New Guidance on How to Tackle Fraud in Powered Access Rental

IPAF has been working with industry partners to create easy-to-digest guidance and handy checklists on identifying, preventing and reporting plant/equipment hire fraud. 

Through the Combined Industries Theft Solutions (CITS), the Construction Plant-Hire Association (CPA), Hire Association Europe (HAE) and International Powered Access Federation (IPAF) have worked closely with the National Construction and Agricultural Theft Team (NCATT) specialist police unit to create checklists which companies can adopt to tackle the problem of fraud perpetrated by Organised Criminal Groups (OCGs).

The checklists will benefit both hire desk personnel and their colleagues, as well as delivery drivers, to encourage greater vigilance and a confident response to fraud risks. Central to our collective response is the need for photographic evidence when an asset is handed over and confidence to challenge requests to hire or deliver where things ‘simply do not look right’.

Alongside the checklists, we also want our members to take note of the advice on reporting stolen assets. NCATT and other police forces rely on good record-keeping – serial numbers rather than fleet numbers, as well as other key identifiers on the stolen plant and equipment. A lack of key information delays the police in identifying an item of plant. So, any discrepancies are exploited by criminals with the police handing back items to the people who have probably stolen them.

We ask that you incorporate the checklists into your business toolbox and other training schemes and that procedures to record and share asset identifiers are adopted beyond fleet numbers.

We are in a battle against OCGs who view the hire sector as a ‘low risk, high reward’ target, and we want to work with you and our partners to change this.

We would welcome thoughts on how the checklists and guidance might be expanded and improved in the future.

For more information on how we are supporting members in preventing fraud, click here.

Download the guidance documents below.