prabhuActor Richard E Grant has thanked eagle-eyed Vodafone Automotive employee, George Taylor, for helping him find his stolen car.
When Grant had his expensive Land Rover Discovery stolen from in front of his house this week, he put out a plea for help on Twitter.
George Taylor, who works for Vodafone Automotive, spotted the tweet and realised the car could have a vehicle tracker installed.
So Taylor suggested Grant contact Vodafone Automotive to see if they could help.
Grant contacted the firm’s Burnley-based Secure Operating Centre, and, by pure coincidence, it turned out that his vehicle was fitted with a Vodafone Automotive tracking system that had been deactivated.
The Hollywood actor, star of films such as Withnail and I and Can You Ever Forgive Me, immediately paid to reactivate the tracker.
The police were alerted and, within a couple of hours, the car was returned to its grateful owner.
“I had Tweetdeck open on my computer and I saw Richard E Grant’s tweet about his stolen car almost as soon as it was posted,” Taylor said.
“It’s exciting when you’re able to reunite a customer with their pride and joy”
“When I first saw the tweet, I thought we might be able to help – so I suggested he call in to our team – just in case – and it was pure chance his car was previously fitted with one of our tracking boxes.
“What isn’t chance is that, after making the box live again, we were able to find the car.
“I’m very proud that we have excellent recovery rates for the vehicles we track. It’s what we do, and we do it very well.”
Quick results
In the UK, Vodafone’s most popular car tracking model is the Thatcham-approved S5 VTS GPS tracker.
As well as the protection of remote engine immobilisation, the S5 tracker box includes Automatic Driver Recognition (ADR).
This means that the driver has a discreet pocket-sized card that they carry with them whenever they drive their vehicle.
On leaving their vehicle, the system automatically arms itself. If the vehicle is moved without the driver’s card present, Vodafone Automotive’s Secure Operating Centre is alerted instantly to a potential theft.
This means that even if a vehicle is taken using the driver’s own keys, the theft is detected immediately.
Vodafone Automotive, part of Vodafone Business Internet of Things (IoT), provides a range of hi-tech products and services that enhance security and efficiency in vehicle management.
