We got back last night from our sad trip back to see our broken-into storage unit. A terribly long couple of flights each way, and a really sad sight in our storage unit. Lost some irreplaceable jewelry, and it's as we feared, my daughter's collectible video games and figurines and special controllers. The filthy animals who broke into our unit ripped open almost every box, kicked holes in our furniture, and generally had a party in my unit.
I found out that the storage unit (a national company) had dummy cameras up, that don't function. But it appears to the average consumer that there are cameras everywhere. The storage rep and manager told me quite nonchalantly that they don't have to have cameras, except for in the office. I think it's really deceptive to have non-functioning cameras plainly displayed all over the place. But I'm assuming I don't have a legal case against them. Maybe my insurance company will go after them. I met with the police, and am compiling all the photos and info for the insurance company.
My daughter experienced a flare-up of her pain syndromes, Lupus, and other problems. But with my husband gone on a 2 week-long business trip, it wouldn't have been good to have her here in Hawaii alone, since she is a fall risk and has so many medical issues. Her eczema flared up really badly and I'll be calling the dermatologist tomorrow.
However, there were some blessings. A waterproof and fireproof safe containing personal papers and all the digital scrapbooks of our family ancestry was untouched. I had made a military history scrapbook for my husband, and that was ok, too. The hotel people were extremely kind, and although my son could not help me move out of the destroyed unit and into a new and better and properly maintained unit due to his work schedule, several of his friends stepped up and helped me unload the unit, load the truck (several times), photo everything and catalogue all the damaged and lost items, and re-load the new unit. I did get to have a quick late night meal with my son one evening, and he came to our hotel the night we left so we could have a meal together. So there are things to be thankful for.
I'm also appreciative of all the kind words and thoughts from you wonderful women on here, and I'm glad to be a part of this community.
So, question: does it seem worth contacting a lawyer or will a huge national storage company be protected with a million layers of lawyers and legal mumbo-jumbo?
So the storage company in question is Public Storage, the national company with the purple and orange logo and design. We moved our belongings to Move It Storage, another chain, but with more levels of security (nightly security patrols, functioning cameras, plus gate code plus door code plus private locks required, whereas Public Storage had only a gate code and of course our own locks).
I'm going to go to every site I can think of and give them a negative rating and all the bad publicity that I can.
Also, I'm preparing a complete inventory for our insurance company, because I specifically selected a policy which covered storage units anywhere in the world, so we will recoup some losses. I also had my jewelry appraised and on a separate policy, so that's some comfort.
Thanks for the advice.
Do talk to your insurance agent about a claim for your items, assuming that your policy covers storage units. Insurance companies will often go after the other party to recover their losses, so you can get your end of it handled and let them handle legal junk.
I can't answer your question, but I do want to say that I'm so glad that some things were salvagable. Hugs to you, your daughter, your son and his friends!
I've been thinking about you.
Did you have the items in storage insured? If so, your agent is first step.
I'm sorry this happened to you and I hope everything works out.
You could try, but what will a lawyer get you that your insurance company won't? To me, sometimes it's just worth moving on as quickly as possible, for your own sanity and mental health. The amount of time it would probably take to litigate this would have you dwelling in negativity, and to me that is rarely worth it, especially in a case where you will probably be compensated by your insurance company.
The precious items are gone, sadly. Glad the worst of this ordeal is over for you.
How very stressful and hard. I hope your daughter recovers soon from this ordeal. Glad you got through it.
My husband's family filed a lawsuit against a neighbor for something similar - and it went on for several years. Lawyers' fees, time invested, having to get more information each time the lawyer asked, keeping records - that's time they will never get back. I agree with those who say better to move on.
Hopefully insurance will cover some of it. Best to you!
Thanks for letting us know.
i'm so sorry to hear this, E.. what a nightmare.
i'm betting they have SOME responsibility in this. write a calm, concise letter that includes a sentence about taking it all public (bad publicity is about the only thing that will affect folks like this) and send it signature-required to the top executives of the company. and yes, contact a lawyer. it's worth at least a consultation.\
khairete
S.
I'm glad that your journey was a safe one. I'm sorry that your daughter had a flare up and you are experiencing all of this. Bad people suck. I'm sorry you lost your possessions.
I hope they find them, bring them to justice and possibly get your items back.
Prayers for your daughter.
I am so sorry this happened to you. But I don't think you should file a lawsuit. I had a chance to file a lawsuit once, and I didnt. I had a botched surgery and I almost died because the surgeon made a big mistake during my surgery. After a long recovery I am healthy and happy again. But all my friends and family told me to file a lawsuit. I didn't want to. Yes I probably would have won a settlement but I am not that kind of person. I didn't want the stress. I didn't want to give one more minute of my time to the matter. I wanted to focus on moving on with my life and focus on the positive and everything I had to be thankful for.
I wish you the best and I hope you can move on from this and put the pieces back together.
E., I'm sorry for your losses, and have nothing that might help you decide whether to go after the storage company.
But would you be willing to name the company, as a heads up for the rest of us? Because having dummy cameras, to me is unconscionable. If there is a storage unit category on sites like Yelp, I'd at least be posting your experience, too!
ETA: Thank you, E.! I do hope that your insurance company goes after them with a vengeance (when you file the claim, make sure they know about the faked camera surveillance!). And I hope your daughter gets better soon, too.
Welcome back and it's good to hear that you salvaged what you could (materially and emotionally) from the trip. Regarding the people who broke into the storage unit, I believe that when people do something wrong, even if they don't get caught, they still suffer. They have to live inside their own heads knowing on some level that they have hurt another person needlessly, and that knowledge is painful to the good part inside everyone. So there will be justice, regardless of whether they are caught. Sending good wishes for a speedy and full recovery of your daughter!
