jpor

iTrader: (1)

I think the term 'can of worms everywhere' comes to mind. I.e. I think I have opened one

Yep looks like I've read the letter wrong, as I called today to be told the same by Trafficmaster.

In relation to A-Plan and the insurance, then I can only put it down to the car I drive and the area I live in. When it comes to renewal time agin then I will question it or even swap insurance company.

help2003

iTrader: (1)

Yep got mine today, dont think its a bad idea, Just wish they told me 2wks ago when i got it installed.

But cant fault them at all, when i had my crash and was at a&e they rang my phone 3 time wifes phone 3 time and house phone 3 times as i could not answer it, so i rang them back, and they where telling me my car was in transport and did i know, Yes is the police pulling it out of the field and a flat bed truck lol.

And you can ring them 6 times a year to check where your car is for free, but the lady said you can do it more just dont take the ****. because if you do it during a work day 9-5 you can just ring the office to do it.

sandyRS16i

iTrader: (13)

Got my letter today, great it covers my car in Europe, but I never go out of teh UK with it and never will so don't see the point, plus I'd hope that by having the Tracker fitted then the service is efficient enough to track the car before it leaves this country.

Another way fo getting my 12 quid me thinks would have preferred it to be an option to opt in/out of.

SirFozzalot

Got my letter too.

I've taken my car into France, Belgium and Germany a few times and will probably continue to do so, so I'm not too bothered to be honest.

Stephen Pope

I got mine today. I really do dispair at this incompetent bunch of tw@ts.

1. For a start, why can't they transfer an existing subscription from one owner to another on the same car - a money making scheme me thinks.

2. I renewed my subscription by telephone in November. Towards Christmas, I noticed the £120 had not come out my account. I called them up and they denied me calling (even although I gave the tw@ts my bank details for payment.) When I raised my concerns about effectively being uninsured during this period, the dizzy b1nt just kind of shrugged me off. Very unprofessional and incompetent.

3. I did the 'test' and they could not even pronounce the name of the place the car was in.

4. I do not see why the test takes up to 1 hr and also why it is an extra for Eurpoe. Forgive my ignorance however should a satelite from space not connect fairly easily irrespective of the trackers position in either the UK or Europe? I do not see an extra cost.

5. The recent letter is badly worded and has obviously caused confusion judging by the initial comments on this thread.

Worst bunch of f@nnies I have dealt with in a while.

As far as I am aware, A Plan require the tracker so beware...

davedipster

I've always found RAC Trafficmaster professional and helpful .
I check that the unit works every year on the helpline and they have found the car within 1/4hr every time.
The letter reads fine to me, and it’s refreshing to get a warning of increased subs 6 Months before it is due in my case.
The bonus of euro cover is great for le mans this year

Dipster.

SwissTony

iTrader: (19)

spot on there. £12 is not a lot more

fivetide

iTrader: (1)

Got my letter today. Went for the DD option so it is an increase of a pound a month. I do agree that "an improvement to the service" is great as long as they give you the option. It is sort of presented as "free" EU cover but the price has gone up so it is anything but.

Just wish they'd be honest!

5t.

satancom

Yup got the letter this morning, phoned them and explained that I live in wales, so it would take at least 3 hours to get anywhere near europe and if they don't know about it by then, its stuffed! No Opt out, I don't need it as its not a requirement by my insurance company so time to cancel me thinks!

email I just Sent:

------------------------------------

Hello,

I received a letter this morning informing me that I am now being charged for European tracking. I called your customer services and they told me that there is no way to opt out of this service? Why? I don’t go to Europe in my car, I live a couple of hundred miles away from the east coast and see no reason how this cover would be of use to me.

Please let me know what my options are as I do not intend to continue my subscription with you if I can not opt out of this ‘Upgrade’

Car Reg : xxxxxxx

Regards,

xxxxxxxxxx

---------------------------------------

Luminous

iTrader: (3)

You sure about this! I don't have tracker, I was not prepared to pay for it. Not to mention the fact that if the car was stolen I would not want it back.

I said this to A-Plan a couple of years ago when I was insuring with them. They were fine with this then, has this suddenly changed?

PantsUK

iTrader: (1)

Just wondering if they said they were putting up the price by £12 per year a pound a month would everyone be bothered??? It sounds like that is what they are doing really but everyone seems fixated on the european cover bit.

FYI it would still be of use (if you wanted you car back) because they can easily be put into shipping crates (where they can't be tracked) and deposited somewhere else in europe, when they drive out of the crate the tracker now it is euro aware will pick it up.

Maybe it's just me but can't see the big deal .... thats about 50 miles of fuel or just under half the commute for me.

urban

iTrader: (1)

I don't see the big deal either.

If you're that hung up on an extra pound per month, maybe its time to sell up.

Shaun

SirFozzalot

I agree.

So they put up their prices, I've had the product on my car for the last 4 years and as far as I can remember this is the first price rise. At least they have given us a little something in return for the price increase, they could have just put the prices up as most companies out there do for all sorts of products and given us nothing extra at all. Would people still be moaning and wanting to get rid of it?

Wurzel

iTrader: (1)

Sorry but I am a bit confused by these tracker things as we do not need them in crime free europe. If they can track your car via satallite then why whenever I watch Street Wars on TV the police stick 4 aerials to the roof of a panda car and drive round trying to triangulate where the tracker signal is coming from??

The GPS in my car tells me where I am to within 5 metres, so how come these trackers that you pay 120 quid a year subscription for can't tell where a car is to within the same distance?

satancom

Its not the price thats bothering me.. (£12 is pish all ) Its just the fact that they are increasing the cos with a new feature that i just don't see being of any use to me. So why pay for it...

