Bad experience with ShareGrid

F

filmfan222

Well-known member
In late December of 2016 I rented out my FS7 to a production company through ShareGrid. All was well until I got the equipment back covered in sand, with parts damaged and missing. After a quick trip to Abel I had to pay about $2,000 for the repair of the camera.

All is well though right? The renter provided proof of insurance! ShareGrid is a service that vets users and guarantees equipment safety! Correct?

Well - after 4 months of back and forth with ShareGrid and the renter, I'm $2,000 in the hole. ShareGrid has basically told me they are not responsible for the damage eventhough they facilitated the arrangement and made money off the rental of my equipment. The renter himself has declined to submit my receipts and pictures of the damage to his insurance house.

Any ideas on what to do? Small claims court against the renter? ShareGrid?

Write a Medium post about my experience with ShareGrid and hope they become more helpful in resolving this?
 
I'm not a lawyer, but I'd guess ShareGrid has some EULA language that gets them off the hook for stuff like this. And I think trying to squeeze them would be difficult and expensive...

Also, think about how ShareGrid might react to a Medium article that they see as disparaging. And is there some weird language in the agreement that you signed with them that says you won't bad-mouth them (probably not, but maybe)? They'd probably ignore it, but who knows? And rather than a Medium post that slags ShareGrid, maybe chat accurately and without bile to a reporter or respected (and careful) blog writer.

What you want isn't just proof of insurance but to have them provide a certificate showing that you are named as a "Loss Payee" with no deductible. Check out the terms of any video rental house. For example:
http://chatercamera.com/content/rental-forms

When I glance at the ShareGrid site, it looks like they spell out similar steps for obtaining (and verifying, etc) rental insurance. Including getting a certificate. Did you get one or just see a copy of the renter's insurance policy?
http://support.sharegrid.com/category/insurance/

So I'd think a decent next step is to chase down the renter and convince them of the benefit to them of resolving this dispute. Check out the good articles and low-cost books from Nolo.com. Written for lay people, written and/or edited by lawyers. Note that their small-claims-court advice emphasizes the BIG benefit of resolving your dispute without (ie- before) going to court. And writing a demand letter can motivate someone to come to terms with you (sure helped me a couple times). Also, think if you will be able to collect. Anyway, there are some good articles here:
http://www.nolo.com/legal-encyclopedia/lawsuits-court

Seriously, Nolo's books, software, and articles have helped me a lot on various biz, tax, and legal issues.

Good luck!
 
Since neither ShareGrid nor the renter are cooperating, small claims may be a waste of time, even if you have conclusive evidence. The court may find in your favor, but you have to do the collecting. The renter can simply ignore your demands for payment. So getting paid is unlikely since they are not willing to cooperate. If the renter is of some note in the industry and their reputation is at stake, then publicity in the appropriate venues may help.

Collection may not be possible. But a fair and unprejudiced announcement of what happened on the appropriate venues may save others the same fate.
 
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Note that Nolo covers collection issues. Paul's right, it is worth factoring in. But again, they emphasize steps to take before going to court (e.g., my disputes were resolved favorably towards me before court).
 
Wow, I just heard about ShareGrid last week from a producer I am shooting for, had never heard of it, looked promising. After reading the OPs experience, I will not be using them at all. I don't work with crooks and scam artists which is what it sounds like they are. I hate companies that have lawyers write in "weasel clauses" when all of their advertisement and marketing makes it seem as if they have you covered. Sod that, I will spend my dollars with reputable, above board rental companies.
 
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For me a couple other issues are will the person supplying the gear have the various bits of kit to make the package usable (that's learnable, though)...and what happens if rented equipment fails? When I rent from a traditional rental house, if something I've rented doesn't work, the rental house gets me a replacement pronto...as in: they drive out the replacement to me right away, or overnight it if I'm far far from them. Will ShareGrid do the same?

There are other companies like ShareGrid...some NYC friends have considered https://kitsplit.com/ but haven't ever tried it since there are several good rental houses out there.

And OP, have you tried contacting the founder of ShareGrid? Looks like it's this guy:
http://brentbarbano.com

Good luck!
 
