- +23%: Total incidents (Drive Offs and No Means of Payment declarations)
- +28%: Total volume of fuel taken
- +54%: Total value of fuel taken (includes approx. 20% price increase impact)
- +25%: First time offenders (incidents involving unique vehicle registrations)
Fuel theft across UK forecourts continues to rise, with latest figures showing sharp increases in the number of incidents, and both the volume and value of fuel taken, following the jump in pump prices since the Iran conflict.
No Means of Payment (NMOP) incidents – where motorists fill up and then claim they cannot pay – are continuing to grow significantly faster than traditional drive-offs, according to fuel crime prevention platform Forecourt Eye.
According to Michelle Henchoz, Managing Director of the Leeds-based company, which also helps forecourts recover outstanding no means of payment debts, the figures show a concerning trend.
She said: "Fuel theft and declarations of no means of payment incidents are not levelling off, they grew again from March to April.
“The no means of payment figures in particular tell us that more people are taking more fuel using this mechanism, and fewer of them are paying afterwards.
“This is a pattern we need to take seriously as an industry because it suggests there may be a deliberate exploitation of the civil/criminal threshold, not simply financial distress.”
Drawn from a representative sample of 500 forecourt sites across England, Scotland and Wales, the research shows 11,170 theft incidents in March-April, up from 9,089 in January-February, an increase of 23%. The total volume of fuel stolen rose 28%, from 336,848 litres to 432,409 litres across the forecourt sites reviewed.
Forecourt Eye’s network covers approximately one in five UK fuel sites, but when the figures are extrapolated across the approximately 8,300 forecourts nationally, the picture is stark.
Henchoz explained: “Prior to the spike in fuel prices, an average UK forecourt was experiencing around two incidents every week.
“This figure has now risen to three every week and, based on April’s numbers being higher than March, the trend is pointing to a further increase in the order of a possible one incident every other day.
“It highlights the very real challenge that forecourt staff are facing on the frontline, who we know from feedback are also facing increasing frustration and abuse from drivers about rising prices.”
She added: “When it comes to the volume of fuel being taken, a typical UK forecourt is now losing around 100 litres of fuel every week to drive-off and No Means of Payment incidents, which is up from around 80 litres before the Iran conflict began.”
Overall Findings: January/February vs March/April 2026
Jan–Feb 2026 Mar–Apr 2026 Change
- Total theft incidents 9,089 11,170 +23%
- Total fuel volume stolen 336,848 litres 432,409 litres +28%
- Total value of fuel stolen £495,083 £764,098 +54%
Note: The 54% value increase reflects both the 28% rise in volume stolen and fuel price increases of approximately 20% during the period.
NMOP: The Fastest-Growing Category (Jan/Feb vs. Mar/Apr)
No Means of Payment (NMOP) incidents, in which a driver fills their tank and then tells forecourt staff they are unable to pay, are growing significantly faster than traditional drive-offs across every metric:
NMOP Change Drive-Off Change
- Incidents +30% +20%
- Fuel volume +48% +17%
- Fuel value +81% +39%
- Volume per incident +14% (50L → 57L) -3% (32L → 31L)
NMOP incidents are not only more frequent, drivers are taking larger quantities of fuel per incident. The average volume per NMOP event increased from 50 litres to 57 litres, while drive-off volumes remained essentially flat.
Repeat and First-Time Offenders Both Rising (Jan/Feb vs. Mar/Apr)
Repeat offender (RO) activity increased substantially:
- RO incidents: +18% (2,980 to 3,514)
- RO fuel volume: +21% (119,127 to 143,744 litres)
- RO fuel value: +45% (£174,609 to £253,209)
However, first-time offenders, tracked by unique vehicle registrations, account for the majority of the increase:
- Unique registration incidents: +25% (6,109 to 7,656)
- Unique reg fuel volume: +33% (217,722 to 288,665 litres)
- Unique reg fuel value: +59% (£320,474 to £510,889)