Stolen-Lost Tracker signal.

[Gagakev]

I'll keep it as short as poss.
A friend of the OH split up with her hubby last year.
She kept the house and he had a settlement, of which he purchased himself an £18.000.00 caravan to live in, (sorry OH doesnt know make of van)!!
He moved from Devon and took the van back to the Derbyshire area where he came from originally.
Van on small site with wheel locks and hitchlock, he came back to Devon for a funeral and got a call from the site owner saying his van had been stolen.
They reported it stolen and the signal to the tracker was lost, the latest news I have is they have now picked up a signal in Oxford area.
It's taken nearly 3 weeks to relocate the signal/van. At least he will get it back but in what condition?
Can the tracker be blocked?
Can the signal be lost if say it is hidden in a building of some sort?
If any of the above is possible is it worth the money purchasing a tracker.
(I dont have a tracker on my van)

 

[Sproket]

Kev.
Have a read about them on here

 

[Gagakev]

Kev.
Have a read about them on here

I thought you sent me to another caravan forum for a minute

Just going back to see if you really did

 

[Parksy]

Kev.
Have a read about them on here

I thought you sent me to another caravan forum for a minute

Just going back to see if you really did

Our friends on Caravan Talk run a very good forum, the world wide web is a big place with plenty of room for all, and there's no reason why caravanners shouldn't take advantage of good information wherever it is on the internet

Our caravan was factory fitted with a tracker for which we paid £99 per year to keep in service. The monitoring company phoned last year to say that there were 'problems with the tracker'. Apparently they were not getting a signal and I asked if my storing the caravan inside a barn which is made primarily of corrugated steel would affect the signal.
They replied that it could so when I went away in the caravan we arranged to test the signal. The monitoring company told me that there were still problems with the signal and I needed to replace the tracker unit which would cost about £200.
I contacted my insurer (C&CC) to find out how much discount I'd lose if the tracker was disabled. £150 was the reply which meant that I'd gain nothing by replacing the tracker and the signal could still be affected because of where the caravan is stored.
I didn't bother with the replacement and so far the insurance premium hasn't been increased either although the insurers were told that the tracker is now out of commission.

 

[Gafferbill]

There is something to be said for having a caravan that is not worth stealing
.......that is my cunning plan anyway

.......you have seen my caravan Kevin .....would you bother to steal it?

Today an £18000 caravan is definitely a target unfortunately.

 

[Gagakev]

Quick Update.

The van was located on a "Travellers" site in the Oxford Area.
The site owner was (alledgely) INVOLVED.

Have'nt got the name of the site (dont think I would be allowed to put it on here now anyway)
Dont even know if they have recovered the van yet!! I will let you know as and when I get updates.

 

[Raywood]

Having worked in the insurance industry I am aware that trackerts are not a 100% guarantee of recovering your caravan but the recovery rate is very hig. I appreciate the point abou not wanting it back if travellers have been using it and can understand that, if it happens let the insurers repair it and then trade it in or take cash and trade it in with the trader taking it carrying out the repair in their own time. In many cases it is recovered before the thieves have done anything and you get your contents back and if it takes time then you will probably have been paid out and the insurer keeps the caravan.

 

[Surfer]

Having worked in the insurance industry I am aware that trackerts are not a 100% guarantee of recovering your caravan but the recovery rate is very hig. I appreciate the point abou not wanting it back if travellers have been using it and can understand that, if it happens let the insurers repair it and then trade it in or take cash and trade it in with the trader taking it carrying out the repair in their own time. In many cases it is recovered before the thieves have done anything and you get your contents back and if it takes time then you will probably have been paid out and the insurer keeps the caravan.

In South Africa the original home of Tracker, many cars are now fitted with two trackers. Thieves will often find the one and then think it is okay and theya re going to get away with the crime. Recently however trackers are being blocked and only the trackers with sat and FM are worthwhile installing. Read this thread about trackers not working.

 

[DeliDave_]

I take the view that I do just what the insurance company state (Hitch and Alko wheel lock)and if it goes get the payout and get another. I dont think the police will drop everything for a stolen caravan and even if they get it within minutes there will still be an insurance claim for the damage so might as well claim for a new van,it will still go up.I take time stamped photos each time I lock it and hope for the best,its getting on now anyway so its not so stealable,funnily enough the idiot over the road had travellers wash his drive,had 4 vans turn up at paytime and none of them came over to look at the van so I think its pretty well ouff their interest range.Saying that hope its there in the morning lol

 

[Rita1]

I am not to sure where the site near Oxford is either
Just know a lot of the stolen caravans finish up there
Its handy for the M40 and a quick run to the M4

 

[Gagakev]

The van is still on the travellers site, the authorities have yet to recover it!!!!! (Maybe reluctant to go on the site)
Also learnt today that it was'nt insured as he was living in it full time.

My thoughts now go to those of us that are insured, if we were in the same scenario where the van's where abouts is known
would our insurers pay out?
Would they put pressure on the autorities to go in to recover it or would it be the insurance companies responsilility to reclaim it?
Or would they just refuse pay out?

 

[xtrailman]

It beggars believe that the locals are afraid to recover a stolen caravan.
What sort of country have we become?

 

[Gagakev]

Apparently the boys in Blue are gearing up to go in.
Dont know exactly when but will keep you posted,