Dear filmfan222,

We sincerely appreciate you being part of the ShareGrid community. We have worked very closely with both you and the other party and the claim has since been paid out. We take the damage claim on your camera very seriously. Please know that ShareGrid cares deeply about the members of its community and works every day to make sure transactions conclude without issue. Out of tens of thousands of rentals, problems occur in less than 0.02% of cases. While this kind of situation is exceedingly rare, when it does go wrong, we are committed to seeing it right.

We really appreciate your patience filmfan222. Although we verify every 3rd party insurance policy on ShareGrid, our role is more limited when it’s applied, especially when there is a dispute. Consequently, this claim took longer than usual to resolve.

It is obvious from your post that we can do better to help you understand your options. We will be working with you more closely offline to make sure this happens.

Brent Barbano
Co-Founder
 
It sounds like this issue has resulted in a positive outcome thanks (most likely) inpart to the power of social/industry media. I would however like to hear from the origional poster as to how everything was resolved. I was just yesterday considering posting my own FS7 with Sharegrid and this thread obviously gave me pause.

Best to all, Paul H
 
PaulHelling said:
It sounds like this issue has resulted in a positive outcome thanks (most likely) inpart to the power of social/industry media. I would however like to hear from the origional poster as to how everything was resolved. I was just yesterday considering posting my own FS7 with Sharegrid and this thread obviously gave me pause.

Best to all, Paul H
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I finally heard back from them last week and got about about 70% of the damage and losses refunded to me. The renter also lost an eyepiece that I had already replaced twice, from previous renters who lost the same part. The renter refused to acknowledge he lost it, even though I had a sales receipt from immediately before he rented it, and I made sure it was in the case when he picked it up. So I'm still out that $600+

I'll be honest. I'm not really happy with ShareGrid. I had a popular item on their site that was rented consistently and generated revenue for them. I even repaired part of the camera myself to save the renter/ShareGrid about $200 in other damage that was done to the arm, microphone holder. I have an immense amount of patience and trust, but I feel like if I didn't keep on them about this, and didn't reach out to the filmmaking community they would have never resolved this. They also have made no effort to reimburse me the $600+ for the eyepiece. They can write these carefully worded, legally approved customer responses all day, but let's look at the facts:

-One of their users broke and lost my equipment
-I provided ample evidence of the loss, damage, and repair
-It took them over 4+ months to resolve the issue, after many many emails, and didn't even fully cover the cost of the lost items.

This is not the promise of ShareGrid. The promise of ShareGrid is that when you list your hard earned equipment it will be covered and repaired promptly.

This has not been the case for me, and I refuse to put my equipment on ShareGrid anymore. I'm going to give KitSplit or CameraLends a go.
 
I feel I have to chime in While I absolutely understand the lure of being able to make money off your gear with little to no effort by having other folks rent it, I would only rent my stuff to a handful of people I know personally, who I believe would do me right were they to screw up my stuff. I know of a sound guy who had his stuff rented through a local brick and mortar rental house years and years ago, but to me the prospect of this whole arrangement is quite frightening. Maybe I'm in the minority here.
 
Rental is a brutal industry. Brutal on gear that is. If you plan to rent your gear, either on your own or through a third party, I'd always expect the worst.
 
Seems like there are two vastly different attitudes about rented gear. . .it's either "this isn't mine, I will be EXTRA careful with it," or "this isn't mine, who the f.u.c.k cares what happens to it?". I consider myself part of the former group. Again, small group of trusted friends/colleagues is about as far as I'd go. I'd pay to repair/replace theirs if I had to (God forbid), expect they'd to the same.
 
filmfan222 said:
I finally heard back from them last week and got about about 70% of the damage and losses refunded to me. The renter also lost an eyepiece that I had already replaced twice, from previous renters who lost the same part. The renter refused to acknowledge he lost it, even though I had a sales receipt from immediately before he rented it, and I made sure it was in the case when he picked it up. So I'm still out that $600+

I'll be honest. I'm not really happy with ShareGrid. I had a popular item on their site that was rented consistently and generated revenue for them. I even repaired part of the camera myself to save the renter/ShareGrid about $200 in other damage that was done to the arm, microphone holder. I have an immense amount of patience and trust, but I feel like if I didn't keep on them about this, and didn't reach out to the filmmaking community they would have never resolved this. They also have made no effort to reimburse me the $600+ for the eyepiece. They can write these carefully worded, legally approved customer responses all day, but let's look at the facts:

-One of their users broke and lost my equipment
-I provided ample evidence of the loss, damage, and repair
-It took them over 4+ months to resolve the issue, after many many emails, and didn't even fully cover the cost of the lost items.

