Complaint Review: STORAGE USA - Memphis Nationwide

This complaint was from 1999. That Storage USA is now called Extra Space Storage.  We are a new company with the same name.  We opened in November of 2010.  We only have 1 location.  Please dont confuse our company with the former Storage USA thank you.

I know who is doing this but dont know how to report them without my life in danger. Someone came to me needing cash fast . This person brought some antiques over . I said i would by a few items if only they tell me the truth on where they came from. I promised to never tell on them. They told me they break in to storage units at night. They have the code to get in and its also an inside job. Thats why no one has been caught. Im so sorry for all of you that have lost their goods. Again, I dont want to get in any kind of trouble. I did tell that person or should i say them --> dont want to say names... That i will buy more items from them only to set aside and not resell the items. Im only holding on to the items til the right moment when im able to tell the police. I know how it feels to have item stolen that are so dear to you. It has happen to me in the past. My heart goes out to each and every one of you. Some day some of your items will be back in your hands. This person or persons do sell the storage unit items on the streets so with that said, i cant get them all. Just what they bring to me when they cant get rid of the items :)

I worked at a storage facility. I'm very frustrated with people who think facilities should be responsible. NO storage facility ever claims to be Fort Knox. Security features are to deter theft, not to 100% prevent it. Each state and their laws are different, but SELF-STORAGE means YOUR responsible. When you sign contracts, YOU MUST READ THEM. If you stored your items in your own garage and you got broken in to, even if YOU had security, who's responsiblity would it be? YOURS. That's why on every rental agreement they encourage people to get insurance. If there was a tornado that ripped through your unit, would you blame the facility for your loss? This could happen anywhere, regardless of how high-tech their security features are. Banks, safes, airports, and other institutions all have weak points and can all be compromised. Instead of being mad at the company, be mad at the people who really ripped you off...the criminals who broke into your unit. ALSO- many storage facilities have some sort of addendum in their contracts that urge people not to store more than $5,000, $10,000, or other specific amounts worth of items. I know we had an additional form for people to fill out if they stored antiques, or other expensive, irreplaceable items. I've had my home broken into twice, and I feel sorry for your loss. It's not fair. But it certainly isn't the storage facility's responsibility. Quit pointing fingers...that's not going to get your stuff back.

