Complaints

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• Initial Complaint

  Date:06/11/2024

  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.

  Details: I have stored my items on the premises of Storage Towne of America - Germantown since July 2022, The two individuals ********* and ***************************** manages the property and they are always using a camera to video people without permission. The problem I have is when they don't want to accept debit or credit card to pay for the storage units They talk to you like you're on a plantation, I don't know how they expect people to respond. I've talked to other tenants and they are treated the same exact way. I have overpaid this company; and ********* and ******* will lie to your face. When I addressed issues about how they conduct business; they immediately wanted me to remove my belongings; and attempted to take possession of my belongings after I told them they need to be reported to the BBB and ********************************* Relations. There is no doubt they are doing frivolous and fraudulent business because they did not want to be reported. I had PAID for the whole month of May 2024; when they stated that the contract should be ended. I have every receipt and sometimes they falsify information, and said they hand delivered papers to me. Neither one have any business professional experience other than over charging customers. When I returned to get access to the gate, I wasn't able to enter; I knew they wanted my possessions, because the many times they have cut my locks. I had to call the ************************* to get access to my units. And, yet they gave me less than an hour until the police showed then they extended the time. Then they told the police that they didn't want me on the premises anymore. I didn't need to be on the premises after I had recovered my belongings. When I got there after I called the police ******* went back to the units and took the locks off and charged astronomical fees. I just want to expose how they can accept your hard earned money and then don't want to give you access to the things they are storing.

  Business Response

  Date: 06/19/2024

  I would like to take the Details **************** laid out and clarify each one at a time. I have put her statement in red and our facility response in black. 
  **************** states: I have stored my items on the premises of Storage Towne of America - Germantown since July 2022, 
  Yes, **************** entered into a rental agreement with our location for unit 467 on July 7, 2022 and rented a second unit, 369, on July 11, 2022. At which time of renting the units she signed a lease agreement for each unit, they will be attached for review, agreeing to the terms per unit. **************** was explained and shown the monthly rent amount, late fee after the 5th amount, 45 days past due lien amount, and what would happen if the unit went into auction status, she signed and agreed to these terms and made the prorated payment on these days entering into this agreement. 
  
  **************** states: The two individuals ********* and ***************************** manages the property 
  First, ********* and ******* do run this facility, they have been the only management at this location since opening March 2022 and have been Storage Towne employees for a very long time, but neither of their last names are *******. There is a *************************** but that company does not have anything to do with Storage Towne of America, so not sure where **************** is getting her information. 
  
  **************** states: and they are always using a camera to video people without permission.
  We take security very serious at our facility, for the safety of our staff, customers, and the items being stored at our facility. Our facility has a state-of-the-art security camera system through out the facility that records video and audio footage. This information is also posted on the front door before entering the building, please see the *** Video and Audio Signs. Along with being posted on the entrance gate and keypads that the customers have to put their code into before entering the facility gates. There are also signs throughout the facility and on every door going into the climate control units. Our staff also has started wearing a body camera and using a web camera on the desk to ensure their safety, along with being able to document incidents and for disgruntle customers like ****************, who on several occasions threaten to report our location when making her past due payments, who has accused our staff of cutting locks to gain access to her items, or accused the staff of saying something they didnt say. Our staff does record these situations to have documentation, but we also post that we do this before you enter into the recorded area. All phone calls are also recorded with the notice This call might be recorded for quality assurance., in which all the calls made to us by **************** are on file with our system. **************** has recorded our staff without their permission, at least our staff does have signs stating you are recorded within our facility.
  If **************** didnt feel comfortable with having a secured location, she could have chosen a less secure company to store with, she was not forced to come to our location. 
  
  **************** states: The problem I have is when they don't want to accept debit or credit card to pay for the storage units 
  In the lease section 2.9. Auction Status. Only full payment in cash on the Occupants account by the Tuesday prior to the published auction date will stop a scheduled sale of the property. If Occupant's property is processed for sale at public auction, Occupant shall be responsible for a minimum public auction processing fee shown above as AUCTION FEE. If Occupant makes full payment to stop a schedule auction after the lock had been cut for inventorying, Occupant will be responsible for providing a new lock. Owner reserves the right to Terminated Lease Agreement on any unit that is paid after reaching the 45-day Lien Status.
  
  Customers are allowed to pay with credit/debit card as long as the account is in good status. Once the account hits 45 days past due, cash only is excepted. This is in the lease, along with in every email that is sent. See *** ****** Files to see the lease and the emails sent to ***************** to remind her of the late fees and cash only after 45 days past due. 
  
