Are tracking devices really worth having?

[Parksy]

Taken from another topic:

We are lumbered with their Tracker alarm
unfortunately and I certainly would not give them any other business the
way they talk to customers.

Our caravan is factory fitted
with an alarm and one of Phantom's tracking systems and the C&CC
insurance gave a policy discount for the tracking device.
I've no
issues with the staff, they have always been pleasant and polite to us,
but a few weeks ago a gent from their technical dept. telephoned to say
that there was a problem with the tracking system. My caravan is stored
inside a metal barn so I took the caravan home and Phantom tested the
system in case the roof of the barn was causing the signal interference or whatever the problem was.
Unfortunately the device remained unserviceable, although the alarm works ok, and the technician
said that we could have a replacement tracker fitted for a discounted price of
£200.
I checked with the caravan insurance and was told that I'd lose the policy premium discount if I hadn't got the tracking device.
The extra monthly amount for the insurance is slightly less than the
monthly tracking device subscription so I saved myself the £200
replacement fee and haven't replaced the tracking device.
If the caravan was stolen I'd be devastated but not convinced that I'd want it back so I'll rely on the alarm, the farmer, his shotgun and his dogs to keep things safe when the caravan is in storage from now on.

 

[Brum1]

I have a tracker on my motor caravan because insurance companies insist on it.
But I wouldn't want to ever see a caravan or motor caravan again if it had been stolen.

 

[Dustydog]

My Tracker came with the caravan.
I do get a good insurance discount for having it. The annual renewal seems to go up every year so Tracker have got me well and truly pinned down.
I've no idea if it works but assume Tracker must test my system at their HO

 

[MichaelE]

The idea of a tracker is to recover the caravan before any real damage has been done? If they can recover within a couple of hours the van may have only superficial damage which is easliy repairable.
When my van was stolen ( no tracker) my biggest lose was its contents not the van, the van would be easily replaced the contents are not.
We had to have a tracker for 5 years after or we couldnt get insured, that has now elasped, but i still continue with it.
Tracker is like a first alert system, not all vans are stolen when broken in to some are trashed, the fiiting of the Alko wheel clamps have helped.

 

[Raywood]

The Tracker does improve the recovery rate but is not foolproof. If caravans are recovered quickly there may be no damage and the recovery helps to keep insurance premium increases to a minimum so they are worthwhile using if you have one.

 

[Surfer]

I am of the opinion that Trackers are good however you shoudl have the choice of tracking company and not locked into a company for the duration of ownership. The discount given by insurance companies is almost negligible. Same applies to ALKO Secure wheel locks! We only use one as cannot manage two wheel locks.

 

[DeliDave_]

We did same as Steve and didnt renew the tracker fitted to our Bailey.We had hardly any discount and I am not convinced the police will drop everything and respond to the call centers request especially in these days of cutbacksand if it wasnt recovered immediately i'd rather have it replaced.Ive been in a van abandoned by travellers in daventry when they moved on and it was squalid to say the least.

 

[Parksy]

Our discount from C&CC clubcare added up to the same monthly amount as the tracking device and we saved the cost of a replacement. If our caravan was moved (by me) without the tracker being disabled Phantom would contact us but not always at the time that the caravan was moved so the chances are that it would have been long gone by the time I'd driven the 30 miles to the storage to check and phoned the police in a real situation.

 

[Surfer]

Our discount from C&CC clubcare added up to the same monthly amount as the tracking device and we saved the cost of a replacement. If our caravan was moved (by me) without the tracker being disabled Phantom would contact us but not always at the time that the caravan was moved so the chances are that it would have been long gone by the time I'd driven the 30 miles to the storage to check and phoned the police in a real situation.

Are you saying that you saved £9 (monthly payment) on your quote or £99(annual fee) or £9 x 12?

 

[Parksy]

The subscription for the tracker was £8.99 per month and the insurance policy was supposed to rise by £8.50 per month after we lost the discount but so far there hasn't been an increase in the insurance policy direct debit

 

[TonyG]

I have the phantom proactive fitted.. But having said that, I would NOT want the van back if it was stolen, and having 40%damp on the first service there are times when I wish it would be stolen

 

[anotherDavid]

It would seem that the insurance companies think so or there would not be such discounts or at times making it a condition of insurance..I get £62 discount which makes Phantom effectively £37 a year. Each time I have set the alarm off by accident they have been on the phone within a few minutes.
David