Texas: Suing for emptied-out locker that was paid for?

[cmp4048]

I am a student at a university where we have the option to pay for a locker service at our gym. In September 2018, I paid for the locker to last until May 2019. In November, I received an emailing stating "renew your locker or we will empty it out, so in early December 2018, I confirmed that I could leave my belongings in the locker over the winter break - which the employee told me I could because my locker does not expire until May 2019. When I came this month, I found out my locker combination was changed and my locker was empty, yet it was still under my name. I met with the customer service director who found out what happened: when I renewed my locker in September, the employee did not manually add the winter break period into my payment, so during winter break, the locker was not under my name until January 15th. Hence, they emptied my locker on December 15th and tossed my stuff on January 15th without notifying me.
She had offered complimentary services until I graduate at the end of this year (thus, free locker for Summer and Fall 2019) because she supposedly could not give me a refund. I realized later that I could not access the locker in the summer because I will not be paying summer tuition fees that would let me access the gym (I only have two classes left to graduate).

In the "conclusion," the customer service director gave me my refund, retracted the complimentary services offer, and told me that I would have to pay for the service again if I wanted a locker. She did not mention anything at all about compensating for the items thrown away. She concluded the dispute with the following statement in her email: "The situation was resolved to best of our ability and there is no need for further communication regarding this matter."
The problems:

• On the receipt from September 2018 (that I do not have), there was a date range of January 15th, 2019 - May 15th, 2019. When the employee was supposed to change the date to December 15th, 2018 - May 15th, 2019.
• I do not have a full list of what was in the locker, however, the director told me that they keep a list of the items they collect from the locker.
• I do not have any receipts for the items that were tossed out (For example: I bought a pair of shoes at Ross, but it's part of many items I bought. Or a Nike backpack I have had since high school). It was worth at least $70 altogether.
• EVERYTHING (records of my payment, records of the locker being emptied out, list of my items, etc) are on the customer service director's computer... while I have none of it.

Is there any way I can file a small claims lawsuit regarding this issue? Especially because they threw out my items without notifying me? If I had received an email that my locker was emptied out and I had a month to pick it up, I would have came to the gym that very same day to ask "What's going on? I already paid for the locker." Also, I would like to add "emotional distress" because of how (1) I found out the night before a business dinner on February 5th right when I was in a rush, and (2) the director told me they had tossed out my stuff on February 6th, implying that the employee did not check if my belongings were still in the facility and that the employee did not pass on my information to the director to prevent her from throwing anything away (she told me later that she had tossed out my belongings at an earlier date: " I double checked with the employee that assisted me with cleaning out the lockers and the date was February 1 not February 6th. So, that is my fault. ")
My grades have started dropping. I'm already going through major family issues. I had to deal with mold in the air vents at my place when school first started. I already suffer from anxiety and depression, and this situation is not helping me at all - especially when I know how customer service should handle their company's mistakes.

 

[quincy]

What is the name of your state? Never mind. I see "Texas" in your thread title.

Your grades have dropped because gym shoes and a backpack were mistakenly discarded?

 

[Shadowbunny]

I am a student at a university where we have the option to pay for a locker service at our gym. In September 2018, I paid for the locker to last until May 2019. In November, I received an emailing stating "renew your locker or we will empty it out, so in early December 2018, I confirmed that I could leave my belongings in the locker over the winter break - which the employee told me I could because my locker does not expire until May 2019. When I came this month, I found out my locker combination was changed and my locker was empty, yet it was still under my name. I met with the customer service director who found out what happened: when I renewed my locker in September, the employee did not manually add the winter break period into my payment, so during winter break, the locker was not under my name until January 15th. Hence, they emptied my locker on December 15th and tossed my stuff on January 15th without notifying me.
She had offered complimentary services until I graduate at the end of this year (thus, free locker for Summer and Fall 2019) because she supposedly could not give me a refund. I realized later that I could not access the locker in the summer because I will not be paying summer tuition fees that would let me access the gym (I only have two classes left to graduate).

In the "conclusion," the customer service director gave me my refund, retracted the complimentary services offer, and told me that I would have to pay for the service again if I wanted a locker. She did not mention anything at all about compensating for the items thrown away. She concluded the dispute with the following statement in her email: "The situation was resolved to best of our ability and there is no need for further communication regarding this matter."
The problems:

• On the receipt from September 2018 (that I do not have), there was a date range of January 15th, 2019 - May 15th, 2019. When the employee was supposed to change the date to December 15th, 2018 - May 15th, 2019.
• I do not have a full list of what was in the locker, however, the director told me that they keep a list of the items they collect from the locker.
• I do not have any receipts for the items that were tossed out (For example: I bought a pair of shoes at Ross, but it's part of many items I bought. Or a Nike backpack I have had since high school). It was worth at least $70 altogether.
• EVERYTHING (records of my payment, records of the locker being emptied out, list of my items, etc) are on the customer service director's computer... while I have none of it.

Is there any way I can file a small claims lawsuit regarding this issue? Especially because they threw out my items without notifying me? If I had received an email that my locker was emptied out and I had a month to pick it up, I would have came to the gym that very same day to ask "What's going on? I already paid for the locker." Also, I would like to add "emotional distress" because of how (1) I found out the night before a business dinner on February 5th right when I was in a rush, and (2) the director told me they had tossed out my stuff on February 6th, implying that the employee did not check if my belongings were still in the facility and that the employee did not pass on my information to the director to prevent her from throwing anything away (she told me later that she had tossed out my belongings at an earlier date: " I double checked with the employee that assisted me with cleaning out the lockers and the date was February 1 not February 6th. So, that is my fault. ")
My grades have started dropping. I'm already going through major family issues. I had to deal with mold in the air vents at my place when school first started. I already suffer from anxiety and depression, and this situation is not helping me at all - especially when I know how customer service should handle their company's mistakes.

I say this kindly: if the loss of a pair of sneakers and an old backpack is causing you emotional distress, then the services of a behavioral-health professional is warranted.

Look: they made a mistake. Gave you a refund and an apology. Without proof of the contents (and receipts to back it up) how do you think it would go in SC?

(And just a note on the value of items: the courts would look at the value of a 5-year old backpack, not what you originally paid for it.)

 

[xylene]

You have at most 70 dollars of loss, which you can't establish with proof, and you have no proof.

Money is tight for students, I suggest you go to a thrift store or ebay and buy replacement sneaks and a backpack.

I understand the stress of being in university, dealing with very hard work and having stuff come up that is not fun to deal with.

Please avail yourself of your university health center and get a referral for counseling. Your school may have a dedicated student counseling center. If none of these are options talk to your primary care doctor or look for private counseling services that work on a sliding scale.