NER Launches New Service

The National Equipment Register (NER) last month launched a new service called IronCheck, which allows a prospective used-equipment purchaser to request a search of the NER database prior to purchase.

NER has more than 85,000 stolen machines registered in its database. An IronCheck search of the database reduces the chances of buying stolen equipment. By submitting the machine information • make, model, type of equipment and serial number • purchasers can have an NER analyst carry out a search of the database and respond with a search certificate within one business day.

The basic cost of the search is $25. Additional searches can be carried out at a reduced cost by contacting NER. Buyers in a hurry can pay $40 to have the search processed within one hour. If the machine turns out to be stolen, IronCheck will refund the search fee. IronCheck expects users to help it work with law enforcement to resolve these cases to get the machine back to the theft victim.

David Shillingford, president of NER, said that IronCheck will have three important effects. “The first is that it will help protect good-faith buyers of used equipment,” he said. “It will also increase recovery rates as more used equipment sales are checked against the NER database and, finally, it will make selling stolen equipment riskier and less profitable for thieves.”

NER estimates that $1 billion of farm and construction equipment is stolen each year in the United States. Most of the stolen equipment is sold in auctions, through classifieds and online. Typically, when stolen equipment is recovered, it is returned to the theft victim, which can leave an unsuspecting purchaser out thousands of dollars.

For more details or to run a search, go to www.IronCheck.com.

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