Here are some self storage law tidbits. As I always state, I'm not an attorney but an industry insider well versed in self storage law. Each state has its own laws and legal principles. I'll quote California law since California law seems to influence laws in other parts of the country. (Cregg V. Ministor Ventures (1983)) Cregg sued Ministor Ventures in 1983 stating that the storage owed him for losses suffered. Ministor Ventures won the lawsuit after the California Courts ruled that self-service storage facilities are not liable for property losses inside of a storage unit IF AN INSURANCE PRODUCT IS AVAILABLE ON OFFERED to the self storage tenant, whether or not the storage collects the insurance premium with the normal monthly payment or whether the payment is paid to the insurance company directly by the tenant. What this means is that if a storage company doesnt mention anything about insurance and your unit gets broken into, the storage company may be liable for your loss. HOWEVER, if the storage company offers you an insurance product or simply hands you an insurance pamphlet, you are on your own if you choose not to purchase the insurance from them. If you have your own insurance, you have to deal directly with your own insurance company. The California courts are sending a strong message to consumers that there are two types of storage in California. 1. Self-Service Storage (Self Storage for short) 2. Warehouse (like the movers use). 1. Self-Service Storage is just that. It is self service. The storage takes no care, custody, or control over your stuff (bailment). The storage provides the building and that is about it. You are responsible to look at the facility and determine whether or not it suits your needs. Keep in mind that if you shop by price, you are going to be disappointed. Normally the lower priced storage facilities are lower for a reason. You should, instead, shop by where you feel the most comfortable. Storage Facilities are going to attract the kind of customer they are marketing for. Cheap facilities are going to attract less desirable tenants that facilities that require better locks, that have better lighting, and that have more rules to protect their tenants. In my opinion, you should quiz the managers and see if they are professionals hired from another industry or are they lifelong $8 hour managers that arent allowed to do anything but take payments. In my experience, you are better off with a professional manager that is in charge of his/her facility, lives on site, and works for an independent non-nationwide facility and not for a management company. This way you get someone that actually takes ownership of their facility and has the power to make decisions on the spot. 2. Warehouse. If you want the storage company to take complete responsibility for all losses, then you need to put your stuff in a warehouse. The warehousman act is completely the opposite of self storage. A bailment is created because they take care, custody, and control of your property. Your property is insured against loss by the warehouse itself. So which is better? It all depends on your needs. In most cases, I would say that self storage is better. You can visit your stuff as much as you want, placing things in storage and taken things out. It is much more convenient and a lot cheaper. A warehouse is much more expensive. The rent is much more and then there are counter fees, forklift fees, labor fees, etc. It is more expensive because of the liability they have. So as a consumer the choice is yours. But dont expect a warehouse to be cheap like a self storage, and dont expect a self storage to have any duty to protect you from losses. If you rent a self storage, get some type of insurance to cover you (I do agree that you should stay away from one of the largest self storage insurance companies that I cannot name) but a lot of the other ones are just fine. If you rent from a warehouse, you are covered but you will pay through the nose. Now that you are educated on the law and the two types of storage, you know what to do next time. All-in-all, self storage is the way to go. Visit your stuff often and store it in a way to protect it from loss (raise it off the floor, cover it in plastic, etc) because ultimately you, the tenant, are responsible unless you rent a warehouse (example Bekins). NOW IS INSURANCE MANDATORY OR NOT? The answer may surpise you. There is a LOT of misinformation from storage employees on here. Once again each state is different. But in California, the Department of Insurance periodically sends reminders to self storage facilities licensed by them that it is illegal in California to force someone to purchase an insurance product from the storage facility. So that means insurance is not mandatory right? WRONG! The Department of Insurance ruled that insurance can be contracturally MANDATORY, and it should be mandatory, to protect both sides. Most companies contracts do say that insurance is mandatory, and that you are in breach of contract if you do not have insurance. However, you can get insurance coverage from anyone you want and cannot be forced to get coverage from the storage facility. Many homeowners and renters insurance policies do cover 10% outside of the home (like inside an automobile or storage unit). Some (few) will cover up to 100% outside the home after running a C.L.U.E. report on the storage facility address. So a homeowners or renters policy is sufficient to cover the mandatory insurance clause on most self storage contracts. So it all depends on the particular contract you signed. DOES THE SELF STORAGE HAVE A DUTY TO CALL THE POLICE? NO. In fact, they shouldn't. The self storage facility should immediately call you to inspect and secure your unit. You are responsible to have a good address and phone number on file with the facility. Here is the reason they should not: A vast majority of "burglaries" arent burglaries at all. Most are from people that have access to the unit. One case in point: I remember a case in the California Desert where the tenants were moving out of their unit and claimed that someone had stolen a dozen rifles from their unit. The manager immediately photographed the lock on the unit and inspected the unit to be fine. The manager properly instructed the tenant to call the police to file a report. The police came, saw that the unit and lock was undisturbed and then viewed the video showing them removing about dozen long rolled up carpets from the facility and investigated them for filing a false police report and insurance fraud. Had the manager called the police, he would have helped them perpetrate the fraud and the police wouldnt have been able to go after the tenant for filing a false report. Also, read the contract. Many self storage contracts limit the amount you can store to $5000. You need a warehouse or a waiver to store more than that. I hope everyone is educated by this report.

