
TheAngryBad@reddit
A spring holds the barrier upright and a motor/electromagnet system keeps it down when needed.
As you say, there are still loads of issues and overall not really a workable solution in most cases.
Brewer6066@reddit
The thing is buildings need doors. Petrol stations don’t need barriers.
Tonybham01@reddit
That may be true. However, I was responding to the post stating that fire would be a factor against installing them. Technically the fire problem would not be an issue.
Brewer6066@reddit
But it’s a risk where there doesn’t need to be one.
Tonybham01@reddit
I’m not arguing with you. I’m just saying that it’s technically possible.
Brewer6066@reddit
And I’m just saying that it’s probably not a sensible option in the scenario we’ve been presented with.
Tonybham01@reddit
I’m not even disputing what you are saying. In fact I’m not even suggesting that it is sensible. I’m saying that it’s technically possible.
RudeHelicopter4662@reddit
If there’s a fire, you run away. You don’t hop in your car and form an orderly queue to leave.
UnacceptableUse@reddit
If there was a fire surely you could just drive through the barrier or maybe leave on foot?
Brewer6066@reddit
And people who can’t walk?
UnacceptableUse@reddit
How do they get out of anywhere else that has barriers?
Brewer6066@reddit
How often do they need to immediately leave somewhere because of a petrol fire? Why introduce risk by having a barrier when we have good ways of tracing people who leave without payment.
WhichLettuce8944@reddit
A barrier is quite useless if you can drive through it.
UnacceptableUse@reddit
Seems to work fine for car parks
AllThatIHaveDone@reddit
Not really. A simple chain can easily be driven through, but I think most drivers would hesitate to do so outside of an emergency.
Thursite@reddit
I think many drivers would hesitate even in an emergency to damage their cars like that, and that hesitation can be deadly
JonJo42@reddit
A friend’s daughter works part time in a petrol station (Uni job) and she mentioned last week that the number of drive aways has dramatically increased at her petrol station in the last month.
It’s gone from one or two per week to ten over a week. The owners advised her the same is happening at their other petrol stations too, so they are going to start a payment in advance system as soon the tills are re-programmed and the pumps adapted.
Death_God_Ryuk@reddit
Do they ban the numberplates after each drive-off? I.e. is that 10 new people/cars/plates each week?
Unusual-Art2288@reddit
Maybe make u pay before you get the fuel.
Bigtallanddopey@reddit
Every petrol station has the ability to take up front payment like they do in many other countries. It would be a cultural shift, but I could see it coming in. I worked in a petrol station years ago, when fuel was “cheap” and we had at least one drive off daily.
IranianAlan@reddit
It would be chaos when it breaks, plus people go in for other stuff like car wash sweets etc
will1565@reddit
Eventually most garages will have to go pre paid, like america.
Snoo93102@reddit
CCTV all they need is the licence plate.
fester@reddit
A fuel station near me has fitted an automatic retractable spike strip to the exit. If the spot you trying to drive off with paying, four flat tyres soon stops you
ASGT908@reddit
The better option is what some fuel stations do (such as Costco) and that is paying for fuel prior to the pumps dispensing fuel to the user. Only downside is that the footfall into the shop will significantly reduce so people can't impulse buy a snack at a price with a higher markup than a normal shop.
Healthy_Spite_2334@reddit
because we are civilised.
Fermanagh_Red@reddit
Making all pump's pre paid seems the answer
spaceshipcommander@reddit
Because it's just not an issue. Same reason that supermarkets don't check your pockets before you leave.
Not_Sugden@reddit
To be honest its a bit surprising to me that we havent taken up the pay first fuel after way like the americans. Its not like its that crazy and would lessen the risk by limiting it to fraudulent payment methods and I guess hijacking someone elses pump
_real_ooliver_@reddit
I suppose with ANPR we just don't need to bother with the conflict at site. Deal with them later and don't risk the employees at the station.
You'd need an entrance barrier too and all that otherwise you just reverse
Neither_Set_3048@reddit
Couldn’t you just have those spikes you can drive forward over but can’t go back over. I’m not suggesting the barrier is a good idea though.