If they actually sent me a letter saying they were incrasing the cost on next renewal the thats fine, at least I would have achoice. But its hafway through my subscription ith no choice is a bit rich!

I may have a different opinion if my car was a newer model, but a 13 year old impreza wagon is hardly going to be shipped off to europe.. maybe stolen and ragged by joy riders..

Just take the insurance pay out and get something else!

Stephen Pope

I am not the man to ask - call A Plan. IIRC, I was asked what the car had regarding security when I took out my policy. Best check with them as if there was a problem, you do not want to give them amunition not to pay out if it was a requirement for you to have Trackstar.

PantsUK

iTrader: (1)

Everyone entitled to their own opinion but the bit I don't get is

"If they actually sent me a letter saying they were incrasing the cost on next renewal the thats fine, at least I would have achoice. But its hafway through my subscription ith no choice is a bit rich! "

You don't have to pay now ... just when you renew ...as in you've been given 6 months notice of the price rise so you have the "choice" to change to a different provider in 6 months time or turn it off or pay up !!

stilover

I got my letter yesterday.

I don't mind the £12 increase. What I do object to though, is being charge from 6th Febuary. My current subscription runs until May. I'll phone them up tomorrow. They can't take out money of you account if you don't allow them. Right?

Might phone up the bank too. Instruct them not to allow Trackstar to access my account.

PantsUK

iTrader: (1)

hahhahaha I give up ...

NISFAN

I got the letter too.

It is clear to me that this is a pure price increase of 10%. The euro protection crap is just to soften the blow as if they are doing sopmething special for you. Well they can shove it up thier as*.

In days where you can personally buy mobile phone activated GPS trackers, for less than a few hundred pounds, the prices for Trackstar should be coming down, not going up.

I am informing my insurance co. that tracker is no longer working, pay the additional premium (£80) and cancel trackstar. Thieving 'got you all over a barrel' b4stards.

Time to buy one of those mobile phone GPS trackers/loggers. Cost per month £0 unless you ask for reports.

davedipster

I still can't see the problem.

GC8WRX

I can, its a company taking the ****!

You should be able to opt out of the euro cover, or they should be honest and say the subscription has gone up!

And it should be effective at renewal date not forced on everyone at the same time, regardless of renewal date!

I wonder how many people **** them off now!

davedipster

I give up

davedipster

I can't see the problem, mine will go up when I renew in september.

satancom

Exactly my point... My letter states that my next payment to them is going to be £1 extra, its not the cost but the principal.

Im guessing that some of the guys that don't see the problem pay the annual subscription up front? which means they won't be charged unitl next renewal.. I pay monthly and my next payment is going up.

Anyhow, im not trying to bring anyone round to my point of view, if your happy to pay carry on and im sure for some people who do travel its probably a welcome addition.. just not for me, or the way they are going about it for my account at least.

davedipster

I'm getting 8 months european cover free then, by paying yearly. Bonus.

satancom

Ahh now I understand why you think were all Barmy

davedipster

I had no idea that you could pay monthly. Not that i would.

NISFAN

Dave,

Exactly what do you get for your £132 a year or even £120 for that matter?

Consider this:
AA Homestart in comparison, costs less, and they actually send a guy round if your car won't start. You can even call them up and they'll change a flat tyre, help you out if you fill up with the wrong fuel, pick you up if you have an accident etc etc. as many times as you want. A proper hands on service.

These guys just sit around in an office and phone you up telling you where your car is once in a blue moon. Big expense there isn't it?
If they too had mobile units dotted round the country that followed stolen cars, then fine £132 would be a bargain, but they don't.

You can now buy a GPS tracker with a built in mobile phone. Probably similar to the trackstar unit, for less than £200. Once programmed you can also link it to your alarm, and it too will report your cars co-ordinates to your mobile. Together with a tomtom you can too find out exactly where your car is. The running costs for one of those devices is peanuts.

Only difference is you need these scum suckers to get discounted insurance. And as such they know they have you over a barrel.

As for euro cover, big deal thier sim cards do international roaming, wow. Ooooh bet that costs a few extra pennies in case of it being activated. And as most have said, we don't all go to euro in our cars, so a pointless upgrade.
Do they have French, German, Italian, Polish speaking operaters to liase with euro police? Do they bollocks. Lip service only.

marmski

I got mine, pay monthly and dont see the problem either guys... im sorry, perhaps im missing something.

If you pay by DD monthly, then its £1 more per month.
If you pay Yearly then its another £12 on top of your £120 (totalling the £132) when you next re-new (shown in the letter by the below statement).

This new price will be effective from your first payment after 6th February 2008

I hear the opinions of people that arent using their cars in Europe, and even the fact that they should find it before your car is shipped there if your unlucky enough for it to happen... but lets bear in mind we are driving cars that people do target and if you dont want to pay another £12 per year for the insurance company to say 'Yes sir, we will offer you cover' instead of 'We cant insure that car sir' then i think you need to purchase a nice Vauxhall or Ford.

Subaru Impreza's, Mitsi Evo's, Ford RS's all induce excitment in people through their rally heritage, limited numbers, performance, and agressive styling unseen on the average car on the road... this in turn makes the not so fortunate want to be a part of this (even for just a moment) and results in them stealing our motors or even benefitting from the rarity and breaking the cars for personal gain. (also known as a complete theiving *******!).

Its the world we live in guys. Your obviously fortunate enough to own something like this, so just before you complain about an extra £1/£12 please think about the people who would love to own a car like yours but never will (for whatever reason).

and before the 'Their not Ferrari's' crowd come in, please realise that they do share a common ground... and thats motor sport heritage.