Vars Technology says its ANPR system is robust – so much so that it is the only forecourt solution that holds “police-preferred specification”.
Its announcement follows a story in The Guardian at the weekend, which claimed the tech firm has been issuing ‘false fuel theft debts’. The newspaper cited two cases where drivers said they had paid for their fuel but were still issued with fuel theft notices.
A Vars Technology spokesperson says: “We are sent thousands of claims by forecourt operators every week following drive-offs, reaching up to 400 claims a day during busy periods. The overwhelming majority of those claims are settled promptly and accurately. When errors do happen and are flagged up to us via our appeals process, we make every effort to resolve them as quickly and fairly as possible.
“Our ANPR is used to protect forecourts from blacklisted vehicles, while drive-off claims are submitted to us by forecourt staff. The idea that our ANPR wrongly issues drive-off claims is incorrect, as it isn’t and has never been used in that way.
“We are proud of the system we have built and the work we do protecting forecourts and recovering the money that is rightfully owed to them. Drive-offs are a huge problem for thousands of forecourts across the UK, and through working with us millions of pounds of that money is recovered and paid back to them. Every penny we recover goes straight back to the forecourts it is owed to.
“The many testimonials we have received from our customers show how highly they value the support we provide for them. Our system holds multiple accreditations following rigorous testing for accuracy, including being the only forecourt ANPR system to hold police preferred specification.”