I managed self storage facilities for 11 years, beginning when I was 23. I was widly underpaid when I worked for Public Storage, but StorageUSA paid a decent wage. (While owned by GE they allowed an awful lot of HR violations, but that's another story.) I have never done anything but my best for all the thousands of tenants I have served. If all of you complaining used some common sense perhaps you'd have better experiences. 1. Don't be a jerk. If you treat your manager like dirt, you're just begging for some revenge and I don't feel a bit sorry for you. Part of not being a jerk, by the way, is leaving the manager ALONE when he is not on duty. 2. Read your lease. If it's not in there, you have no legal right to it. Most storage leases guarantee you absolutely nothing beyond an empty space in which to dump your stuff. You are signing a legally binding document. If you don't have the sense to read your lease, I don't feel a bit sorry for you. 3. Insure your goods. Most storage insurance companies limit coverage to $5-$10K, so you may need to contact your own agent. If you don't care about your stuff enough to insure it, I don't care that somebody stole it. 4. If you are going to store a lot of expensive stuff, you may want to split it into multiple units to lessen your loss should there be a break in, fire, or water intrusion. (Don't even ask me how many times pipes froze and burst in the winter, and no, it is not the storage company's responsibility to replace your goods in such a case.) Note, by the way, that some leases expressly forbid the storing of total goods over a specific dollar amount. 5. Put your stuff on pallets to lessen the damage should there be water intrusion. 6. Pay your bill. I saw people lose their stuff every month because they didn't take the collection letters seriously and I was forced to auction their goods. Some of them were people I really liked. 7. Break ins occur more frequently when there is no manager around. Pick a facility with a live-on manager, preferably a smaller one with less traffic in and out so the manager takes more notice of individuals. Do check your items frequently, and select an average lock--go too high-security and you're telling the thief: hey, I have some really nice stuff in here! In the end the thief can use a crowbar to rip the hasp off the door altogether if he really wants in, so no padlock is going to save you. 8. All leases say this and it's very true: a storage unit is not an appropriate place to store irreplaceable items like family photos; or very valuable items like jewelry, furs, or art. If you store it there anyway, I won't feel a bit sorry for you when the roof leaks on your mink or high humidity grows mold on your Picasso. And by the way, fraudulent insurance claims often say they had this sort of stuff in their units, so expect your insurance company to investigate the heck out of you if you do. 9. Let your stuff breathe. If you wrap it tightly in plastic the humidity will destroy it. 10. Pack your best stuff way in the back of the unit and bury it under your junky looking boxes and trash bags. A thief isn't unloading the whole unit just in case. 11. A thief can rent a storage space for $1 at some facilities, just to get the access code so he can spend the next 30 days robbing the other units. The $1 special also invites the homeless to live in the units. Rent somewhere that does not offer the FIRST month free or for $1. If the facility makes people pay something significant initially and gives the discount in the third month or spread over a number of months, the less desirable clientele will go find that $1 special somewhere else. Remember: a storage company's only liability to you is if it is proven that their representative stole or damaged your goods. Fire, flood, mice, break ins--all of that is YOUR problem. Use some common sense and protect yourself.

When I filed the first rebuttal to this report years ago I had no connection to the self-storage industry except for being a tenant. Then a few years later I found myself managing self-storages in Arizona and California. Random break-ins must be rare as I have never seen one. In every break-in that one of my tenants experienced there was a specific suspect. Usually a jilted ex-lover or spouse. In one case, the break-in occurred at a locker rented by a construction company; the suspect had been to the locker many times and had been fired the day before. In another case, one tenant had seen what another tenant had stored and was actually caught on tape breaking in. I fired one of my assistant managers, Rodney, for using crack on the job. Since he was also a tenant he still had access to the property. A few days later a set of custom wheels were stolen off a vehicle stored outside; months later I saw Rodney's car with identical wheels. Do you think he might have ...? Rodney knew that I had my own property stored in two different lockers in different parts of the property. Two of the lockers right next mine were broken into just days after I fired Rodney. My wife currently manages a self-storage. Her assistant manager spoke with a tenant while the tenant moved tools into his storage locker, which was one of only two that did not require going inside the gate. A few days later my wife fired her assistant manager due to his poor performance. That night the former assistant manager returned and was taped breaking into the locker where the tools had been stored. My point is that the prime suspect in any burglary from a self-storage is someone who knows what you have stored, where it is, and has an axe to grind. Never allow anyone to know what you have stored or where it is.