MiddleEarthFoak@reddit
And what magical person will go out and challenge these people while getting minimum wage?
Lots-o-bots@reddit
Most barriers like are only there to psycologically disuade people from crossing. Barriers in dangerous areas like on level crossings are even designed to break controllably if impacted as a safety feature so that nobody gets stuck on the tracks when they come down. Id imagine barriers on a forecourt would have to be the same in case there was an emergency and people needed to get away quickly.
While their psycological affect is usually enough for most people, if you are already committed to stealing fuel then you would probably just ram through them.
FornyHucker22@reddit
Fuel thefts are rare, they have the car details so unless the car is stolen too they won’t be getting away with it.
if the car is stolen they would probably just drive through a flimsy barrier anyway
Doughnut2220@reddit
Or they could make the pumps pre-pay only.
jimicus@reddit
They’ve got a cheaper system.
Those cameras? They’re ANPR. Have been for some time. If you don’t pay, your number plate goes on a blacklist shared by thousands of petrol stations and it doesn’t come off until you settle up.
All a bit dystopian, really.
Otherwise-Plane8282@reddit
One of the petrol stations near me used to have retractable spikes on the exit which I thought was a good idea but due to people complaining they had to take them out
LondonTownGeeza@reddit
Barriers come with high liability issues, cameras do not.
SithoDude@reddit
What about harpoon guns?
Scared_Cricket3265@reddit
What about an ED209 off Robocop?
Scared_Cricket3265@reddit
What about an ED209 off Robocop?
thetrivialstuff@reddit
This is a completely solved problem in Canada (I travel back and forth a lot) - all the pumps there have payment terminals in them, and you present your card for preauth amount before the pump will dispense anything (it defaults to more than enough to fill a tank, but you can set it to whatever you want). Then it only charges you for what you actually pumped, and you can drive off without having to interact with anyone.
I know there are a few stations here that have the option to do it that way; I'm not really clear on why it isn't the standard.
Camoxide2@reddit
Unless it’s an unmanned station they don’t really want you paying at the pump, they want you to come into the shop and buy something whilst you’re there.
pip_goes_pop@reddit
I thought it was an option at most pumps in the UK already to be honest - either by app (BP, Shell) or card at the pump. The Tesco I get fuel from certainly has it. The preauth amount is £100 I think.
The main difference from what you're saying though is that it's all optional. I.e. you can still choose to fill up and pay after in the kiosk if you want to.
The only thing stopping me from using pay at pump is that I often don't have my wallet now, and the Tesco pumps by me only take physical cards not contactless (so no Apple Pay). I think they might be looking to upgrade them to contactless though which would be good.
The UK has always been quite different to the US and Canada though, in that I remember doing trips there where you had to go in to the kiosk and pay for an amount of fuel up front, then go back and fill up. Always seemed a bit backwards to me as how would you know how much you needed!
ApexChaser1@reddit
I guess its the upgrade cost of the pumps. However our local Tesco is fully pay at pump. The Kiosk closed down around covid time and never re-opened.
terryjuicelawson@reddit
Probably be more effort and put off more customers than the petrol they lose through theft. Some is genuine mistakes from people too, which they can recover fairly easily.
cypherdious@reddit
For safety?
escapingfromelba@reddit
it is a silly question. Loads of people are coming and going all day and in vehicles of different sizes so it would snarl up the forecourt.
Latter-Tangerine-951@reddit
Ridiculous solution to a practically non existent problem.
QuietIllustrious4475@reddit
The answer to this question is incredibly simple. You pay for your fuel before you fill up. Lots of countries do it. It’s because of greed, companies want you going in to their shop and buying god knows what as well as the fuel.
deltree000@reddit
No barriers, but many moons ago Savacenter in Reading used to only have kiosks. As in you'd pump your fuel and pay via a drive-thru kiosk on the way out. Hardly every any queues because somebody decided to do their weekly shop before paying for their fuel.
suhailolas@reddit
ANPR cameras mainly.
