TER Check
A TER Check is a check made against TER (and other) databases to see if the equipment being enquired about is registered as stolen or on finance. There are two types of TER Check. The Trade Check is made against TER’s database only. The Premium Check is a Trade Check combined with a wider search against other databases, and includes a finance check. Terms and conditions of the TER Check can be seen here.
Who uses the TER Check?
Plant hire companies, contractors, auctions, dealers, individuals, insurers and banks. The Trade Check is used by parties already using another service to provide finance checks. The Premium Check is generally used by one off purchasers and some dealers who do not regularly use a finance checking service.
Why should you check?
There are a number of reasons:
- You cannot buy good title to stolen property, no matter how many hands it has been through. This is the principle that no one can give better title than he himself has, embodied in the maxim nemo dat quod non habet which was supported by a House of Lords ruling on 21st April 1988 in the case National Employers Mutual General Insurance Association Limited v Jones
- If you purchased the equipment for less than the market value and at a later date it is identified as stolen, the police may treat you as a handler of stolen goods. In other words, the reason why the deal is too good to be true is because it is not true and the equipment is stolen. Time after time we have seen greed replace common sense in otherwise normal people
- Equipment theft funds a range of serious organised criminality and even terrorism, much of which could affect you, your family and your community either directly or indirectly
- It could harm your reputation, as a dealer or as an auction, if you are found trading in stolen equipment, even if you purchased it, or are selling it, innocently
- If your company has a Corporate and Social Responsibility statement, how can it possibly be acceptable for your company to purchase, sell, finance or insure stolen plant and equipment?
What information does TER need to make a TER Check?
All your details including your name, company and contact details. As many equipment details as possible, but key details are the make, model, and identification data. Then, the details of the current owner and where the equipment is physically. And finally, your credit card details. We always recommend that you are standing next to the equipment when you call TER in case there are any queries about the equipment identification data.
Why do TER want to know where the equipment you’re checking is?
If it is stolen, we want to recover it on behalf of its owners. A minority of the parties that check with us cuff and bluster around this point, mainly because they already know that the equipment is stolen, perhaps because they are close to the criminals, and they are using TER to confirm whether details of the theft are ‘known.’ One dodgy dealer checked £100,000 of stolen equipment with TER, but despite our efforts we were unable to persuade the police force in the dealer’s area to investigate that dealer – now being closely monitored by TER instead! The majority of TER Checkers, however, just want to reduce their chances of buying stolen equipment and make sure that what they are about to spend their hard earned cash on is not registered as stolen or on finance. We have made a number of stolen equipment recoveries with the police through information supplied to TER during TER Checks by genuinely innocent purchasers who have been offered or seen stolen equipment. Play your part in helping to reduce plant and equipment crime.
How do you make a TER Check?
Contact TER by phone, text or here on the website and we will take the required details and make the check. We call you back or email you with an answer - sometimes within half an hour and sometimes, where more research is required, up to 2 hours later. You can set up an account here.
How do I evidence my TER Check?
With every TER Check you will receive a TER Check Certificate which details the equipment that was checked, the date of the check and the results of the check. This is a very useful sales and marketing tool for equipment traders and auctions who wish to show their buyers that due diligence has been done on the asset, and it confirms to a purchaser that they have checked the registered ownership and finance status of the equipment.
TER’s top tips to buying and selling used plant and equipment
- DO seek references for the seller from someone you know who has dealt with them before
- DO physically inspect the equipment before you buy it – make sure that the correct type of serial number plate is fixed correctly to the chassis and that it has not been interfered with
- DON’T purchase from ‘dodgy’ places such as pub car parks, lay-bys or service stations
- DO view and buy it from the company or home address of the seller
- DO be suspicious of recently re-sprayed equipment
- DO check the ignition has not been damaged
- DO look for any previous owner decals - if you find any, call them to make sure they have sold it
- DO ask for any documentation – receipts, service history, V5 etc
- DO request a company receipt which includes the seller’s full address and VAT number
- DO ‘TER Check’* the equipment with TER before you buy it – and do so when you are standing next to it
- DO insist on seeing the TER Check certificate** if you are buying from a dealer or auction
- DON’T pay cash
- DO be suspicious if the sale price is less than the current market value
- DO walk away if you have any doubts. Be suspicious – don’t be greedy
Sellers beware!
If you’re selling plant and equipment, DON’T release equipment before a cheque or bankers draft has cleared into your account – both can be forged.
To read the TER Check terms and conditions, please click here »
