Complaint Review: ABC Self Storage - Brodheadsville Pennsylvania

From the time we rented a unit with this self storage company, it had been a nightmare. The 'Manager' or so she calls herself, works 5 days a week, from 2-5pm. She is never there when we call to make a payment, either at the bank, the store, the gas station or taking her friends kids to karate. She asks us to call back and of course doesn't pick up. We have left numerous messages on the machine which are never returned. It recently took weeks to get an email response. The last three time I showed up to pay she wasn't there at the times they were supposed to be open. When I rented this unit, they were supposed to be setting up online payments ... Never happened. This has caused us to be late on several occasions. I refuse to re-schedule my life around her incompetence and irresponsibility.
 
The latest incident involved me making a late payment (with two fees of course) and since I had her there I payed the following month also and gave her notice to vacate. She had me double locked from the previous month and never took their lock off. I was denied entry for the entire month I pre-paid for and wasn't able to move out. I was out of state with my mother in the hospital for half of the month, so I didn't raise concern. However, when I got back I had an air conditioner that had to be stored in the back of my pickup. I happened to get back into town at 2am and went to drop off the air conditioner only to find the lock STILL on my unit.

This was on a Friday and of course no one is there on the weekend. That morning it snowed, and ruined my air unit, as I had no other storage. I addressed it on Monday after taking pictures, and told her she owed me a month, only to have her start screaming at me and calling me a liar, then doing everything in her power to insult me in front of her friends (BTW, she wasn't there this time either, she had two people that didn't even work there hanging out behind the desk until she got back from her trip)  I was insulted by her numerous times and threatened by her numerous times. She told me it was my fault the double lock was on there because I didn't call her and tell her... NOBODY ever calls me and tells me how to do MY job, and I couldn't contact this 'Woman' to make a payment, so what makes her think I'm going to call her for that, it should have been taken off immediately after I payed for that month.

This woman denied me access for a month ...She denied me a copy of my contract... She denied me the right to update my address (which she used to deny me a contract, stating that she didnt have any forms) She was completely and overly nasty with me (TO THE POINT I WAS COMPLETELY TONGUE TIED, NEVER BEING TALKED TO LIKE THAT BY A SERVICE) screamed at me, insulted me called me a liar. She refused to give me the name of the owner, but wished me luck finding out, because all contacts come back to her.  She owes me a month ($100) its not up to me to hunt her down. She claims shes a great manager ... doesn't seem it from here. I intend to move out but wasn't able to because of her negligence. I payed my late fees and my dues, now she needs to make it right.

Sidebar: I have worked in the hospitality business for 30 years now. For this length of time I have NEVER EVER been in a verbal exchange with a customer. My job would be terminated IMMEDIATELY if EVER I spoke to a customer with HALF the tone this completely unprofessional woman spoke to me with, and to have people that didn't work for the company behind the desk snickering and fueling the situation just adds insult to injury.

This woman is UNPROFESSIONAL in every sense of the word. She is pathetic, is never at the unit when shes supposed to be, never returns phone calls and is ALWAYS 'AT THE BANK'. She only works 3 hours a day. Do what most people do and make your drops AFTER you close. If you need to run for change, you are mis-managing. I'll admit I have been late on payments, I have payed a late fee every month. However, I payed my fees and have a zero balance, I don't think I should have to chase this woman around to make a payment, and I CERTAINLY don't think I should be yelled at or spoken too with a nasty, condescending, threatening attitude, or be littled in front of her friends.

If this is the kind of 'PROFESSIONALISM' you pride yourself in, imagine being treated like that at the front desk of a hotel when you have just spent $3000 in their building. Im sure you'd demand ALL your money back and demand the person be fired. This 'Manager' would be better suited 'Managing' the local Barn or Landfill. It would best suit the ABC storage unit and the PASSA altogether to not have people like this representing your Association.

UPDATE: I contacted the PASSA (Pennsylvania Self Storage Association). They have not been a member for years, although they continue to mislead and lie on their website. This was one of my deciding factors when I rented from them. The PASSA also informed me that I should retain a lawyer, because in the state of PA it is illegal to lock a person out until they are 30 days past due.

This woman had paddle locked my unit every day after the 5th. I have photos that coincide with my payments and phone calls to prove it. She admitted to my wife that she double locks us out after the fifth. So every month I have payed I haven't had access to my belongings, only for five days, IF she decides to take the double lock off.

We had to call her again after the last payment to tell her to take the double lock off so we could move out, and she told us she would promptly double lock it again on the fifth, so I cut my work days short and did what I could to get the storage unit finally emptied. Upon taking my items out, I noticed a box with a hole chewed in it. It was a box of my sweaters that rats had moved into and left nests and tons of droppings. I immediately discarded the sweaters that were all pretty much new.

Also, when moving my $2500.00 sectional sofa out, I was appalled to find MORE rats nests inside my pull out, with droppings scattered everywhere, and the mattress torn and half emptied for 'nests'. I have photos of all of this, including the 6 inch gap between the overhead door and wall, in which any animal could have gotten in at anytime. I replaced my mattress and had the sofa steam cleaned and scotch guarded, as I couldn't bear to part with it as its almost brand new.  

As I was pulling out, I noticed piles of garbage that were all over(left over from vacated units) In these piles were more rats nests. This was in the same unit I was in, and Ive noticed several times the main door in left wide open for days.