I can truly symphasize with everyone of you that had a bad experience with Storage USA. My story would run parallel with yours. It seem that big corperate has once again have thier thumb on us. I to just lost all of my belonging from theft. The manager did his little good deed by taking a picture of the storage and asking for a list of items that have been stolen. Of course realizing that it takes the act of god to get into the premisis I only could come up with one conclusion, it was a inside job. The police investigator had not much to say but these things happen and they must of had to us a big truck to move everything out. I was sold on the idea when renting my space that the storage facility was totally secure with the most up to date security equipment. Seriously, who can we trust? It is amazing that when I asked the manager if I could see the security tape, he would only say, "sorry but the recorder broke down and it was sent out for repairs. Yes, he was right, there was no recorder but a empty slot and he could not even tell me when the record was sent out. Next question I asked him, why didn't your security alarm not go off? Just a blank look with no answer. The next thing that happen was that the nervous manager high tailed it off the facility and left his wife behind when I called the police. Of course he came back a hour later but still did not look to good. Could this whole thing happen because I demanded for six months that I needed my light fixture fixed in my space, which is still not fixed. I know the guy does not like me because I was getting demanding for him to fix the fixture. It seems that Storage USA shows signs of negligence or even some false advertising. Can anyone add anything else to this list? Are there enough of us to file a class action suite. I wish, because I am getting upset by all that has happening. Well, guess I better call my son a break the news to him that his foot locker of all his baseball memerbila that has be since he was a little leaguer is gone. I am still trying to figure out all that has been lost. It comes out to about $25,000 and climbing. And I was going to relocate so can afford to retire....yeah right!! Is there any hope for us?

editor's rebuttal.. In a perfect world only honest senior citizens as you described would work for storage facilities..all belongings would be secure. I found offense inthe reference to all storage managers being "underpaid lowlife's" .It is a job. period the end. You have a job as do I,it is fair to generalize one based on the station in life they happen to occupy. Professionalism please. btw-I am an exec who doesnt work for a storage co..lol

I have been involved with the Self storage industry for eight years and had a storage unit for 10 years prior to that. I am familiar with Storage-USA and their procedures. Here are some sugeestions I have: 1)Their contract states not to store valuables so why would you store $40k. 2)They require you to show proof of insurance if you are storing over $5k 3)Discs locks are the best. In eight years I have only seen one disc lock unit broken in to. 4)Storage insurance is cheap. Avoid making a claim on your homeowners insurance. 5)The system in used in Mesa is an invasion of privacy. 6)With the new digatal recorders, tapes are not used and recordings can be veiwed for a longer period of time. 7)REGARDLESS OF ANY SECURITY MEASURES, IF A THEIF WANTS TO STEAL FROM A STORAGE FACILITY, EVEN ONE WITH A SECURITY GUARD THEY WILL FIGURE OUT A WAY TO DO SO.

Any body who store $40,000 + of there "most valuable things" in a Storage facility should have their head examined...Check Yourself

The former police officer is right. Most storage places offer insurance for their customers. The storage company isn't paid anything. This is for their customers. I have been in this business for over 2 yrs. There are good & bad property managers(&District Mgrs). They say locks are for honest people. Put on a disc lock, it takes longer to get into. If it was your house & a thief wanted in the only thing that would stop him is a dog, an alarm or your 357!!! Look for a storage place at night. See how well it is lit. Take a tour of the facility with the property manager. If they don't make you feel confortable try another location. Just remember you are storing at your own risk!!! Goodluck, there are still honest people in this world.