This is not the promise of ShareGrid. The promise of ShareGrid is that when you list your hard earned equipment it will be covered and repaired promptly.

This has not been the case for me, and I refuse to put my equipment on ShareGrid anymore. I'm going to give KitSplit or CameraLends a go.
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Most of the companies don't walk the talk. That is what separates the Great companies from others. A lot of time when I talk with founders of startups, I find that their main motive is to make money. Only a few companies truly have a vision and ethics. So I am not surprised that you lost money here.

You may also like to check the competitors of ShareGrid and see how they perform when there is an issue.

Personally I don't rent out equipment through rental companies. Only when I am shooting for the client, I bring in my equipment and bill it. There will always be temptation to make money out of our equipment if it is sitting idle. However, I know that my core competency is not being a rental house. So I will only bring my equipment to productions if I am there using it alone or with my team.
 
filmfan222 said:
I finally heard back from them last week and got about about 70% of the damage and losses refunded to me. The renter also lost an eyepiece that I had already replaced twice, from previous renters who lost the same part. The renter refused to acknowledge he lost it, even though I had a sales receipt from immediately before he rented it, and I made sure it was in the case when he picked it up. So I'm still out that $600+

I'll be honest. I'm not really happy with ShareGrid. I had a popular item on their site that was rented consistently and generated revenue for them. I even repaired part of the camera myself to save the renter/ShareGrid about $200 in other damage that was done to the arm, microphone holder. I have an immense amount of patience and trust, but I feel like if I didn't keep on them about this, and didn't reach out to the filmmaking community they would have never resolved this. They also have made no effort to reimburse me the $600+ for the eyepiece. They can write these carefully worded, legally approved customer responses all day, but let's look at the facts:

-One of their users broke and lost my equipment
-I provided ample evidence of the loss, damage, and repair
-It took them over 4+ months to resolve the issue, after many many emails, and didn't even fully cover the cost of the lost items.

This is not the promise of ShareGrid. The promise of ShareGrid is that when you list your hard earned equipment it will be covered and repaired promptly.

This has not been the case for me, and I refuse to put my equipment on ShareGrid anymore. I'm going to give KitSplit or CameraLends a go.
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reading this thread i too would pass on ShareGrid.

david
 
Josh Bass said:
Seems like there are two vastly different attitudes about rented gear. . .it's either "this isn't mine, I will be EXTRA careful with it," or "this isn't mine, who the f.u.c.k cares what happens to it?". I consider myself part of the former group. Again, small group of trusted friends/colleagues is about as far as I'd go. I'd pay to repair/replace theirs if I had to (God forbid), expect they'd to the same.
Click to expand...

I've always treated gear like it was mine, partially since I've always owned gear since day one. In fact, I used to bring the gear back in better condition than when I picked it up from one of the guys I used to shoot for, because he treated his own stuff like crap. It still amazes me the people in this business, that KNOW how much this stuff costs, how fragile some of it is and how much it costs to repair it and still take the literal attitude of "they're just tools" and treat it like it's hammers and screwdrivers.

I started renting my gear out a few years ago. At first just to a very small, select group of friends, then opened it up more as some of it was in high demand. I've been fairly lucky, no REAL damage- broken cable and a few minor lost pieces that were promptly replaced, is about it. I have had some pieces not put back in the right places in bags and cases that did cause some tense moments and some ass-clown of an AC that wrote on some cards instead of using tape to mark them. But the only one that really sent me over the edge was a fellow shooter who rented my 17-120(I had had it only a few days) and brought it back packed incorrectly AND dirty. It had been raining on his shoot and the front element was uncovered and had dirt and water spots all over it. I was a little mad at myself, because although I wasn't expecting anything like that to happen, I almost pulled a clear filter off of one of my W/A's to put on there before I sent it out. Even if it was a rental from a rental house, you should have enough courtesy to clean it up, but if it's a friends personal lens you should definitely return it SPOTLESS. I would have been embarrassed to take a friends lens back to him in that condition.
 
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