  **************** states: They talk to you like you're on a plantation, I don't know how they expect people to respond. I've talked to other tenants and they are treated the same exact way. 
  ********* has tried, video/audio recordings are on file, to explained in person numerous times about the way the late fees work, she has also sent **************** detailed breakdowns of her payments and what is due. When ********* would try to explain, **************** would cut her off saying You sound like a broken record. Yet **************** even with the admitting that staff sounded like a broken record by the information always being the same, **************** refused to follow the rules she agreed to in the lease. If **************** would have paid her bill on the 1st like agreed to in the rental agreement, she would not have a late fee after the 5th, she would not have a lien fee after the 45 days past due, she would not have a lock cut and a cancel auction fee per unit added to her account. Yet, **************** decided to not pay until the auction status not once but 4 separate times. 
  
  **************** states: I have overpaid this company; and ********* and ******* will lie to your face. 
  If you see the payment chart on the *** ****** File it is color coded broken down to be easier to read,
  7/7/2022Rented Unit 467$112.90 Month Rent $140 prorate move in $112.90 
  7/11/2022Rented Unit 369$44.03 Monthly rate $65 Prorate on move in $44.03 
  10/18/2022Auction StatusOwed $825 paid $800Aug. Sept. and October rent, late fees and lien fee2 payments $800 cash on 10/18/22 and $25 balance on 10/29/22 took off the $20 per unit auction cancellation fee this time only
  10/29/2022Auction Status$25 balance from 10/18/22Balance from not being paying the full $825 on the 18th
  11/15/2022Late Payment 1 month$225 November rent and late fee's$200 cash $25 Mastercard
  12/9/2022Regular Payment$205 December Rent (waived late fee due to office closed with covid) $200 cash $5 check
  1/24/2023Late Payment 1 month$225 January rent and late fee'scash
  3/16/2023Late Payment 2 months before lien$450 February and March Rent and Late feescash
  4/5/2023Regular Payment$205 ***** Rent$105 cash $100 with visa
  5/31/2023Late Payment 1 month$225 *** rent and late fee'scash
  6/30/2023Late Payment 1 month$225 June rent and late fee'scash
  8/31/2023Late Payment 2 months with lien$600 July and October rent, late fees, and lien fee's  $500 money order, $100 visa
  11/14/2023Auction Status$865 September, October, November, Rent, late fee's, lien fees, and auction cancellation feescash
  12/15/2023Late Payment 1 month$225 December Rent  cash
  3/19/2024Auction Status$865 January, February, Macrch rent, late fees, lien fees and auction cancellation feescash
  5/3/2024Termination Payment$430 ***** rent and late fee's, *** rent with 20th termination date. cash
  *************** made a payment on time 2 times during the rental period Regular payment $205 ($140 unit 467 and $65 unit 369 
  *************** was past due (past the 5th of that month) 5 times the $225 Regular payment plus $10 per unit late fee
  *************** Past due 2 months but before the lien fee hit 1 time, $450 Regular payment and late fees for 2 months 
  *************** Past due 2 months 45day lien fee but paid before the auction posted 1 time, $600 payment Regular payment and late fees for 2 months plus $75 per unit late fee.
  *************** Past due to the point the units had the 45-day lien fee & were posted online for auction bids 3 times, the $865 payments
  *************** was allowed to pay the past due for ****** and *** rent with the agreement to be out of the units by *** 20th which is the 1 payment of $430 since it was paid before *** had a late fee added  
  
  **************** states: When I addressed issues about how they conduct business; they immediately wanted me to remove my belongings; and attempted to take possession of my belongings after I told them they need to be reported to the BBB and ********************************* Relations. There is no doubt they are doing frivolous and fraudulent business because they did not want to be reported.
  **************** has accused our staff of doing frivolous and fraudulent business, the payment amounts never changed as far as what was charged to her, the only difference was her lack of payment causing the account to accrue late charges. Again, if she paid on time, it would have been $205 a month for the 2 units, instead she chose not to pay until they accrued late fees, which were explained to her at the time of renting each unit. From July 2022 *** 2024 **************** never had an extra charge other than the late fees, lien fees and auction cancellation fees due to non-payment on her behave, not once in this time period did her rent go up. 
  **************** also stated they immediately wanted me to remove my belongings; and attempted to take possession of my belongings after I told them they need to be reported to the BBB and ********************************* Relations
  Over the past 2 years **************** has continually accused us of going up every month on prices, threaten to report us, etc. Here are some examples of some of her emails to staff during her rental term:
  An email on November 6th, 2023 There is something wrong that has to be addressed with corporate. Your prices goes up every month, I have noticed. Astronomical prices awareness!. 
  
