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I had my own Master lock on the unit. In June
and July I went into the office to pay my monthly storage fee
QUESTION:I recently lost items in a storage facility that were valued at around
$2,000. The insurance company is in the process of handling my claim, but my
problem is the manager at the facility. In March of 2004 I went to the unit
and checked it, all was fine. I had my own Master lock on the unit. In June
and July I went into the office to pay my monthly storage fee, and spoke
with the manager directly. He never mentioned a problem with my unit.
In mid July when I went to remove all items, that's when I discovered that
certain items were missing. There was a new lock on the unit, one that the
manager had replaced. After a complete inventory of all my merchandise, I
went back to the manager at the Public Storage facility and reported to him
the situation. I asked why he hadn't contacted me. He said that he had by
letter. I then asked for a copy of my complete file/folder. There was no
copy of him notifying me of any problems. I asked whether he sent it
certified, registered, or if he had made a phone call to my home. He said
that he sent the letter regular mail, and that he did not attempt to call.
When I voiced my opinion as to how suspicious this looked, he got mad, told
me and others to get out of the office and never told me how to file my
insurance claim. I went to the police, made the report and contacted the
corporate headquarters who told me how to file a claim for my losses.
My question is this - is the manager and the facility negligent and liable,
and if so, in small claims court, how much damages is it possible to
collect? Please advise. I live in Sacramento, California, if that is
pertinent to the situation.
ANSWER: Q: I had my own Master lock on the unit. In June
and July I went into the office to pay my monthly storage fee, and spoke
with the manager directly. He never mentioned a problem with my unit.
A: And you didn't take the extra few minutes to go around to your unit and take a
look at it. So this is partially your fault!
The fine print in your rental agreement probably contained language designed to
get them off the hook if something like this happened. However, if they were
negligent, or if the staff of the facility ripped you off, you may have some
recourse.
Does this facility keep a log of who comes and goes, and what unit they're
visiting? If so, ask to see it. It may tell you who visited your unit, took
off your lock, and put a different one on it. They may also have surveillance
camera videos, too.
Even if you prove that they are liable for the breakin, you then have the
problem of proving your stuff was worth two thousand bucks. (Especially
difficult to prove given that you let several months go by without using this
stuff, bringing in more stuff, taking stuff out, checking up on the condition
of the stuff, etc.)
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