Hire & Rental Inventory Theft

Inventory loss (also known as inventory shrinkage or shrink) is a big problem for any Hire business that carries physical goods. Without controls and monitors in place there is no way to trace the root causes that created the shrinkage in your business. Below are some tips to help eliminate loss or theft of your inventory.

Theft Prevention

• Minimum should have 2 forms of ID. Drivers Licence / Credit Card (both must be valid so be sure to check expiry dates) and current phone number (mobile).
  
• Confirm the identity of the Hirer? Photo ID is always the best (Current Drivers Licence) and ring mobile number at time of hiring. Or take a photo on the day of the hiring and file picture with the hire agreement.
  
• Visually confirm the registration of the vehicle of the hirer. It is very hard to confirm the hirer and vehicle rego are linked as the Hirer could be loaning the vehicle.
  
• Let other Hire Companies in your area know if you have been ripped off so they can keep a look out (KALOF) for the same person returning to other hire depots.
  
• Ensure your inventory has serials numbers engraved onto the item to eliminate removal.
  
• Install CCTV cameras at the sales counter. Even if you have a single camera taking a clear face shot, this image can be used for a face-fit and confirm the identity of the person.
  
• Make it harder to complete a fraudulent transaction and the offender will go elsewhere. If they are jacking up about ID etc., you don’t want to hire to them anyway, this is a sign that not all is correct.

After Theft has occurred

• At what stage can a Hire be determined as a theft if the customer fails to bring back the equipment and is un-contactable? At the passing of the normal return time and several attempts have been made (and documented) you would be required to wait a ‘reasonable time’ to allow for any unforeseen circumstances that may have occurred for the hirer to bring the equipment back.
  
• What procedures are required for Police before and after recovery of the item? Police would need all the information you have gathered for the investigation, all ID as mentioned above as that is all Police have to go on.
  
• You should have serial numbers of all your hire gear. This would be logged in the original crime report (property section). For larger items, Police always send out a KALOF, with picture description / serial numbers etc. These can be sent interstate.
  
• Why is theft from a yard treated differently to theft from inside a building? This is because you (the hire company) have entered into an agreement (contract) with the hirer and have accepted payment for the hire. So until the hire time agreement has been broken, the Police do not see this as being a theft.

Using your iPad or iPhone on CloudRent, you can take pictures of damages which can be appended to damage invoices, take signatures, take face shots and license shots of the person renting your inventory. If your inventory doesn't come back you will need this information to give to the Police... CloudRent reduces theft! Click here for more information