Metalicks@reddit
Because they have your registration on camera when you pull up.
beejiu@reddit
Only 0.2% of petrol is stolen. It makes good headlines, but it's a small problem that's already dealt with via ANPR etc.
yorkspirate@reddit
A lot of petrol stations are both insured for it and have a certain loss built in to their business model same as shoplifting. The bigger problem is people stealing 100's of litres a time not the person taking a tank
Less_Party@reddit
It's simply not necessary, they have your plates on video so they can just send a bill.
cheltenhamcbt@reddit
not every petrol station has a one way system
Mr-Incy@reddit
It is pretty obvious why drive offs have increased, over the last few weeks fuel price has gone up a lot, in my area the cost of diesel is 40p more per litre than it was before some orange gibbon started throwing his toys around.
Barriers would just cause more problems and delays.
Prepay would be the way to go, although you may still get one or two people who didn't want to pay deciding to use some form of threat towards the person who activates the pump.
SimpleExpress2323@reddit
A petrol station near me had a row of spikes (like a stinger) which could be activated by the staff in the event of non payment.
They removed it a good 15 years ago.
MGSC_1726@reddit
Or get a receipt after payment that you can scan to open them up
moanybastard@reddit
They could just use prepay if they really wanted.
Own-Jeweler3169@reddit
Yes they already do at 24/7 pumps, makes sense tbh but I would be knid of annoyed if I wanted to fill up £50 but a 100 hold was added, I know they release it fairly quickly but still. It's just baffling that people would try it, they have your plate.
draenog_@reddit
I'm assuming that a good chunk of the people who do it are on cloned plates, because it makes no sense otherwise.
I saw someone speed off after filling up with over a hundred quid's worth of fuel the other week. It was a well-lit BP forecourt with obvious and pretty modern looking CCTV cameras right in front of every lane. They clearly didn't care that their plates were visible, which I guess means that they were either an idiot who didn't realise their car could be traced, or they didn't care because the plate isn't registered to them.
Own-Jeweler3169@reddit
perhaps, but I feel like the cost of having the gates and their associated problems, would outweigh the pros. Tbh I am sure they will do it eventually, as things get worse for people - don't fix the root cause, just punish the people more!
draenog_@reddit
Oh, don't get me wrong, I'm not arguing in favour of gates, I think that's daft.
Competitive_Rub_9590@reddit
I combination of safety in the event of a fire and the vast majority of stations have ANPR so if you haven’t paid you’ll get the bill and fine in the post
MaxBulla@reddit
easiest option is what they do on motorways in Belgium etc. Before you can get any petrol / diesel out you have to pay (preauthorise something vaguely a tank full). once payment is made your tipple of choice is flowing.
Additional-Guard-211@reddit
Capitalism: you lose less money by not having barrier vs the settlement costs of an innocent person dying in a fire because they couldn’t get away because the barrier wouldn’t work and that regulators at other would not be happy with this and this would look bad. Ultimately, its money.
Sweet-Pay8539@reddit
Because people intent on not paying would just drive straight through the barrier. Even barriers at level crossings can’t stop vehicles.
jon81uk@reddit
Asda used to, you’d pump the fuel and then drive forward to a kiosk, pay and they lift the barrier.
It was eliminated with pay at pump taking over meaning no staff required.
La-Orange@reddit
I think my local Asda did, many years ago. It definitely had a lady in a little booth you had to pay before leaving, if not a barrier. I think they got rid of her to save money. It's all Pay at Pump now
yorkspirate@reddit
I'm sure Asda in derby (spondon) had this and I've seen one in hull the same
Ezika7@reddit
Probably not the kind of place you want these morons panicking and ramming everything in sight trying to escape.
Drath101@reddit
It would have to be manually activated due to fuel safety. I've managed in quite a few different retail environments and I would never end up activating this because either they'd smash through it, or worse they come in and I end up with 3 blokes and a tyre wrench they have for "totally legitimate" purposes threatening to kick my head in over it
JonJo42@reddit
A friend’s daughter works part time in a petrol station (Uni job) and she mentioned last week that the number of drive aways has dramatically increased at her petrol station in the last month.