  August 27, 2023 Did you add someone else's bill to mine?, 
  
  October 13, 2023 What is the total? Each month that it goes into lean status you are charging more. What is the total Ms. ********** Are you adding another month. Something doesn't look right. Respectfully, ***********************. 
  
  Yet, if you look at the payment break down listed above you can see our staff has done none of the things she has accused us of doing. 
  
  **************** states: I had PAID for the whole month of *** 2024; when they stated that the contract should be ended. I have every receipt and sometimes they falsify information, 
  **************** hit the 45-day lien status on each unit four different times: 9/15/22, 8/15/23, 10/16/23, 2/15/24. When she made the payment on 3/19/24 to remove the units from auction the decision was made by Storage Towne of America staff and owners to not renew **************** lease due to this being the 4th lien status during her term. 
  **************** received an email notice that was opened on March 21st, 2024 by someone with her email access, stating that her lease would not be renewed after ***** 30th, 2024, along with being given the courtesy of allowing her to vacate by the 5th of ***** and not have to pay *****s rent?  
  On ***** 24th **************** was sent another email as a reminder of the ***** 30th termination. 
  A Certified letter was also sent to her last known address on March 21st and ***** 24th.
  After receiving the email notice of termination on March 21st, 2024, **************** did not contact our office until *** 1st, 2024.  On that day she wanted to pay her bill and was informed the lease has been terminated. She asked for the paperwork and while it was printing, she decided to leave the office.
  Due to her failure to vacate the units by ***** 30th, 2024, as a courtesy, on *** 2nd, 2024 our staff told **************** we would allow the past due rent and late fees for ***** and the payment for *** with the agreement that all items and lock be removed by *** 20th, 2024, NO exceptions. 
  This agreement was recorded on video/audio, at which time **************** asked to bring the payment back on *** 3rd. On *** 3rd, when **************** came back into the office to pay, staff again gave a verbal notice that the items had to be removed by *** 20th, 2024 and was sent an email stating the same information.
  At the time of allowing the payment for the past due of ****** *****s late fee and *** payment, which was after the termination date of ***** 30th, 2024, our staff again trying to work with **************** to allow her to remove her items and be done with the situation as long as removed by the 20th, which was the day **************** asked to have till. 
  
  **************** states: and said they hand delivered papers to me. 
  She was never told she was hand delivered papers. In the pdf Termination Email 4.23.24 reminder it states A certified letter was hand delivered to the possession of United ********************* on March 21, 2024, at 1:01 pm. From there the tracking shows ******************** *******, ******** March 21, 2024, 6:43 pm, Arrived at **** Regional Facility ******* TN DISTRIBUTION CENTER March 21, 2024, 9:38 pm and the last update is Moving Through Network In Transit to Next Facility, Arriving Late March 27, 2024. This is also why in the lease agreement we have you verify and initial all personal information is correct and inform every renter that emails will go out first. 
  Hand delivered to the ****, this was put in here due to the fact even as my response to this dispute, both of the certified letters are in transit according to the **** tracking system, they reached the ******* hub and no other updates have been given. We document in the email that a certified letter was hand delivered to the *********** personally by ********* to be mailed to ****************, not once but twice. This is also why we have the email verification of receipt because the postal service has a way misplacing mail for periods of time, which is out of our control.  
  
  **************** states: Neither one have any business professional experience other than over charging customers. When I returned to get access to the gate, I wasn't able to enter; I knew they wanted my possessions, because the many times they have cut my locks. 
  
  Not only were the items not removed by the 20th of ***. On *** 21st, *************** came in wanting to know why her code no longer worked.  She also wanted to know if we received an email from her lawyer.
  First, Staff informed her they had not received anything, in which she accused them of lying. 
  At this point while in the office, **************** started threatening Storage Towne of America staff she is going to call the news media on them, tried to slander our facility by telling a new customer in the parking area I dont think you want your things in there, etc. 
  We did find out several days later that she had someone from a law firm on the 18th of *** send an email stating Please be advised that our office is assisting **************** in the above matter with you. It is our understanding that **************** received a notice of abandonment regarding the above units. **************** stated to us that she is current and the rental fee has been paid until the end of this month. She explained to us that she received notice that her unit would be deemed abandoned on *** 20, 2024.
  This letter serves as official documentation. We will reach out to your office on Monday morning and will wait to hear from you by *** 20, 2024, before moving forward. We realize that time is of the essence and appreciate your prompt attention and time in this matter with our office. We look forward to speaking with you for a swift resolution.
  Unfortunately, this email was sent to the wrong storage facility. It was not sent to the Storage Towne of America of *********************************************************************** , it was sent to Germantown Storage at the email of ******************************************.  We received this notice on *** 28th, 2024 at 4:09pm when the manager of Germantown Storage, which is not associated with Storage Towne of America, called asking if we have a "***********************" as a customer, because she had received an email while on vacation concerning this person. 
  **************** was sent an email after executing the lease agreement that has our office contact information, including the email, on the first and last page of the lease, so it was **************** fault not sending the letter to the right email, yet she again accused us of lying due to her failure. 
  We did respond to the lawyer on 5/30/24 after receiving this email from Germantown Storage, the email contained all the information you are receiving and we have yet to hear a reply from the lawyers office. 
  