I have read the following messages on this problem. I am a former police officer, and have investigated storage breakins. The best advice I can give is: A. DO NOT use a cheap lock! If your goods are that valuable then don't get miserly on your lock. B. Make periodic checks on your stored goods. C. Do not believe that the management has 24 hr surveillance. Cameras are mechanical and can fail at any time. D. Check with your local P.D. Ask them if they have incurred breakin problems in the local you plan to store in. E. Have insurance! If its worth storing, its worth insuring. F. Have a written record of all your goods, include serial #, discription of goods, make, color etc. This will help the police in recovery of stolen items. Just a few tips on how to protect your goods. My girlfriend also works for Storage USA. She cares immensly about the people that store at her facility, and when a breakin has/does occur, calls are made to the tenant, and to the P.D.

As a former employee of the facility being attacked, I can say only this... I worked as an assistant to the live-on manager on a full time basis and let me tell you, if you think that it is that easy to run and maintain a property it is not. There is a lot of work involved with the "Whole" business, its not all about checking locks everyday, twice a day and knowing who has what kind of lock and how many storage units they have. The Security features are what they are and the costumer is made aware of them at each property as to what their security consists of. We had camera's and recorded video for a month at a time. If things are not reported to the manager within that month then how are they supposed to know to look at the tape or save that time frame. There are humane's running the facility's, not machines and not all retired people. When a live on manager happens to actually get a real day off, they normally get as far away from the property as possible, because if they stay on site they are no doubt dragged into the office for one thing or another. As to the costumer who lost her belongings to theft, I feel for your lose, however the people running the facility cant possible know what the thief was planning to do or when, and neither could you. However, if I had that much of my stuff in a storage facility, I would most definatley check on it, if not every week, then at least once a month. Security or not, those are things that cannot be replaced and I would not take that big a chance on some sort of security system.........security systems fail and people make mistakes.

*Only* one of the messages I read made complete, logical sense: "If break-ins are a problem-then these facilities need to do something about it. If that means hiring a security guard to patrol the grounds at night then they should do it. These storage places should also be required to carry insurance if the renter doesn't have any. Although anyone who rents a storage unit should have a homeowners/renters policy." I am in the process of renting space and am scared to death because my furniture is very expensive - furniture that I could never afford, given to me as a Christmas gift. As for insurance, that's very expensive, especially when you add the monthly cost of storage. Now-a-days, most (if not all) insurance companies can legally request/run a credit check and deny insurance to anyone. That's where I'm at. There is no excuse for leading a consumer into false beliefs and falling back on legal mumble-jumble about non-existent contracts when things go bad. If you're going to tell a storage renter that you have security cameras, you also owe it to the consumer to tell him/her that the tapes get scrapped every x-amount of days. Besides, the storage places probably re-use these tapes over and over, making them crappy evidence when the need arises. I can certainly go on about this -- bottom line, no one should be given 1/2-butt information but it happens ALL THE TIME!

*Only* one of the messages I read made complete, logical sense: "If break-ins are a problem-then these facilities need to do something about it. If that means hiring a security guard to patrol the grounds at night then they should do it. These storage places should also be required to carry insurance if the renter doesn't have any. Although anyone who rents a storage unit should have a homeowners/renters policy." I am in the process of renting space and am scared to death because my furniture is very expensive - furniture that I could never afford, given to me as a Christmas gift. As for insurance, that's very expensive, especially when you add the monthly cost of storage. Now-a-days, most (if not all) insurance companies can legally request/run a credit check and deny insurance to anyone. That's where I'm at. There is no excuse for leading a consumer into false beliefs and falling back on legal mumble-jumble about non-existent contracts when things go bad. If you're going to tell a storage renter that you have security cameras, you also owe it to the consumer to tell him/her that the tapes get scrapped every x-amount of days. Besides, the storage places probably re-use these tapes over and over, making them crappy evidence when the need arises. I can certainly go on about this -- bottom line, no one should be given 1/2-butt information but it happens ALL THE TIME!