It’s gone from one or two per week to ten over a week. The owners advised her the same is happening at their other petrol stations too, so they are going to start a payment in advance system as soon the tills are re-programmed and the pumps adapted.
JonJo42@reddit
A friend’s daughter works part time in a petrol station (Uni job) and she mentioned last week that the number of drive aways has dramatically increased at her petrol station in the last month.
It’s gone from one or two per week to ten over a week. The owners advised her the same is happening at their other petrol stations too, so they are going to start a payment in advance system as soon the tills are re-programmed and the pumps adapted.
L-0-T-H-0-S@reddit
Many stations use Automatic Number Plate Recognition (ANPR). If a car with a history of drive-offs enters the forecourt, the system alerts the attendant, who can block the pump before fuel is even dispensed - putting a physical barrier in the way of the exit just causes further tailbacks onto the main road leading onto the forecourt.
This coupled with fire regs means barriers at the exit aren't on the table as a viable option to begin with.
JonJo42@reddit
A friend’s daughter works part time in a petrol station (Uni job) and she mentioned last week that the number of drive aways has dramatically increased at her petrol station in the last month.
It’s gone from one or two per week to ten over a week. The owners advised her the same is happening at their other petrol stations too, so they are going to start a payment in advance system as soon the tills are re-programmed and the pumps adapted.
Hopeful_chap@reddit
I assume that the added cost of that would be more than the irrecoverable losses from theft. They also have to factor in the customer experience. Make it awkward and even thebhonest customers may pick the alternative option that doesn't have annoying barriers to wait for as they leave.
titlrequired@reddit
Can you imagine the chaos that would cause? People can’t even follow signs like ‘no smoking’ in a petrol station.
10642alh@reddit
We have barriers in some of the petrol stations where I live in Granada.
snavej1@reddit
I heard that petrol stations have low profit margins. It might not be worth installing barriers. Yet.
ZT0141@reddit
Probably a safety thing due to petrol forecourts being hazardous areas. Also we’ve traditionally lived in a trust based culture where more times than not people choose to do the right things.
beejiu@reddit
Only 6,500 litres per day are stolen out of 46 million litres sold. Or 0.014%, <£1k a day for the entire country. It makes a good headline, but it's not a problem.
bryan_rs@reddit
An even easier fix would be pay first, fuel after.
Mysterious_County154@reddit
Safety
DefinitelyNotEmu@reddit
If someone was determined to drive off without paying then a barrier would not stop them
missuseme@reddit
Barriers need fairly frequent maintenance, break down and would likely be hit accidentally fairly often.
Increased maintenance costs, pumps out of actions while the barrier is out of order/stuck down also pumps out of action while service visits take place.
The petrol stations would still want cameras anyway so it's not like they could save on CCTV costs with barriers, it would just be additional cost.
onionsareawful@reddit
In most other countries you pay for your fuel before dispensing. If irrecoverable theft was a major loss I assume petrol stations would switch to being entire pay at pump, or pay at pump + prepay in store.
Gary_BBGames@reddit
They're already on camera.
Barrier would slow down traffic, fuel sales, as pumps wont clear as quickly.
If you're prepared to drive off without paying then you're prepared to drive around, or through, a barrier. If done slowly it wouldn't cause damage.
What are you going to do as a petrol station attendant with the possibly angry criminal that has been caught whilst waiting 48-72 hours for the police?
swifftie@reddit
It can already take a long time for an attendant to even authorize the pump, I really don't want to be waiting just as long to leave, especially when busy. Incredibly annoying too if the barrier breaks.
There's really not that many people driving off. It may have gone up but I can't imagine it's anywhere close to where it actually eats into profitability.
Real_Burny@reddit
Cameras on all my local petrol stations
patrickb1920@reddit
Good idea, makes total sense. and would probably have saved the £2k that poor sod who runs the 5 fuel stations lost the other week.
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