  **************** states: I knew they wanted my possessions, because the many times they have cut my locks. 
  The only time we cut a lock is if a customer request for us to cut, which we must have a sign document given us permission, or if a customer is past due and has gone into auction status. Per the lease 
  2.6. 50 Day Lock Cutting & Inventorying. Occupant understands that if account is 50 days past due, Owner will cut the lock and inventory unit to schedule for auction.
  2.9. Auction Status. Only full payment in cash on the Occupants account by the Tuesday prior to the published auction date will stop a scheduled sale of the property. If Occupant's property is processed for sale at public auction, Occupant shall be responsible for a minimum public auction processing fee shown above as AUCTION FEE. If Occupant makes full payment to stop a schedule auction after the lock had been cut for inventorying, Occupant will be responsible for providing a new lock. Owner reserves the right to Terminated Lease Agreement on any unit that is paid after reaching the 45-day Lien Status. 
  Yes, we have cut **************** locks, but only when she has gone into auction status. (see the above payment history). Each time **************** has paid she has had to replace her locks.
  When we cut a lock, it is video taped from the time the grinder touches their lock until the unit is secured with a tamper tag and overlock. For a company that wanted her possessions as she claims, why would we allow her to move out by the 5th of ***** without paying? Why would we allow her to make the ***** and *** payment with the agreement of removing all items by *** 20th, twenty days past the termination notice originally given. We allowed this extra time to try to keep her from losing her items, which honestly, we should have had everything disposed of on *** 1st, 2024 instead of allowing her the extra time. 
  
  **************** states: I had to call the ************************* to get access to my units. And, yet they gave me less than an hour until the police showed then they extended the time. Then they told the police that they didn't want me on the premises anymore. I didn't need to be on the premises after I had recovered my belongings. 
  Again, not only were the items not removed by the 20th of ***, 2024. On *** 21st, *************** came in wanting to know why her code no longer worked that her truck was on the way.  We told her she had till the 20th and she no longer had access to the facility. Due to the fact of not wanting to dispose of her items, after calling to talk with the main office, staff told **************** she had till 11am to remove all items and be off the facility grounds. 
  **************** called the police on Storage Towne of America staff which resulted in **************** being trespassed by ************************* from the Storage Towne of America facility.  The Officers asked what staff wanted to do in which staff told them they just want her to take all her items and be off our facility, staff allowed the officers to tell **************** since she had a truck on the way she had till 2pm to be done. 
  
  **************** states: When I got there after I called the police ******* went back to the units and took the locks off and charged astronomical fees. I just want to expose how they can accept your hard earned money and then don't want to give you access to the things they are storing.
  
  Yes, after agreeing to allow extra time to remove all items, we did remove the company overlocks that were placed on the units at 10pm the night of *** 20th, 2024 due to the units not being vacated, and restore her gate code, so she could remove her items. After being told by MPD her deadline was 2:00pm, she did not show up with the truck until 1pm and she did not leave the facility until 2:25pm and left broken items in the units. Staff had every right to call and have her arrested for trespassing at this point, but did not again due to just wanting her and her items off our facility. **************** has been removed from our system and the broken items disposed of by staff, along with being trespassed indefinitely from all Storage Towne of America locations. The only time her access has ever been denied was when she was late past the 5th of the month and when she did not vacate the facility by the termination dates. 

  *************** has slandered our facility and staff to numerous customers on our facility, she has called the police that resulted in her being trespassed once they saw the video. We do not understand why she has such a vendetta against our staff other than, our staff follows the rules and would not cave to **************** threats of reporting us when she didn't want to pay the rent and late fee's she had accrued. She seems to use this method of threatening to report, to get away with not paying what she owes and not to have to follow rules. 
  We can provide all documentation, videos, phone recordings, etc because our staff has done nothing wrong. 
  
  
  

  Business Response

  Date: 06/19/2024

  Here is the *** Video and Audio Signs, I had to send in a different attachment because it would only allow 5 at a time. If there is anything else please let us know.

  We look forward to your response.