RESEARCH released by Verizon Connect reveals that stolen vehicles and equipment costs fleet-based business an average of £16,253 each year.

The average business has at least one vehicle stolen each year and the average loss increases to nearly £50,000 for those businesses that have between 101-250 vehicles, as the number of vehicles stolen rises to three for businesses of this size.

It’s an issue that’s reflected across the country as a whole, with recent ONS data showing that vehicle theft is on the rise, increasing by 7% YoY.

The new study of fleet managers across the UK from Verizon Connect has revealed that more than half (58%) of fleet managers don’t use technology such as immobilisation devices to assist in recovering lost or stolen vehicles. As a result, only 44% of businesses who reported a vehicle stolen have been able to recover it, and any equipment, in usable condition.

Derek Bryan, Vice President EMEA, Verizon Connect said: “For many businesses across Britain, vehicles and the equipment inside, are their livelihood – theft represents a huge cost, not just in terms of the lost vehicle or equipment, there’s the additional cost through lost business.

“With vehicle crime on the rise, fleet and business managers need to be extra vigilant.

“Technology can not only track the location and status of a vehicle, but can also remotely disable a vehicle’s ignition once the vehicle’s engine has been shut off, effectively stopping vehicle misuse in near real time.

“This not only helps prevent the unauthorised use of vehicles, it helps businesses run more effectively by better monitoring fuel usage, safety metrics and managing customer expectations.”

Helping to combat the theft of tools and equipment from vans is the ToolWatch App which also aims to assist police in returning stolen goods to their owners and save business owners’ time and money.

The ToolWatch App has received BSI’s Secure Digital Applications Kitemark which gives assurance that the app will work as intended with the appropriate security controls in place to protect user data and will be supported effectively going forward.

In addition, the App has been accredited by Secured by Design (SBD), the national police crime prevention initiative, for meeting its Police Preferred Specification to deter and reduce crime to protect people, possessions and buildings.

SBD works on behalf of the Police Service and is the only way for companies to obtain police accreditation for security products in the UK.

The ToolWatch App is a low-cost subscription service which, once downloaded, registers a tool’s serial number and make. Users take a photo of the tool and upload it to a secure private profile, which can easily be amended or updated.

The police have access to their own separate secure interface which allows them to check immediately whether a tool has been stolen.

Founded by Alan Brett and Chris Tattum, the idea for the ToolWatch App came about after Alan, who runs his own building business, had £8,000 worth of tools stolen from one of his vans in 2017.

Brett’s insurance company wouldn’t pay out as they couldn’t prove which van the tools were in. With no way of recovering the tools, or identifying their owner, the idea behind the ToolWatch App was born to help combat the theft of tools and van break-ins.

ToolWatch also aids tradespeople who buy a second-hand tool – they can check whether it is stolen by typing in the serial number into the app which will show whether it has been reported stolen.