*Only* one of the messages I read made complete, logical sense: "If break-ins are a problem-then these facilities need to do something about it. If that means hiring a security guard to patrol the grounds at night then they should do it. These storage places should also be required to carry insurance if the renter doesn't have any. Although anyone who rents a storage unit should have a homeowners/renters policy." I am in the process of renting space and am scared to death because my furniture is very expensive - furniture that I could never afford, given to me as a Christmas gift. As for insurance, that's very expensive, especially when you add the monthly cost of storage. Now-a-days, most (if not all) insurance companies can legally request/run a credit check and deny insurance to anyone. That's where I'm at. There is no excuse for leading a consumer into false beliefs and falling back on legal mumble-jumble about non-existent contracts when things go bad. If you're going to tell a storage renter that you have security cameras, you also owe it to the consumer to tell him/her that the tapes get scrapped every x-amount of days. Besides, the storage places probably re-use these tapes over and over, making them crappy evidence when the need arises. I can certainly go on about this -- bottom line, no one should be given 1/2-butt information but it happens ALL THE TIME!

*Only* one of the messages I read made complete, logical sense: "If break-ins are a problem-then these facilities need to do something about it. If that means hiring a security guard to patrol the grounds at night then they should do it. These storage places should also be required to carry insurance if the renter doesn't have any. Although anyone who rents a storage unit should have a homeowners/renters policy." I am in the process of renting space and am scared to death because my furniture is very expensive - furniture that I could never afford, given to me as a Christmas gift. As for insurance, that's very expensive, especially when you add the monthly cost of storage. Now-a-days, most (if not all) insurance companies can legally request/run a credit check and deny insurance to anyone. That's where I'm at. There is no excuse for leading a consumer into false beliefs and falling back on legal mumble-jumble about non-existent contracts when things go bad. If you're going to tell a storage renter that you have security cameras, you also owe it to the consumer to tell him/her that the tapes get scrapped every x-amount of days. Besides, the storage places probably re-use these tapes over and over, making them crappy evidence when the need arises. I can certainly go on about this -- bottom line, no one should be given 1/2-butt information but it happens ALL THE TIME!

i am manager of one of storage usa's largest competitors and have been for over 10 years. i am 30 yrs old,so i've been doing this since i was 20. i do not believe age is not a factor, considering most elderly managers dont work weekends and usually aren't on site because they use that time to go to thier families or get away spots- remember they are semi retired.

no storage facility is 100% secure. you can invest in disk locks or try to store at a facility that uses cylinder locks (similar to a vending machine lock)i can cut through a padlock in under 20 seconds with a big enough pair of bolt cutters.

NEVER store items that CAN NOT be replaced. the lose will not be as devestating.

use your best judgement if the property looks vulnerable, ex: only fenced in, my property is walled in by the units themselves. tour the property. don't rely on a resident manager to be there every minute of the day.

always purchase the insurance offered by the Landlord.my company includes it in the rate because 90% of our customers do not purchase it when offered. we want to avoid making a bad situation worse.most people do not realize our own insurance can not cover thier property.we have no idea what you have in storage and our insurance rates would be so high we couldn't offer affordable storage. people would be making false claims.

i have never had a break-in, and i never want to have to deal with one. I truly care about all my customers and thier belongings. I know it's a scary thought to think you may never see your stuff again, but storing doesn't have to be Russian Roulette. Use your head and gut instinct.
If the manager seems shady he might be, go somewhere else.

I personally know the managers of the near-by Storage USA and they are wonderful people i send them customers when i can't accomodate them. Also national storage facilities tend to be more accomodating because they have a reputation to protect.

