tracker

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.

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.