Storage unit?

[spdfrk2001]

Ohio here, i moved out of a storage unit a year ago, never received a bill, call, letter ect. there has been no communication between both parties, apparently i owed a months rent for moving out mid month, i received a letter today about how they are auctioning off my belongings(which i have nothing there and havent for a year) and i owe $1700.00 in back rent, interest, cleaning fees, ect ect not sure what to do here

 

[Eekamouse]

Ohio here, i moved out of a storage unit a year ago, never received a bill, call, letter ect. there has been no communication between both parties, apparently i owed a months rent for moving out mid month, i received a letter today about how they are auctioning off my belongings(which i have nothing there and havent for a year) and i owe $1700.00 in back rent, interest, cleaning fees, ect ect not sure what to do here

Let me guess. When you moved your stuff out, you failed to remove your lock from the unit's door. As far as the storage facility is concerned, that is still your unit. They don't have a key to your unit. Only you do. How old is the notice of auction you received? The lock cuts probably happened a long time ago and when they opened your unit, they found it empty. That's assuming you didn't leave behind the junk you didn't want. You're still on the hook for the bill. You may be able to negotiate for a reduction of the amount owed. Call them and see what you can work out.

 

[spdfrk2001]

No removed the lock, sweep the floor, and closed the door behind me, even told them the day prior i was moving out

 

[spdfrk2001]

If i did that i would understand, left unlocked, cleaned floors and cobwebs in the corners....

 

[quincy]

What exactly was your agreement with the storage unit company? Was this a month to month rental or did you sign a year's lease on the unit? What were the conditions for termination of the lease (e.g., were you supposed to give a 30-day notice in writing)?

Obviously if you did not leave any of your property in the unit, you have nothing to lose if the storage company auctions off what remains in the unit. But that also means that, if you still owe back rent, you cannot reduce the amount owed through the auctioning of any items you left behind.

I suggest you carefully read over the agreement you had with the storage unit, to see if you might have violated the terms. You should ask the storage unit for a detailed accounting of the charges they now say you owe. And then you can, as Eekamouse suggested, attempt to negotiate a fair settlement amount.

You should try to do this before the storage unit debt is turned over to a collection agency and you find you have become a defendant in a debt collection lawsuit.

Good luck.

 

[spdfrk2001]

Ill contact them and go from there, i no longer have my copy of the contract, due to a fire, i know its a month to month and not a year lease, thanks for all the advice, its greatly appreciated

 

[quincy]

Ill contact them and go from there, i no longer have my copy of the contract, due to a fire, i know its a month to month and not a year lease, thanks for all the advice, its greatly appreciated

Contacting them and going from there seems like a reasonable plan.

Good luck.

 

[Eekamouse]

No removed the lock, sweep the floor, and closed the door behind me, even told them the day prior i was moving out

Hmmm. My guess is then that the storage facility had a policy that required a two week written vacate notice that you did not adhere to. Because you just told them verbally you were vacating, they decided to be sticklers and they did not vacate you out of the computer system either because a) the corporate office require the employees to maintain a certain percentage of monthly occupancy in the facility and if it dips below that percentage the employees get in trouble or b) the employees are lazy jerks who like sending people to collections to punish them for not following the rules to the letter. You should stop by there and talk to the manager. When you're in the office, look around and see if they have the move out procedures posted for tenants to see. If it's not posted anywhere and is only in the lease they give you when you move in, call their corporate office and talk to them about it. If they refuse to waive all the late fees and extra charges, tell them you're going to file a complaint with the BBB and then do it. They should back down if they're smart.

 

[single317dad]

Hmmm. My guess is then that the storage facility had a policy that required a two week written vacate notice that you did not adhere to. Because you just told them verbally you were vacating, they decided to be sticklers and they did not vacate you out of the computer system either because a) the corporate office require the employees to maintain a certain percentage of monthly occupancy in the facility and if it dips below that percentage the employees get in trouble or b) the employees are lazy jerks who like sending people to collections to punish them for not following the rules to the letter. You should stop by there and talk to the manager. When you're in the office, look around and see if they have the move out procedures posted for tenants to see. If it's not posted anywhere and is only in the lease they give you when you move in, call their corporate office and talk to them about it. If they refuse to waive all the late fees and extra charges, tell them you're going to file a complaint with the BBB and then do it. They should back down if they're smart.

- There are an awful lot of assumptions in there.
- Depending on the contract, the fees and charges might be perfectly valid. Some places will waive those fees in the event of a misunderstanding, but they wouldn't be required to do so.
- I've never met any employee (who is probably making near the minimum wage) who "likes sending people to collections to punish them."
- The BBB is no more than a toothless extortion outfit. Why people think they have any authority to "help" them, I don't understand.

Talking to the manager might be a good idea though. It's possible this whole mess could be cleared up quickly and painlessly.

 

[LdiJ]

- There are an awful lot of assumptions in there.
- Depending on the contract, the fees and charges might be perfectly valid. Some places will waive those fees in the event of a misunderstanding, but they wouldn't be required to do so.
- I've never met any employee (who is probably making near the minimum wage) who "likes sending people to collections to punish them."
- The BBB is no more than a toothless extortion outfit. Why people think they have any authority to "help" them, I don't understand.

Talking to the manager might be a good idea though. It's possible this whole mess could be cleared up quickly and painlessly.

While I agree to a great extent about the BBB it does have some clout with some people. On top of that, there absolutely are creditors who will send disputed debts to collections even if the creditor is absolutely in the wrong.

 

[Eekamouse]

- There are an awful lot of assumptions in there.
- Depending on the contract, the fees and charges might be perfectly valid. Some places will waive those fees in the event of a misunderstanding, but they wouldn't be required to do so.
- I've never met any employee (who is probably making near the minimum wage) who "likes sending people to collections to punish them."
- The BBB is no more than a toothless extortion outfit. Why people think they have any authority to "help" them, I don't understand.

Talking to the manager might be a good idea though. It's possible this whole mess could be cleared up quickly and painlessly.

I can assure you, there are those who enjoy sending people to collections that ought not to be sent there.
I agree, the BBB is a toothless extortion outfit but they can sort of come in handy if the company you're dealing with is a member.
I can also assure you that if the storage facility operates on a percent occupied system that punishes employees when the occupancy dips below the acceptable amount, those employees will be more prone to hold on to tenants that they should move out just to keep their numbers in the black.

 

[quincy]

... I agree, the BBB ... can sort of come in handy if the company you're dealing with is a member ...

A BBB accepts complaints from consumers, sends those complaints to the business, the business either responds to the complaint or doesn't, and the consumer is notified of the business' response. That is pretty much the extent of what the BBB does, other than give a business a letter "grade."

The BBB rating system has been accused of being based more on paid membership than on consumer complaints.

Regardless of the number of complaints lodged against it by consumers, for example, a business that has paid to be a member of the BBB may be unlikely to see a reduction in its rating. An A+ rating will remain an A+ rating. Businesses with no consumer complaints that are not paid BBB members may have lower ratings than paid members with many complaints. In fact, some businesses have sued some BBBs over their false or misleading rating system. The non-member businesses tend to lose these suits, though, because the courts have looked at the BBB ratings as "opinions" of a business and not as fact.

edit to add: An informative read is this 2015 investigation of the BBB by CNNMoney: http://money.cnn.com/news/companies/bbb-ratings/ and an article by CNNMoney: http://money.cnn.com/2015/09/30/news/better-business-bureau/