I am sick of hearing about storage breakins. People rent out these facilities, get locks put on them and we are supposed to have a sense of security. What else are people supposed to do when they don't have a place to put their stuff besides sell it? I hear of these breakins all the time. These breakins are many times inside jobs. This storage facility in general is huge if its the one on Country Club and Southern. It has rows and rows of storage units, its twists around and it would be hard to see someone breaking in if the mgmt just sits in the front office all the time.

If breakins are a problem-then these facilities need to do something about it. If that means hiring a security guard to patrol the grounds at night then they should do it. These storage places should also be required to carry insrance if the renter doesn't have any. Although anyone who rents a storage unit should have a homeowners/renters policy.

I rented a small storage room here for 2 momths and luckily my stuff was safe but I constantly worried though that my unit was going to get broken into. The only person ever working was a young heavyset lady in her 20's that mostly just sat up in the front office. Anybody who wanted to break in on the other side of the facility could probably do so without being caught.

This email is a rebuttal to RipOff #558.
It was sent by Larry Bullis at [email protected].

STORAGE USA COMPANY Rip-Off (#558)

They filed the following rebuttal to the above Rip-Off Report:

Their email: [email protected]
Their name: Larry Bullis
Their phone number: 602-478-9880
Their relationship to the company: Consumer Suggestion

Rebuttal:
This is a bad situation all the way around. Many years ago I was the victim of a major loss at a storage locker myself, so I have a lot of sympathy for this consumer.

One problem here is that the tenant expected more from the landlord than the landlord was obligated to do. Essentially, the landlord was obligated under the rental agreement to provide a space for use by the tenant.

The tenant in this case expected the landlord to provide additional services, including providing unlimited retention of security tapes. Even though the landlord may have made statements about the level of security, it would be almost impossible to imply that there was a contract -- that
is, a meeting of the minds -- that required the landlord to provide anything other than a space for storage.

In this case the tenant failed to visit her storage space for several months. It was during this several months when the theft of her belongings occurred. The tenant implies that the landlord had an obligation to detect the theft, retain the tapes that would have recorded the theft, and possibly inform either her or the police. That would have been nice, but it's doubtful that the landlord entered into such an agreement.

One question, however, is where did that replacement lock come from? If the thief put a new lock on the locker to conceal his crime, then it would be impossible for the landlord to know that a theft had occurred. But if the landlord found the locker open and installed a new lock in the belief that a crime had been committed, then the landlord may have been negligent in not viewing and keeping the tapes that would have aided in catching the thief and recovering the goods.

But . . . it is also standard operating procedure at most storage
facilities for the landlord to lock any unlocked lockers, whether rented or not. Unlocked lockers are an everyday occurrance and the landlord would not know that a theft had occurred because he does not know what is inside the locker.

Ultimately, it was up to the tenant to inspect her belongings once in a while. Since she was going to be gone a long time and storing $40,000 worth of belongings, she should have considered the possibility of loss.

Aside from insurance, spreading her things among several smaller lockers would have reduced her chances of loss. Given the length of her absence and the value of the possessions, she should have stored them with a moving and storage company instead of a do-it-yourself storage locker.

One thing we consumers often fail to grasp is that when we take the do-it-yourself approach we are ultimately responsible for the outcome.

I'm sorry for this person's loss, but I have trouble seeing where the landlord did anything wrong.
:::::::::::::::::::::::::::
EDitor's Comments and suggestions::::::
I do not agree with the person who filed the REBUTTAL above.
This is a nationwide problem where consumers are left under the false impression by these storage managers, that nothing could happen to your stuff. Then, these underpaid low-life managers the storage company hires, they end up steeling the customers belongings. ..An inside job.

According to several police departments I spoke with from the East coast to the West coast all agree, these thefts almost never happen when the storage company has much older managers like senior citizens. There are many places where you can find a Senior Citizens couple that cares for the place and are living on the premises.
The storage companies pay is very low. Seniors use this low pay and free place to live to supplement their income. Anyone else will most likely resort to theft.

