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TRACKER is the ONLY stolen vehicle recovery system operated by all police forces across the UK.
Didn't have a TRACKER fitted to her car.
“Well it actually started out as a burglary. The thieves broke into the house, but only to take the keys to the Range Rover. I suppose it makes sense that they can steal something worth £60,000 in the blink of an eye that way.
“As soon as I realised what had happened I called the Police. Unfortunately my husband was away on business, but at that point I felt certain I could cope. What I didn’t count on were all the small inconveniences that mounted up to make the whole experience a nightmare.
“The Police were very helpful and issued me a crime number. They asked if I had any vehicle tracking device fitted to the car, but I had to say ‘no’. I wish that wasn’t the case now.
“The next people I spoke to were the insurance company. I’d assumed that there was provision in our policy for a courtesy car to be provided. I was wrong. And apparently I’m far from the only person who mistakenly makes that assumption.
“So that left me with a real problem. We have two children, and I needed to get them both to school. There’s no easy way of doing that without a car, and as I said, my husband was up in Scotland with our other car, so there was no way of me driving them. I ended up getting a friend to help out on that first day whilst I arranged my own hire car. The trouble was that I didn’t really know how long I would need the hire car. The conversation with the Police wasn’t too encouraging. A tracking device would have given me an excellent chance of getting it back that day, but without one they weren’t optimistic.”
“Suddenly being without the car raised lots of issues. Getting the shopping was tricky and visiting my Mum in hospital was a nightmare. My son’s P.E. kit was even in the stolen car, which proved incredibly inconvenient.
“I don’t think I realised just how much I needed our car, and how much I wish the Police had been able to recover it before I’d had to go through all this effort. Unfortunately they never did find the car. It was, apparently, probably stolen to order and shipped out of the country within 48 hours.
“The insurance company eventually settled up, but receiving a cheque 6 weeks later wasn’t much help. In the end it cost me 6 weeks of a hire car, my insurance excess & no claims discount, and a lot of stress and inconvenience. I was left thinking: ‘If only’.”
Did have a TRACKER fitted to his car.
“Well the first I heard about the car being stolen was when I received a call from the TRACKER people. They asked if I was aware that my car was being moved without authorisation, i.e. without the keys in the ignition. I told them it certainly shouldn’t be moving since I’d left it in the same car park I use every day whilst I commute into London on the train.
“So the next thing I did was phone my wife to make sure she knew anything about it. She didn’t, so I called the Police to report the car stolen. It’s a Jaguar XK8; my pride and joy really.
“The Police gave me a crime number and after I told them I had a TRACKER fitted they advised me to get it activated as soon as possible, which I did with another quick phone call. After that it all went remarkably smoothly.
“The Police found the car within two hours, apparently heading down to Dover so that it could be driven into a container and shipped overseas. I suspect that without that TRACKER, I wouldn’t have seen the car again.
“As it was, the car was actually back on my driveway by the time I got home, complete with the golf clubs in the boot. All it cost me was the cost of a taxi back from the station. Incredible really.”
Professional car thief
“To be honest I couldn’t believe it. I got the shopping list by text, the same as always. They were looking for high end motors, especially Jags. So we did our usual trick, jumped in the low loader and started to drive around some of the car parks. We don’t take from the same place twice though. Don’t wanna get too greedy like that.
“So we come to this nice little place just outside Reading and spot a beautiful XK8. Dark blue. Looked like it had been polished within the last couple of days. Perfect.
“You get different amounts of cash, depending on how you take a car. Ideally the geezers from Russia, or wherever, want you to have the keys, but obviously that’s not always doable. So the next best way is to just winch the car onto the low loader.
“Now I’ve been doing this for a few years now, and I ain’t stupid. The first thing you do, if you’re smart, is put a nice little GPS blocking unit on the car you’re gonna take. You can get them for a few quid on the Internet.
“We did that on this Jag, and started winching it up onto the trailer. The trick is to look like you’re supposed to be there. Once it’s on, you chuck a tarpaulin over the top and get going as quickly as possible. The sooner you can get the car inside a shipping container, the better.
“So we were heading down the M20, and I guess I was already thinking about what I was gonna spend the cash on, when suddenly we get pulled over and nicked. I thought we’d done everything right. Still can’t believe it.”
