As gas prices spiral, Ontario business owners experience rise in pump-and-dash drivers

With gas prices at an all-time high, there are concerns more people will drive away from the pump without paying. 

Shawn Chaudhry, owner of Parkdale Store and Auto Services in Leamington, Ont., said just this week there have been two thefts of gas at his station.

"Usually we have one or two in a month, but lately we have seen the numbers growing," Chaudhry told CBC News. 

"I understand that it is probably because of the rising gas prices because it's impacting people's purchasing power."

The price of a litre of gasoline at the retail level has hit record highs in many Canadian markets in the last week, soaring to over $1.80 per litre in areas of southwestern Ontario Wednesday. 

Because his business is in a small town, Chaudhry said patrons are able to pump gas before paying if the store authorizes it. They can also prepay. 

Most of the drive-offs have been "honest mistakes," he said, with most people coming back to pay when they realize what they've done. But at times, he's had losses. 

"There are at least 10 to 12 drive-offs that nobody came back to pay, and the OPP asked me if I wanted to lay the charges, but I didn't want to go that strict on this because I believe they have their reasons. And I believe if they have the money they're going to come back later on to pay, that is exactly what I hope." 

To help mitigate some of the theft, Chaudhry has installed cameras at his business to capture the plates of people who drive off after filling up. 

"The best we can do is to be more vigilant and to take extra care, but it's not 100 per cent possible to stop," 

Thousands of thefts each year 

Pulling away from the pump without paying has been an ongoing issue for business owners supplying fuel, according to the head of the Ontario Convenience Stores Association.

Chief executive officer Dave Bryans said there were an estimated 21,000 gas thefts across the province last year — before the price spike.

"Definitely, as the price of gas goes up, more people are dashing and it really hurts the family-run gas stations throughout Ontario as well, because they have to absorb the loss," he said on CBC Radio's Windsor Morning.

"A family gas station's making seven, eight cents a litre. Someone drives off with $70 worth of gas, it takes them all week to recoup their profit."

Bryans wants all customers to be required to pay before they pump. 

Legislation was proposed in 2020 — Bill 231, Protecting Ontarians by Enhancing Gas Station Safety to Prevent Gas and Dash Act — which passed two readings, and was sent to a standing committee where it died when government was prorogued. 

"You only have to have someone, a young child or somebody, killed again with someone driving away, and we'll have a different discussion," said Bryans.

"You know, at $1.83 a litre, you just know more and more people can't afford to fill those tanks, so they're filling them and racing off the highway."

In at least one incident, a 44-year-old gas station attendant died trying to stop a man from driving away without paying for fuel in 2012.