Car rental offices implement a satellite vehicle tracking system to reduce theft

A number of car rental shops in Saudi Arabia have started applying the satellite monitoring system (GBS) to avoid cases of theft and the tenants’ persistence in the time period agreed upon according to the contract concluded between the office and the client, and after a number of theft cases appeared, which sometimes amounted to five cases. In one day, this also prompted the owners of the rental offices to put locks on the tires to prevent breaking the shop’s windows and obtaining the keys to the vehicles, especially the luxury ones.

Saeed bin Ali Al Bassami, head of the Car Rental Committee at the Chamber of Commerce in Jeddah Governorate, explained to Asharq Al-Awsat that there are reports received by the security services from the owners of car rental shops stating that they have been stolen continuously, so many office owners resort to putting a lock (handcuffs). To ensure that there is no theft in the event of breaking the store’s glass and obtaining the vehicle keys, as this was repeated several times in the same way.

Al Bassami added that «due to the long period of obtaining compensation by the insurance companies, whose procedures extend to about 6 months from the beginning of the first report to the police department, some office owners began to incur additional burdens to protect their vehicles by creating a monitoring system via satellite, and this matter is very expensive and sometimes reaches To more than 1,500 riyals per car.

He added, “The service is not mandatory, but it can be imposed by the Ministry of the Interior to quickly search for the car in record time if it is stolen, in addition to obtaining other remote services such as stopping the car’s engine completely, air conditioning and lighting, and it is also possible to capture the sound, but with permission from the Ministry of Interior.” the tenant, because that is one of the impermissible privacy.”

Al-Bassami pointed out, “When searching for some stolen cars, we find them in the east of the highway, abandoned in a deserted place. The offices take a number of precautionary measures in order to preserve the immunization of cars, in light of the efforts of the security authorities in Jeddah and Saudi Arabia in general, represented by the police and criminal investigation.”

The head of the Car Rental Committee in the Jeddah Chamber added, “The increase in vehicle insurance, which has reached more than 10 percent, especially since offices are obligated to apply comprehensive insurance and not to the other party. This matter has become costly for office owners, with a number of expenses imposed on them.” On the other hand, there is a shortage in the profit margin, which prompted a number of them to leave the practice of that activity with the presence of a large number of customers, which makes it easier for the rest to be convinced of the simple profit margin.

And he indicated that «in light of the weak returns and the increase in expenses and fees imposed on car rental offices, to the present time, rental prices have not risen at all, despite the increase in insurance and the value of cars to 20 percent, as well as spare parts and oils as well.”

In conclusion, he noted that “there are about 20 percent of the offices that do not hold licenses to practice the profession in light of the continuous development in the car offices, so there may be a study to find out the feasibility of the offered prices after the withdrawal of some investors in this sector due to the losses they suffered.” ».

For his part, Brigadier General Misfer Al-Juaid, the media spokesman for the Jeddah Police, told Asharq Al-Awsat that there are specialized teams in the police departments represented by the Criminal Investigation Department to follow up on all matters related to car theft when any communication is received by the owners of rental offices.

Al-Juaid added, “With regard to breaking the windows of car rental offices, this case is considered a property encroachment, in addition to the accompanying theft. Procedures have been taken since the beginning of the communication and the immediate investigation of the case to find out its circumstances and follow-up by the search and investigation teams.”

Al-Juaid praised the fact that some car rental shops have installed a tracking device via satellite, which limits and reassures owners to early detect the location of those cars in the event of theft.