Complaints

• Initial Complaint

  24/02/2024

  Complaint Type:

  Customer Service Issues

  Status:

  Answered

  More info

  The end of August 2023 my family of 5 fell on some unfortunate circumstances leaving us virtually homeless. I called access storage via the number on ****** that led me to a call center for booking a storage unit. I spoke multiple times with people about what size unit I would need, the cost and heated/unheated units. We settled for a 10x10 heated unit with insurance coverage for $371.90/month. We moved all of our belongings in except out beds and clothes because we ended up staying with a family member while we waited for a home to become available. January rolled around and we had a new apartment set up so we called the storage facility and told them we would be canceling our unit and taking our things. Upon moving our stuff out of the unit we noticed that our brand new sofa that wasn't even completely paid off was full of mould. I thought ok that's strange because this was meant to be a heated unit. I noticed that the sofa was directly under the heating pipe so thought maybe it had leaked on my sofa. I contacted the storage facility directly to their on site office and told them what happened. They asked me for pictures and told me to leave my sofa in the storage unit so they could send everything over to insurance and have it settled. I called a few times that month to see if they had heard anything they kept telling me that it would take a while to hear back anything. I said ok but this is no fault of my own this is on your end I was told the unit was heated there was no reason my things should have had mould on them. They told me that the unit infact was not heated because new owners bought it in June and made that section non heated. I said well that's not what I agreed to. They gave me a phone number for "head office" and said it goes right to Voicemail but he will call you back if you leave a message. I called and spoke with a man and he assured me he would listen to the calls when I booked the unit and help me settle the situation. Never heard back after.

  Business response

  27/02/2024

  Good afternoon.

  We have retained the recorded communication between the Customer and our Reservation Center and there is no request for heated storage.  The Customer was also advised of this fact by the local store team in Sydney. We do provide options for heated, climatized or drive up unheated Storage Units. The Customer was in a drive up unheated unit.

  The Insurance policy that was in place during her occupancy of the unit expreselly states that damages claimed as a result of Mold or Mildew are excluded and not covered. The Customer at the time of signing her lease would have been provided a copy of said Insurance Coverage explaining the exclusions.

  In spite of the fact that Access Storage had no legal responsability in this instanace, at the Customer's request, we requested a refund of approximately $100.00  We also reached out to a professional Mold Remediation Company with the intent of covering the cost of cleaning the item. Further discussions with this Company revealed that in their opinion, the only way this item would generate mold was if it had been moved into the unit wet or damp in the first place as our units are known to be completely dry.

  Access Storage is very attentive to the security and safety of Client's items while in our facilities. There are however situations such as Mold and Mildew that we have no control over unless caused by an overhead roof leak allowing water to access the Unit. This was not the cause in this instance.

  Customer response

  27/02/2024

   I am rejecting this response because:
  In my process of unpacking I will be looking for my documents from access storage to confirm I indeed was led to believe this was a heated unit. I am not satisfied with any of this. A good friend of mine is, and has been, renting the same size unit from them but unheated for a much cheaper price so if my unit was unheated as well shouldn't it have been the same price? I can request he write a letter with proof of receipt to prove this by the end of this week.

  The fact the business couldn't even call me to follow up with my initial ordeal with them is just bad business. I have 3 children under the age of 4 that I've literally had no sofa in my home for now, for over a month because of this. My belongings were NOT wet upon arrival to the storage unit at all  because we rented a uhaul moving truck at the end of August, it was not raining either because wouldn't my other belongings also be damaged that were in the unit as well? They weren't, other than 2 throw pillows and a bamboo untensil box that was in a box on the sofa!!!!. The sofa was underneath the heating pipe in that unit so I'm assuming it leaked. I don't understand how unprofessional this has become but I can assure you I will be getting my facts straight so this is settled in a fair and timely manner. I would be content that they have my sofa professionally cleaned AND delivered without any cost to me, but I just can't count on their credibility at this point that the mould would be completely and entirely out of it. My son has severe breathing problems since birth that could be triggered by any sign of mould, scented cleaners, certain chemicals etc so it would have to be a very careful and thorough process.

  
  

• Initial Complaint

  07/02/2024

  Complaint Type:

  Customer Service Issues

  Status:

  Answered

  More info

  I began renting a storage unit in Feb of 2023 from access storage. I put all of my belongings into the unit . Kitchen table beds couches ect as I was moving out of a 4 bedroom apartment you can imagine the items a mom of 3 kids would have . I put most items in bins and stored mt items properly. I paid 450$ a month every month for 10 months . Once I secured a new place I was excited to go get my belongs and start moving into the new place . When I opened my storage unit and seen the mold I was so dishearted. Bix springs mattresses kitchen table couches all ruined. Now I did pay for the insurance through access storage doing the adult thing. I filed a complaint with the company to put a claim though insurance 2 months later my claim has been denied . Now If access storage advertised air controlled units they where then my items would not have been ruined ( I have pictures ) I'm behind upset that I spend 450 a month to access storage for my items to be ruined let alone a denied insurance claim. The company needs to be held accountable. I had to spend 2200 on a new couch and thats not even the cost of the beds I had to go buy for my 3 kids I'm filing a complaint for false advertising and looking for the money I spent on the unit from the company themselves. (The pictures of my items won't upload on this website )

  Business response

  11/03/2024

  We have retained the recorded communication between the Customer and our Reservation Center and there is no request for heated storage.  The Customer was advised of this fact by the local store team in Sydney. We do provide options for heated, climatized or drive up unheated Storage Units upon request.

  The Insurance policy that was in place during her occupancy of the unit expressly states that damages claimed as a result of Mold or Mildew are excluded and not covered. The Customer at the time of signing her lease would have been provided a copy of said Insurance Coverage explaining the exclusions. Nevertheless, a claim on her behalf was submitted to the Insurance Underwriter and it was declined citing the above exclusions.

  In spite of the fact that Access Storage had no legal responsibility in this instance, as a Customer Service gesture, we offered the Customer $500.00 to help offset their loss. This offer was declined by the Customer. Further discussions with a mold remediation company revealed that in their opinion, the only way this item would generate mold was if it had been moved into the unit wet or damp in the first place as our units are known to be completely dry.

  It is very regrettable when a Customer has a negative experience when Storing their items and we do everything we reasonably can to prevent this occurance.

*Some consumers may elect to not publish the details of their complaints, some complaints may not meet BBB's standards for publication, or BBB may display a portion of complaints when a high volume is received for a particular business. ↩