Complaints

The complaint text that is displayed might not represent all complaints filed with BBB. 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.

• Initial Complaint

  Date:13/10/2023

  Type:Service or Repair Issues
  Status:

  UnansweredMore info

  Complaint statuses

  Resolved:

  The complainant verified the issue was resolved to their satisfaction.

  Unresolved:

  The business responded to the dispute but failed to make a good faith effort to resolve it.

  Answered:

  The business addressed the issues within the complaint, but the consumer either a) did not accept the response, OR b) did not notify BBB as to their satisfaction.

  Unanswered:

  The business failed to respond to the dispute.

  Unpursuable:

  BBB is unable to locate the business.

  Our ************ ******* contacted Alta storage to look at getting storage units for some homes we were doing massive renovations on to store their belongings until we were completed. ***** (************ ******* came to our construction meeting and informed us that Alta storage had agreed to rent us units at an initial cost of $733 for transportation of the unit to camrose and back as well as first months rent and then rent will be $99 per month after. We were not sure how long we would need them but felt the price was not something to be concerned about. the first couple of invoices came in showing the agreed upon pricing and i did not worry about it. As we were swamped with many things and the fee for the storage unit came off *****'s credit card i did not worry about it. Doing CC reconcilliations in August i noticed a discrepancy between what the invoices said and what they charged us. I reached out to ***** and he stopped receiving invoices for the company back end of May no other statements came to his email. so i reached out to the company and they stated that the fee was $99 per week not per month. so i went back to the invoices i had and they said monthly rent. the business told me that was just the way their invoices are but not the agreed on price. We requested copies of the invoices several times and finally got copies of all of them and they all say monthly until August then the statements say weekly rent. They were adamant that the agreement with ***** was weekly and ***** was adamant that it was monthly. the fact of the matter is the statements say monthly!! we were charged $99 per week for each unit. yes i should have been on top of it and noticed sooner but all the clients belongings were in them their homes were under construction and no ones else could help us. We went online to request a quote from the same company and it came out to less than $99 per week but they would not honor that either. please help I have all of their invoices now

• Initial Complaint

  Date:14/10/2022

  Type:Service or Repair Issues
  Status:

  AnsweredMore info

  Complaint statuses

  Resolved:

  The complainant verified the issue was resolved to their satisfaction.

  Unresolved:

  The business responded to the dispute but failed to make a good faith effort to resolve it.

  Answered:

  The business addressed the issues within the complaint, but the consumer either a) did not accept the response, OR b) did not notify BBB as to their satisfaction.

  Unanswered:

  The business failed to respond to the dispute.

  Unpursuable:

  BBB is unable to locate the business.

  My items were moved out May 31 to a storage unit while we waited for our new home to be built. Oct 12 we are heading over to access the unit and were told by the company only then, that they took my stuff out to Morinville WITHOUT my consent and without my knowledge. Upon arriving to the lot in morinville, we notice my unit is unlocked. Upon entering, it’s clear I’ve been robbed.
  
  Called alta storage, gm says they KNEW they’d been robbed. A MONTH prior. Failed to notify me, failed to re-secure my unit. Their basic DUTY. So since the “incident” anyone and everyone could have been accessing my unit without my knowledge. GM ****** ***** says they caught the guys and recovered items but didn’t notice mine had been hit.
  
  RCMP have a different story. Const told me the company has been aware of these thefts for more than 5 months - they are not one incident but more than 11. The company attempted to cover them up and failed to report it to the RCMP and once RCMP became aware refused to cooperate and hand over security footage.
  
  Oct 14 I receive a call from ****** at alta storage, she says we’re “updating our records” and just to let you know there’s been thefts at morinville. They are doing damage control at this point and forgot to exclude me from their list…
  
  Alta offered to move my items to a safe place, but then took the offer away unless I signed a non disclosure agreement and waiver of release. They also refused to refund the premiums I paid to keep my items safe, unless I signed, which they clearly failed to do. Clearly they are aware of their guilt or they wouldn't have me sign that. A refund and a safe move in this scenario is the bare MINIMUM.
  
  This company is criminal.

  Business Response

  Date: 17/10/2022

  Our Morinville
  site has suffered from break-ins over the past few months. We had one large
  break-in where it was unclear which units had been broken into or stolen from.
  We had reported and contacted the RCMP which unfortunately has been absolutely
  zero help. There were a couple of isolated and what seemed to be targeted
  break-ins, but unfortunately more recently there was a large break-in of
  multiple units. Many units seemed untouched, and it was unclear who was
  affected. During this break-in our electric gate locked in the thieves and the
  RCMP was contacted and five people were apprehended. We have been in contact
  with the RCMP and it has been very frustrating and unfortunately completely
  useless. They were released with no charges, which was extremely frustrating.
  We have security cameras, but the footage was not helpful because the theft
  occurred at night and the image quality was poor. Besides, the thieves were
  caught in the act and the RCMP still didn’t do anything. Our gate and security
  camera system were just upgraded 5 years ago. Since the
  event, we have shut down site access without our knowledge. Clients are
  contacting us and being afforded entry one by one as a safety measure.
  Especially after the ridiculous situation with the RCMP we have ordered a new
  access control and security system which will be installed shortly. These were
  chosen after reviewing our case with a security system consultant. These
  include thermal imaging and alarm system amongst other features. It's
  unfortunate that due to the pandemic, inflation and economic conditions crime
  and burglary is increasing at a very worrying pace everywhere in the city.
  
  We are
  extremely saddened by the event and are doing everything we can to make this right.
  Many people and businesses are unfortunately dealing with similar
  circumstances, and we are trying our best. We are saddened specifically for
  ***** as well. We have offered ***** a full refund of the storage fees she
  paid, which are $934.80. As well as paying for her insurance deductible up to
  $1000. We also offered to move her from storage to any location in Edmonton
  that she chooses at no cost. We found this offer reasonable. When paying out an
  amount this large, agreeing to the contents of and signing a waiver is standard
  practice and that was requested as well.
  I sincerely
  hope that ***** reconsiders and accepts our gesture of good faith as well as
  our deepest apologies. We were severely affected by the events as well and are
  trying to do the best we can to move forward and deal with this unfortunate and
  new reality as best as we can. We hope that this never happens again.

  I have attached the e-mail to Rene that was sent on October 14,2022 at 3:55 PM providing her with the written offer. 

  
  Best regards,

  Customer Answer

  Date: 17/10/2022

  
  
  ********** ********
  
  
  
  I am rejecting this response because: it is an outright lie. The RCMP have a completely different story.

  Let’s not forget the fact that my items were never supposed to be in that lot in the first place. They did not have my consent to take them there nor did they notify me they were there. Then the sheer NEGLIGENCE to fail to lock my unit for weeks maybe even months after the fact. Not to mention they never even notified owners of the thefts! It’s gross negligence and incompetence. 

  
  

  A refund of my fees should have been done IMMEDIATELY and is the absolute bare minimum- I paid for  service which was to store my items safely for me. Which wasn’t done. Slapping an nda and conditions on a refund for a service you FAILED to provide is asinine. This company is unethical and borderline criminal. You have failed your customers entirely.
  
  
  
  Sincerely,
  
  
  
  ***** ******