plop Posted June 4, 2020 Share Posted June 4, 2020 We want to get the Van Bitz Strikeback Alarm and Shadow VTS tracker fitted - the insurers insist on it. However it seems they are not going to be open before we are screwed by the insurer. Does anyone have any suppliers they can point us towards which would do as good a job? From everything I have read they seem to the best and would like to use them as they seemed good guys when we met them in February. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Keithl Posted June 4, 2020 Share Posted June 4, 2020 Have you tried talking to your insurers and explaining the situation ? They may give you extra time under the circumstances. Keith Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
arthur49 Posted June 4, 2020 Share Posted June 4, 2020 Keithl - 2020-06-04 3:48 PM Have you tried talking to your insurers and explaining the situation ? They may give you extra time under the circumstances. Keith I agree (as a long retired Claims Manager!) You could also quote the Unfair Contract Terms Act 1977 if your insurer tries to resist a compromise and/or exclude theft cover. Basically if your insurer insists on certain terms being complied with but it is not possible for that to happen, then your insurer cannot insist on those terms. In practice temporary compromise is needed. And as Keith says above turn it round to your insurer ie "I'm happy to install these devices but can you point me to an alternate acceptable system" Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
plop Posted June 4, 2020 Author Share Posted June 4, 2020 I have asked and they are going to speak with their underwriters - it is via CaravanGuard. They have a list of the other Tracker providers they accept but I've no idea if I can get any of them fitted either at the moment. These are the Thatcham S5 rated ones they list: Autowatch (Track & Trace 5) CobraTrak (S5) Meta Trak (S5 V2) Phantom (Guard Pro S5 / iTrack Secure 5 / iTrack secure 5+ / Sentinel Five / Sentinel Five+) Scorpion (S5-VTS) Teletrac Navman (Trackstar S5) TRACKER (S5 Plus) Vodafone (Protect & Connect S5 / Protect & Connect S5 Plus) Does anyone have any thoughts / comments they could offer on any of these? I need to get finding prices and fitting availability asap but any recommendations / experience would be wonderful. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
flyboyprowler Posted June 4, 2020 Share Posted June 4, 2020 plop - 2020-06-04 3:36 PM Does anyone have any suppliers they can point us towards which would do as good a job? . I can recommend Outsmart the Thief https://www.606060.com/ We had a system fitted to our new Niesmann 20 months ago, and I was very pleased with the quality of the fit and the subsequent service. They came to our house and fitted the system, and the response to my occasional accidental triggering of the alarm has been instantaneous, whatever time of day or night! Their level of security is equal if not higher than VanBitz, and was accepted by NFU for our van. I believe that they are working at the moment as I recently spoke to Karl, the boss. At the time, the price for alarm, 5 year monitoring with tracking and full immobilizer was £650, which was cheaper that VanBitz I should add that I have no connection with the company other than I am a satisfied customer. Ainsley Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
arthur49 Posted June 4, 2020 Share Posted June 4, 2020 flyboyprowler - 2020-06-04 6:11 PM [ I can recommend Outsmart the Thief https://www.606060.com/ We had a system fitted to our new Niesmann 20 months ago, and I was very pleased with the quality of the fit and the subsequent service. They came to our house and fitted the system, and the response to my occasional accidental triggering of the alarm has been instantaneous, whatever time of day or night! Their level of security is equal if not higher than VanBitz, and was accepted by NFU for our van. I believe that they are working at the moment as I recently spoke to Karl, the boss. At the time, the price for alarm, 5 year monitoring with tracking and full immobilizer was £650, which was cheaper that VanBitz I should add that I have no connection with the company other than I am a satisfied customer. Ainsley I agree. We're with Safeguard who accepted the system and paid for first years' monitoring Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
silverback Posted June 4, 2020 Share Posted June 4, 2020 another plug for out smart the thief 100% success rate had one for 8 years now best kit on the market Jonathan Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Matrix Meanderer Posted June 4, 2020 Share Posted June 4, 2020 I would recommend the Meta Trak (S5 V2). We've had one installed for a year and it works very well with the smartphone app or computer link. These units are installed by independent engineers. You request an install using their website and they put you in touch with an installer. https://www.metatrak.co.uk/request-an-install.html Worth a look. :-D Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
plop Posted June 5, 2020 Author Share Posted June 5, 2020 Thanks everyone - they both look interesting. As soon as I hear back from the underwriters I can work out what we need to do. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Brian Kirby Posted June 5, 2020 Share Posted June 5, 2020 plop - 2020-06-04 3:36 PM We want to get the Van Bitz Strikeback Alarm and Shadow VTS tracker fitted - the insurers insist on it. However it seems they are not going to be open before we are screwed by the insurer. Does anyone have any suppliers they can point us towards which would do as good a job? From everything I have read they seem to the best and would like to use them as they seemed good guys when we met them in February. I assume this is on a new van of which you have not yet taken delivery? (Because the van value is what normally prompts the insurance demand for alarms and trackers etc to be fitted, so if you already have it, it's a bit difficult to understand why the insurance issue would suddenly arise.) Van Bitz systems use, (at least they did when we had ours fitted) Meta components, which they fit with a few tweaks of their own. The fit is extremely neat, and the systems are registered by Van Bitz to prevent unauthorised interventions/disarming by others. Your insurer will not be interested in you van until you actually get it. So, as an alternative to arguing with the insurer, have you considered asking the supplier if you can delay delivery to a date when you can get the alarm fitted? Also, do you know what period of grace the insurer allows you to get the alarm fitted? If you don't live near Taunton, you may want to see if you can book into Van Bitz's campsite for the night before the alarm is to be fitted. One further thought, mostly for those above who responded as satisfied with their alarm/tracker systems, but have any of you actually had your vehicles broken into or stolen while your alarm/tracking systems were in place? It is the performance of these systems under those conditions that really counts - otherwise, they are just added gizmos! :-D Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
plop Posted June 5, 2020 Author Share Posted June 5, 2020 We got the Chausson 650 new 13th May I think - we knew at the time VanBitz were closed but it was possible they were opening this month. We told Caravan Guard and they gave us one month grace anyway - they might be able to extend it or up the premium for the interim possibly - waiting to hear back from the underwwriters. I assume they won't simply cancel the policy but if they knock off theft cover until something is covered I'm not that bothered. It is now behind the anti-ram raid bollard, with at least one car across the gates as well, a sold secure steering wheel lock, security cameras with movement alerts and I will remove the battery and all 4 wheels as well if needed..... Just means going anywhere and leaving it even while kayaking will be a bit more fraught but I've got a cheap GPS tracker for sailing I will leave hidden in it which will alert me on any breaking of the geofencing. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
plop Posted June 8, 2020 Author Share Posted June 8, 2020 Good news. Caravanguard have agreed to extend the grace period and it is now also booked in with vanbitz for the 8th of July so hopefully we can get a long weekend down that way as well. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Recommended Posts
Archived
This topic is now archived and is closed to further replies.