We are all aware that the police and the Crown Prosecution Service (CPS) will not take any action over a single No Means of Payment (NMoP) incident as it is a civil matter. Some debtors, who think they have got away with it once, are then tempted to try again, and then again.

The police do not record incidents where drivers claim to have NMoP on any national database and so can’t identify repeat offenders. We also know that police resources to investigate low-value incidents, such as NMoPs, will always be limited. However, Payment Watch does monitor thousands of incidents that have been reported and, through careful analysis, we are able to identify multiple offenders.

We then compile information packs about individual offenders and forward these to Action Fraud. The result has been numerous successful prosecutions. Our work with Action Fraud is a great example of BOSS, retailers and prosecution services working together. It’s not possible to know when an NMoP incident occurs whether it will become part of an evidence pack at a later stage. So, it’s very important that full and accurate information is supplied by the retailer in every case, using either the BOSS paper-based process or our Electronic Reporting System.

We’ve carefully designed the forms that collect evidence so they give all the necessary information. If any of the information supplied is incorrect, or missing, it will undermine the credibility of the evidence pack and reduce the chance of a successful outcome. That is why we must emphasise how important it is to ensure that all the details are completed. Improving the standard of reporting will help improve our prosecution successes, reduce crime and enable more money to be returned to retailers. Where there is clear evidence of fraud, or theft, then service station staff must provide clear and accurate documentation in a timely manner. Without this, enforcement agencies can dismiss or decline to progress a case but by supplying good written and clear evidence with images we are more likely to recover money for retailers. Please help us to help you.

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