Rodent problem at storage unit

[Sentinal1980]

hi,


i hired a red a storage unit in sept for my possessions as I had issues moving house, it was a big steel storage unit which was all good, now with the fact I was having housing issues I was also having financial issues so fell behind with my storage fees.

in January I got an email saying they were moving my stuff out of the storage unit as per their terms and conditions

at that point I made a payment plan with them to make up the outstanding fees.

i finished paying the outstanding fees last week and went to collect all my things on Friday.

they had moved them into a dusty old tin shelter that also had lots of machinery in.

once I had got home I realised all my stuff had been infested with rodents, rodent droppings and urine all over, I have had to dispose of a lot of things that cost a lot of money, children’s toys, clothes etc.

iv read the T&C and can’t find anything to do with rodents but also this has happened because of where they moved my stuff to........ I have lots of pictures to back up the claim.im wondering where do I go from here as I’m not happy and have had to dispose of a lot of things that cost considerable amount of money

thanks

[des8]

Good afternoon and welcome

Could you post up a copy of their terms and conditions, or give us a link to their online T&Cs.

Whatever, if they took a lien on your property until the outstanding fees were paid, they were in the position of a bailee and had a duty to take reasonable care of your goods.
Reasonable care is the care they would have taken if the goods were their own.
Having apparently failed in this duty there is a potential for exploiting the provisions of the Torts (Interference with Goods) Act 1977 wherein it states that wrongful interference includes "negligence so far at it results in damage to goods" (Sec1 (c))

So write complaining of the negligence and request your damages.
I doubt they will roll over, but it will be the start of the progress.

[Sentinal1980]

Thanks for your reply


Here is the link to the T&C on their website


http://www.securestore365.com/terms/


I will write to them for sure I’m just uncertain how I would word it lol

[des8]

Did the hirer comply with terms 20 & 21 of the T&Cs?

Post your letter up before posting so it can be tweaked if necessary

[Sentinal1980]

Yes they did, I understand they moved my items but it’s more on where they put them, they put them in a place where rodents were able to get in and infest them.

yea I will post the letter here first thanks

[des8]

So they continued to charge you after they had removed your goods from the container (the store) and whilst they held them elsewhere (in a store)?

[Sentinal1980]

Yea I had to make up the owed amount and then the accrued charges after they had moved the items

[des8]

So IMO they owed more than a reasonable duty of care as you were still paying them for storage once they had moved them from your rented container.
The contract appears not to have been terminated in fact, and possibly a contractual relationship still existed.

Tagging R0b for another view on this

[Sentinal1980]

Oh most definitely as they were still sending me invoices for monthly fees after they had moved my goods

[R0b]

Hello

The crucial question is whether you documented the damage to your goods before disposing of them? Also, do you still have access to that area where they dumped your goods, if so then you may wish to go back and take photos that are timestamped as evidence of the condition of the storage area where your goods were left.

Like Des has said, they have a duty to look after your goods but if you haven't documented the damage prior to disposal, I suspect they will argue otherwise until there is some proof on your part that they were to blame.

Your only option may end up being going to court but as the burden of proof rests with the claimant, if you have nothing then your claim is probably going to fail from the outset.

Did you have any insurance that covers you for the storage of your goods which you may be able to claim on (as per condition 22 of the T&Cs)?

[Diana M]

The crucial question is whether you documented the damage to your goods before disposing of them? Also, do you still have access to that area where they dumped your goods, if so then you may wish to go back and take photos that are timestamped as evidence of the condition of the storage area where your goods were left.

Like Des has said, they have a duty to look after your goods but if you haven't documented the damage prior to disposal, I suspect they will argue otherwise until there is some proof on your part that they were to blame.

Your only option may end up being going to court but as the burden of proof rests with the claimant, if you have nothing then your claim is probably going to fail from the outset.

I agree, and I would add that there would also need to be evidence of the condition of the goods when they went into store for a ‘before and after’ comparison if the OP intends to seek damages for their loss.

They would need to prove that the deterioration took place while in storage and not before.

Di

[Sentinal1980]

Hi,

i have documented proof in the form of photos, I took photos of everything I had to dispose of.

Can get photos of the store they kept them in as well, and that’s no problem.

No I didn’t take any insurance out on the storage at the time of renting the unit

[Sentinal1980]

Photos included damage and rodent droppings all over the items and boxes

[Diana M]

i have documented proof in the form of photos, I took photos of everything I had to dispose of.

Can get photos of the store they kept them in as well, and that’s no problem.

Were these photos taken of the goods while they were in the storage area or when you had taken them home?

Di

[Sentinal1980]

At home, I just loaded the van up with the stuff at the storage and then wen getting them home and opening them I found all the rodent faeces