If your insurer has asked for a tracker, the category matters more than the brand. Thatcham certifies trackers as S7 or S5, and your policy wording says which you need. Fit the wrong one and it may not count.
What Thatcham S7 means
An S7 tracker is monitored around the clock by a secure operating centre. If the vehicle is stolen, the centre tracks it and works with the police to recover it. There's nothing for you to carry.
What S5 adds: driver recognition
An S5 tracker does everything an S7 does, and adds driver-recognition tags. You carry a small tag on your keyring. If the vehicle moves without a tag present, the monitoring centre is alerted straight away, before you've even noticed the car has gone. That's why insurers often ask for S5 on higher-risk vehicles.
Reading your policy wording
- Look for the category. It will usually say S5 or S7, sometimes with the words "Thatcham" or "insurance approved".
- Check for named brands. Some insurers list approved manufacturers.
- Check for a deadline. Some policies give a set number of days to have the tracker fitted.
- If in doubt, send it to us. We'll match the system to the wording before we quote.
The trackers we fit
| Tracker | Category | Driver tag | Immobiliser | Subscription (1 year) |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| ScorpionTrack S5-VTS | S5 | Yes | No | £155 |
| Meta Trak S5 VTS | S5 | Yes | No | £189.95 |
| Meta Trak Deadlock | S5 | Yes | Yes: no tag, no start | £189.95 |
| ScorpionTrack S7-ALS | S7 | No | No | £139 |
| Meta Trak S7 ATS | S7 | No | No | £119.95 |
Subscriptions are the manufacturers' published prices (September 2026), and both offer longer terms. ScorpionTrack has 2 to 5 years or lifetime cover, and Meta Trak has 3 years. The tracker's own product page lists the full options.
Tracking or immobiliser?
A tracker helps get the vehicle back. An immobiliser stops it being driven away in the first place. Meta Trak's Deadlock does both in one fit. Alternatively, a ScorpionTrack S5 can be paired with a Scorpion X-Series immobiliser, so one tag covers both.
Why tracking matters locally
The West Midlands had the second-highest rate of vehicle crime in England and Wales in the year to March 2026, behind only London (ONS). West Midlands Police recorded 12,196 vehicles stolen in 2025, with Ford the most stolen make (West Midlands PCC). Nationally, fewer than half of stolen vehicles were recovered in 2025 (44.94%) (DVLA data via Fleet News), which is the gap a monitored tracker is there to close. Vans are a particular target: the Birmingham postcode area had more van thefts than any other UK postcode area over 2024 and 2025, at 1,446 (Tempcover FOI via Business Motoring).
Next step
Send us your make, model, year and the tracker wording from your policy, and we'll come back with the right system and a fixed quote. See vehicle trackers for how fitting works.
We work across Walsall, Sutton Coldfield, Birmingham, Solihull, Cannock, Wolverhampton and Stafford.
