VARS takes further action against forecourt drive-offs
FORECOURT protection firm VARS Technology has received special accreditation that will allow it to perform digital requests to the DVLA records to aid in the recovery of fuel costs following drive offs.
Following permission from the Police Crime Prevention Initiative, VARS will now be able to make use of the DVLA’s Keeper at Date of Event (KADOE) digital system to help significantly reduce the time between a drive-off occurring at a forecourt and the money being returned to operators.
The DVLA previously worked on a paper-based system to deal with drive-off situations, which could result in a lengthy process to recover the stolen money to forecourt operators. Now, with the proper accreditation, VARS can help these retailers to speed up the process significantly via the digital KADOE system.
Furthermore, there are no current plans for the DVLA to open the KADOE link to operators, meaning working with an accredited partner, such as VARS Tech, will provide a faster and more efficient way to recover stole fuel costs at forecourts.
And this has been a rising problem with many forecourt operators as of late, says VARS. According to Freedom of Information requests the firm has cited, around £6.55million in stolen fuel costs were reported to the police in the last five years alone but, with many forecourt operators no longer reporting drive offs, the real figures could be much higher.
VARS Tech said that it manages to recover around £3million in stolen fuel costs annually for fuel retailers and, now with access to KADOE, this number could increase.
John Garnett, director at VARS Technology, said: “We have a great working relationship with the DVLA, and access to KADOE means that we can now return fuel money rightfully owed to petrol stations faster and more efficiently than ever before.
“With 40 current employees the testing and vetting procedure required for accreditation did take some time, but we are delighted to have been awarded it.
“As well as allowing us to provide a better service to forecourt customers, a streamlined process also provides a smoother process for drivers as they are notified of any charges more quickly.”
