[Third party] Volkswagen’s car tracking firm demanded $150 to renew expired subscription to help police locate stolen car with abducted boy inside.

[Jetronic]

Not VW proper but a contracted firm.

What's wrong with people nowadays?!

Volkswagen’s car-tracking firm demanded $150 to renew expired subscription to help police locate stolen car with abducted boy inside

Detectives had to pay $150 to reactivate the service before the company would find the stolen vehicle with the 2-year-old inside.

fortune.com

I wonder how many that didn't pay, wanted a free location update on a stolen car and say there's a baby inside the car". It works both ways.

 

[daves87rs]

Nothing in the world is free…..

 

[wemay]

I wonder how many that didn't pay, wanted a free location update on a stolen car and say there's a baby inside the car". It works both ways.

"Yes ma'am/Sir, as soon as the police request it, we'll assist" Simple.

And in this case it was the police asking for the information.

 

[atikovi]

If you can't afford to eat it you better insure it.

That's never stopped people from buying more car than they can afford.

I have comprehensive on both my vehicles which are both cheap and old lol.

I don't on over $100K of vehicles and choose to self insure.

 

[dfarr67]

I've dealt with two third party companies over product warranties- what this has accomplished is a pissed customer- and the original company will be saved the hassle of this customer (and whoever I can influence) purchasing their (or affiliates) product again.

 

[DuckRyder]

So the cliff notes version is that some phone drone at a third party vendor made a mistake (big surprise) but it really didn't matter much because they allready found the car.

Hope that the "process" that is supposed to be in place includes some verification that its actually the police and there is actually a case...

 

[RedSpider]

I'm no legal expert but I dont think anyone is required to participate in a police investigation, even if you're able to. Obstruct it, no, but forcibly participate in it? Plllbttt. I can see VW doing damage control but I doubt they are in any real trouble.

I worked as a network analyst for a cellular company in the mid 90's and even with those early analog AMPS cellular systems, we could pinpoint with a reasonable certainty where a phone/car was located, within a certain radius. We would get people all-the-time calling, begging the people in the call center to tell them where a phone was, their car was stolen/daughter was kidnapped/theres a killer on the loose blah blah blah, you name the reason I heard it.

We had "police" calling in all.day.long, constantly, and they would end up on my desk. Sure I can tell you where that phone is pinging, drop off an order signed by a judge and I'll tell you whatever you want. Hey, we are THE POLICE! No, you're a voice on the other end of my phone and for all I know, you're a jealous ex trying to stalk your wife/husband and find out where they are, which is what 99% of these phone calls ended up being. In almost seven years you know many signed orders/subpoenas we actually got? Single digits.

I could track phone locations, and did when I had to or wanted to, but it ate up a lot of time watching the phone signal bounce from one cell tower to the next, and digging into the (crude by todays standards) data trying to see the signal db between the various antennas on a given tower/antenna sector, so we didnt do it unless there was a really good reason. And just because you're a cop doesnt mean you can call whoever, claim to be the police, demand whatever, and you're going to instantly get it.

 

[Chris142]

Who in their right mind would buy a car with any sort of tracking software?

It's coming to our future.

 

[Jetronic]

"Yes ma'am/Sir, as soon as the police request it, we'll assist" Simple.

And in this case it was the police asking for the information.

well no, it would have to be a judge requesting it with a court order....

for one, police can't prove their identity over a phone or e-mail.

 

[atikovi]

I would assume if you use GPS, and your GPS receives satellite signals, the satellite can just as well track you.

 

[wemay]

well no, it would have to be a judge requesting it with a court order....

for one, police can't prove their identity over a phone or e-mail.

The company is free to contact the station, department etc. to verify the claim. Getting a court in a situation like this is just more red tape getting in the way of a time sensitive situation involving a child.

It happened to me while being an Officer here in S.Florida. Not exactly the same situation but one where my identity was in question.

 

[mk378]

for one, police can't prove their identity over a phone or e-mail.

There actually are ways to do that, and that would be a critical role for whoever VW has answering the phones.

Certainly that decision would not be based on whether or not the caller has access to a credit card.

 

[mk378]

your GPS receives satellite signals, the satellite can just as well track you.

GPS is a one-way broadcast. A simple GPS receiver having a fix on the satellite signal does not give any information back to the satellite. An analogy would be that the transmitter at a FM radio station has no way to tell how many radios are tuned in or where they are located.

 

[mk378]

I dont think anyone is required to participate in a police investigation, even if you're able to.

That is true, but it is a bad policy for a company to have because they will be unlikely to get any government contract for anything, or any favors when they ask for a change in a law or regulation. Phone companies in particular do a lot of business with the government.

 

[ekrampitzjr]

It's coming to our future.

Coming? Tracking is here.

 

[RedSpider]

That is true, but it is a bad policy for a company to have because they will be unlikely to get any government contract for anything, or any favors when they ask for a change in a law or regulation. Phone companies in particular do a lot of business with the government.

I dont necessarily disagree in principle, on the other hand there's more to the equation. Imaging if someone called up your cell provider and asked them what numbers you were calling and how often, or where your phone was pinging frequently, what websites you were accessing from your phone, or where your car was, and things like that. Then you found out and called me and I said "well they were cops and they demanded I tell them"... you also have some rights in this and just because someone with a stern attitude using cop lingo starts asking questions doesnt mean I start barfing all sorts of private information about your account, useage and location information to some voice on the other side of the phone. Give me a signed order or you get nothing.

Adding this was about the welfare of a child just adds an emotional element into it that someone on the phone has no way to verify one way or another no matter how true it is.

Like all other internet stories, I'm willing to bet there is way more to this situation other than the caller didnt give a credit card number fast enough so that VW gets their $150.

 

[mk378]

Even the actual police can't ask about someone's phone without a legitimate reason.

Regardless of other details of this story, there is no dispute that it was really the police calling. Here the car owner had given the police a direct request to locate her own car, there's no doubt of a legitimate purpose.

 

[Pew]

Guess she should have paid the $150 to keep the renewal going . That's the point of the subscription, for emergencies. Otherwise they might as well give the service away for free.

 

[Fla]

Not VW proper but a contracted firm.

What's wrong with people nowadays?!

Volkswagen’s car-tracking firm demanded $150 to renew expired subscription to help police locate stolen car with abducted boy inside

Detectives had to pay $150 to reactivate the service before the company would find the stolen vehicle with the 2-year-old inside.

fortune.com

The flip side of this article is that the parents and the PD were both too cheap to pay the $150!

This is no different than the cases where there are private fire departments and they won't come and put out a fire at your house unless you're a paid up member. People who haven't paid and who's houses are already on fire, are constantly calling them and begging them to come and put out the fire . But that's not how this works! If you want the protection; then you pay in advance, not after your house is on fire.

At least VW's "contracted firm" gave them the option of renewing their coverage.

 

[edyvw]