tracker

my van is fitted with the sargent tracker, and i am wondering if this is worth the annual subscription. i understand the efficacy of a tracker but,( and i might be wrong, ) this model requires me to inform the police and get a crime number before its tracked. with previous vans with fitted trackers any untoward movement and i got an immediate phone response. and police were informed by company.
i don't store my van away from home but for those who do, how do you keep tabs on van? asking for a friend  happy days.

To begin with, Is a tracker a requirement for your insurance?

Same as mine Doog.  

Generally takes about 10 seconds after the engine starts or the van moves before I get a text.  In saying that, I forgot to turn of the ring-fencing last week when I went to get LPG and left the phone in the house (DOH!!) - if the company had contacted the police themselves I could have had the police chasing me up the road for being absent-minded.

I had the Sargent tracking centre ring me while I was driving the van once, to ask if it was me driving the van.

I'm wondering whether to renew, now it's gone up to £135, which also covers the cost of the data SIM for ASMonitor I believe (otherwise that's £45 per year after the 3 years is up). I need to check if the insurance requires it, and if not, how much discount it's earning me. It's really there for the insurance company's benefit IMO. If it's stolen, I'd just as soon have the money.

Dbvwt. they wanted a tracker but do not recognise sargent on their list. they said fit a tracker if you like but this  will not  affect the cover or the premium.
i have now paid the sargent subscription for this year. what a caper.

C&MHC insurance recognise the Sargent tracker but call it a Swift Command or something similar, it gives a minor reduction

The Sargent is a Cat 7 Thatcham approved tracker.  My insurance company (Comfort) wanted proof, and I printed off the certificate that you get on your Sargent tracker portal, and sent it to them.  All happy, no problem.

If the subscription Thatcham approved service is taken out with Sargent, the 24/7 manned tracking station in Bedford may receive 3 theft alerts a) if a vehicle alarm has been fitted and connected to the tracker and the armed alarm is triggered, b) if the tracker's external power is cut and c) if the tracker is moved without the van's engine being started with its ignition key.  If any of these alerts is received the tracking station should phone the owner to establish if the van has been broken into or stolen.  I have confirmed 'a' and 'b' work but not 'c'.  If it has been broken into or stolen they should track the tracker's location in real time and liaise directly with the police until the van is recovered.  I have not put this to the test.  In terms of cost, I think the Sargent system is competitive with similar Thatcham approved vehicle tracking systems, not least because the hardware has already been fitted and paid for. 

The standard AS Monitor service which is paid for for the first 3 years to coincide with the van's 3 year warranty is principally about maintenance.  But under Locate the tracker provides a 6-hourly snapshot of the tracker's location and more frequent snapshots when the vehicle is started and stopped and/or if the tracker's external power is cut.  If a vehicle alarm has been fitted and connected to the tracker, an SMS and/or e-mail alarm alert should be sent to the owner if the armed alarm is triggered.  I say 'should' because I have only tested it with the subscription service.

The Sargent tracker is one of a raft of security measures taken to reduce the risk of a thief getting away with breaking into a van and stealing it and/or its contents.  The collective cost of these measures will not be covered by reduced insurance premiums which is not in my opinion the main reason for having them but the more security measures taken by everyone, the lower all our insurance premiums should become.

My nephew had a tracker fitted to his van which was stolen from Reading, the tracker was quickly located on a bank by the river thames, the van on the other hand was never seen again.
Guess they are a good thing, I do wonder though now that most later vehicles are fitted with telematics which can review their location if that couldn't be a more successful way forward as you cant just rip them out?

groundhog wrote:My nephew had a tracker fitted to his van which was stolen from Reading, the tracker was quickly located on a bank by the river thames, the van on the other hand was never seen again.
Guess they are a good thing, I do wonder though now that most later vehicles are fitted with telematics which can review their location if that couldn't be a more successful way forward as you cant just rip them out?

It would be interesting to know what sort of tracker he had and what if any alerts it sent.  

On my van gaining entry to the van should set off the alarm and the tracker should then send a SMS & e-mail alert to me and to the tracking station who should ring me.  If the tracker is then found and ripped out a second alert should be sent to the tracking station who should by now be speaking to the police.  A second low cost tracker could be fitted which the thief might not find or even look for.  Dealing with the physical security measures on my van will add to the alarm's noise and delay the thief's getaway.  Defence in depth is better than one line of defence but it can all be defeated by a determined and experienced thief.

I don't know enough about the telematics fitted to later vehicles but I would be surprised if they cannot be defeated in some way.

when i shopped around for van insurance, one stipulation was it had to have a tracker as on their list . they would not deviate from this. i tried multiple companies ( absolute minefield ) but all to no avail. not impressed with any. Doug. thanks to all for the input.

I renewed mine today anyway. Any saving I might make this year would probably be small, because of the admin charge that changing the policy would attract. I'll see what quotes I get with/without when my insurance comes up for renewal next February and take it from there.

I fitted a TruTrak, not insurance approved, but it works. You can pay monthly or longer, I do a year at a time £59.99. I hid it deep into the headlining, connected to leisure battery and it has an internal battery.

Not everyones choice, but has great reviews and it emails or pings me when van is moved and does a live map etc. Had it a year now, think I paid £40 ish. Tells me battery voltage also.

I like it  

Richard

When I bought mine Sargent wouldn't let me renew the tracker so I got my own with an alarm it's called VANOLARM,I have a separate alarm on each door with a non subscription  tracker,I pay for the pay as you go Sim card if anybody tries to get in it sends a text and rings me,as far as the alarms go if anybody tries the door it gives a warning chirp,if they try again an alarm goes off,I like it because of the warning,the whole set up cost me less than £100,as far as I'm concerned if they want it they'll take it.

For what its worth.

When I purchased my Nuevo there was no tracker and after several insurers quoted sill prices I found the broker, "Grove and Dean" they beat the other quotes and to overcome the tracker problem they sent me a tracker which I fitted and had no problem with the registration.
Insurance runs out next month so I shall see what the new price is before making a decision on what next.