Baltej Singh Dhaliwal owns a petrol station in Auckland\u2019s M\u0101ngere and said his staff looked at customers before turning on the pump.<\/p>\n
Rising fuel costs are adding $80 weekly to some family budgets, straining finances. Photo \/ Getty Images<\/p>\n
\u201cWe are pushing the staff to see every customer before opening the pump,\u201d he said.<\/p>\n
\u201cWe\u2019re trying to put the risk down … we can control the risk, we can control the loss.\u201d<\/p>\n
But recently, it backfired.<\/p>\n
\u201cThere was a nice Mitsubishi Outlander came to the site, it was a new one with the logo of Alert Taxi,\u201d Dhaliwal said.<\/p>\n
\u201cThe driver was fully suited and then he filled the petrol, filled the tank nearly $200, and he just ran off.\u201d<\/p>\n
Dhaliwal called the taxi company, who told him the licence plate didn\u2019t belong to any of its drivers.<\/p>\n
Pre-pay not a simple solution<\/p>\n
Police Assistant Commissioner Tusha Penny told RNZ tips from the public were helpful to catch thieves.<\/p>\n
\u201cWe\u2019re just saying it\u2019s a zero tolerance, because whilst you said some people may not be able to afford petrol, we\u2019ve also got to be cognisant,\u201d she said.<\/p>\n
\u201cWhat we\u2019re seeing is thefts from families who need to get their kids to school, thefts from businesses who are doing their best to survive and thefts from farmers who some would say are the backbone for what we do in this country.\u201d<\/p>\n
She said more stations needed to move to pre-pay only, but the Motor Trade Association\u2019s Simon Bradwell said it was not that simple.<\/p>\n
\u201cWhilst that might reduce theft at the pump, it greatly impacts on the business\u2019s profitability and operation,\u201d<\/a> he said.<\/p>\n \u201cA lot of service stations depend on people coming through the door to pay at the counter, pick up some milk, pick up some bread, that revenue is super important.\u201d<\/p>\n Another petrol station owner, Amit Khanna in Hamilton, agreed.<\/p>\n \u201cIf there are 500 customers coming into my station every day, there are only four or five who are the bad customers,\u201d he said.<\/p>\n \u201cWhy are the 495 people being asked to go on pre-pay because of those five, why can\u2019t police take action against those five people?\u201d<\/p>\n Khanna said one drive-off and the day\u2019s earnings were gone.<\/p>\n \u201cWe are small business owners, we\u2019re not big corporates, we\u2019re franchisee owners of gas stations,\u201d he said.<\/p>\n \u201cThe big companies are taking all the profits, we are being given only something to keep operating.\u201d<\/p>\n Family budgets take a hit<\/p>\n Tamaki Budgeting manager Alyson De Marco said the rising prices are adding about $80 a week to the budget of some families.<\/p>\n \u201cA lot are behind in their power bills, for example, or they\u2019re worried because they haven\u2019t got enough money for rent, because they\u2019ve had to spend it on that immediate purchase, which will be petrol and food.\u201d<\/p>\n Henderson Budget Service chief executive Tracey Phillips said it had its busiest month in March.<\/p>\n \u201cOn an average month, we would receive maybe 60 new referrals a month… in March it was over 90.\u201d<\/p>\n Phillips said there needed to be sustainable funding for financial mentors.<\/p>\n \u201cWe operate on a short-term funding basis and there\u2019s a big need for us to change the way that the sector is funded so we can have more longer-term, sustainable funding in order to be able to be really confident that we can continue to offer this service to people,\u201d she said.<\/p>\n \u201cNow more than ever, it\u2019s really, really needed.\u201d<\/p>\n De Marco said the situation was incredibly tough.<\/p>\n \u201cThere are lots of reasons why people are actually still out on the road driving, but it\u2019s adding phenomenal amounts of money to the family budget,\u201d De Marco said.<\/p>\n This story was first published on rnz.co.nz<\/a><\/p>\nPolice report there has been 100 extra drive-offs weekly since March and they are urging businesses to use pre-pay systems at pumps.<\/p>\n