This is also another example on how big companies are getting away with giving you their double talk while they have you sign their small printed agreements where you cannot hold them responsible. ...Not necessarily so!

Just because you sign such a document, this does not mean they are not responsible for your stolen goods.
Were their cameras working?
Are all the proper procedures followed when checking in and out of the place?
There are many more situations that might hold storage companies responsible.

You would most likely be covered for everything under your home owners policy.

[email protected]

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This email is a rebuttal to RipOff #558.
It was sent by Larry Bullis at [email protected].

STORAGE USA COMPANY Rip-Off (#558)

They filed the following rebuttal to the above Rip-Off Report:

Their email: [email protected]
Their name: Larry Bullis
Their phone number: 602-478-9880
Their relationship to the company: Consumer Suggestion

Rebuttal:
This is a bad situation all the way around. Many years ago I was the victim of a major loss at a storage locker myself, so I have a lot of sympathy for this consumer.

One problem here is that the tenant expected more from the landlord than the landlord was obligated to do. Essentially, the landlord was obligated under the rental agreement to provide a space for use by the tenant.

The tenant in this case expected the landlord to provide additional services, including providing unlimited retention of security tapes. Even though the landlord may have made statements about the level of security, it would be almost impossible to imply that there was a contract -- that
is, a meeting of the minds -- that required the landlord to provide anything other than a space for storage.

In this case the tenant failed to visit her storage space for several months. It was during this several months when the theft of her belongings occurred. The tenant implies that the landlord had an obligation to detect the theft, retain the tapes that would have recorded the theft, and possibly inform either her or the police. That would have been nice, but it's doubtful that the landlord entered into such an agreement.

One question, however, is where did that replacement lock come from? If the thief put a new lock on the locker to conceal his crime, then it would be impossible for the landlord to know that a theft had occurred. But if the landlord found the locker open and installed a new lock in the belief that a crime had been committed, then the landlord may have been negligent in not viewing and keeping the tapes that would have aided in catching the thief and recovering the goods.

But . . . it is also standard operating procedure at most storage
facilities for the landlord to lock any unlocked lockers, whether rented or not. Unlocked lockers are an everyday occurrance and the landlord would not know that a theft had occurred because he does not know what is inside the locker.

Ultimately, it was up to the tenant to inspect her belongings once in a while. Since she was going to be gone a long time and storing $40,000 worth of belongings, she should have considered the possibility of loss.

Aside from insurance, spreading her things among several smaller lockers would have reduced her chances of loss. Given the length of her absence and the value of the possessions, she should have stored them with a moving and storage company instead of a do-it-yourself storage locker.

One thing we consumers often fail to grasp is that when we take the do-it-yourself approach we are ultimately responsible for the outcome.

I'm sorry for this person's loss, but I have trouble seeing where the landlord did anything wrong.
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EDitor's Comments and suggestions::::::
I do not agree with the person who filed the REBUTTAL above.
This is a nationwide problem where consumers are left under the false impression by these storage managers, that nothing could happen to your stuff. Then, these underpaid low-life managers the storage company hires, they end up steeling the customers belongings. ..An inside job.

According to several police departments I spoke with from the East coast to the West coast all agree, these thefts almost never happen when the storage company has much older managers like senior citizens. There are many places where you can find a Senior Citizens couple that cares for the place and are living on the premises.
The storage companies pay is very low. Seniors use this low pay and free place to live to supplement their income. Anyone else will most likely resort to theft.

This is also another example on how big companies are getting away with giving you their double talk while they have you sign their small printed agreements where you cannot hold them responsible. ...Not necessarily so!

Just because you sign such a document, this does not mean they are not responsible for your stolen goods.
Were their cameras working?
Are all the proper procedures followed when checking in and out of the place?
There are many more situations that might hold storage companies responsible.

You would most likely be covered for everything under your home owners policy.

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