To combat an epidemic of equipment theft that costs the motion picture and television industry millions annually, PLASA has introduced Rental Guard, an enhanced alert system and missing equipment database consisting of three distinct tools. The Rental Guard Database and Notification Module allows anyone to report stolen equipment and receive notifications of recent thefts at no charge. Companies or individuals buying, selling or servicing equipment can quickly check serial numbers to determine if equipment has been reported missing or stolen. New Customer Inquiries allow members to solicit information about potential customers from PLASA’s international membership to help determine credit worthiness or legitimacy. The Questionable Customer Alert notifies recipients when a PLASA member suspects that a potential customer may not be a legitimate renter.
Rental Guard represents a major update to existing tools that have already proven effective in preventing theft and locating stolen equipment. The system enables an international network of professional rental companies, service centers, equipment brokers, law enforcement and other interested parties to share critical information about thefts, obtain references about potential new customers, and report and receive information to prevent fraud (theft by rental). The system generates immediate alerts of missing/stolen equipment, proven the single best strategy for recovering gear. In addition, Rental Guard generates valuable data about the evolving strategies taken by thieves.
The Rental Guard system was developed as a joint effort of PLASA’s Production Equipment Rental Group (PERG) in North America and the Association of Studio and Production Equipment Companies (ASPEC) in the U.K. The network is sponsored by major insurance companies, including Chubb Custom Market, Fireman’s Fund Insurance Company, Hiscox, OneBeacon Entertainment and ProSight Specialty Insurance.
For more information, visit www.missingequipment.org
