I am so hurt, frustrated and violated! i too am the victim of this terrible crime! I trusted the storage facility (METRO SELF STORAGE 1001 e 87th st CHICAGO, IL) and the storage manager, who goes by the name Jay-Jay. Jay-Jay recommended that I make the minimal insurance purchase through the insurance company that covers their customers in the event of a natural disaster or a burglary. I told Jay-Jay that my intent was not to be in storage too long, so i agreed to purchase the minimal as he assured me that there hasn't been any unusual activity or disaster at that location since he started there ( which he said that he had been at that location for well over 10 years) I felt confident that I had made a good selection in purchasing my unit when he went on to say that the units had security cameras that were on 24hrs a day and that the units are secured by the gate which cannot be opened after 9pm.
I moved in at the end of April 2008. I agreed to purchase the insurance that Jay-Jay recommended which was BOB BADER INS. (5348 w Vermont, STE 200 Indianapolis IN 46224) which was only an additional $8.00 per month. I rented the unit for three months paying on time every time. I happended to need something from my storgage one afternoon and decided to stop by. I went to my unit and tried to unlock it, only to discover that my key did not work! I tried and tried and finally I went to the female clerk on duty and explained to her that my key didnt work at which time she asked me if I had been late in paying. I told her no. She verified it in the computer and then she walked back to the unit with me. After she also saw that my key didnt work she contacted Jay-Jay, the store mgr. via phone. He told her that I would have to pay $50.00 for thew lock removal! I was livid! I asked them "Why should I have to pay to remove a lock that I didnt put on my unit?" We went back and forth for a half hour, my daughter was with me. It was a very emotional moment after that decided to offer me the "favor" of cutting their lock off for free, and we raised the unit door to discover that all of our personal belongings had been thrown all over the unit! I could barely fight back the tears when I discovered that I had been burglarized and that they had stolen things that money could NEVER replace! The clerk's only response was, "Did you give someone the key? Or what about the people who moved you in?" I stood there in awe and almost entertained the ideas that she tried feeding me, until I went to the police department to file a report.
The officer who took my report stated that she has had many complaints about that storage facility. I thought well even though I was stolen from, maybe some of my things can be replaced because I purchased the insurance. HA! laugh is on me. I am still at this day "not providing enough information for the adjuster to determine the vadility of my claim" I have mailed, faxed, called, all that I can. How much can I verify if it was stolen. For example, they asked me for an owners manuel or original receipt for the purchase of a flat screen television that was never removed from the box. I told them that it was still in the box and the original receipt was in my file cabinet that was in the unit, that was also STOLEN (among other things) and that the only proof of purchase was the reprint receipt that Radio Shack gave me and a reprint of my bank statement. Do you know that BADER told me that, that was not good enough
Fatima
Lansing,#2Author of original report
Wed, January 13, 2010
they told me I had to have the original receipt and owners manual..Oh and not to mention that when I discovered the burglary..they told me that I had to purchase one of those round locks that their store sells in order for my belongings to stay there in storage and to be safe guarded against another burglary. so i did just that because I had no other choice at the time. a few days later a man contacted me at my work over the phone and said that he was Mr. Bader and asked e about what had happened. I explained everything to him and he stated that he has never heard of or seen anything like this at all his years of business..i also told him that i thought it may have been some type of inside job. he immediately began to vouch for Jay-Jay and his other staff stating that he has known Jay-Jay for years and that nothing like that has ever happened before and that I needed to file a claim anyway. i was curious why the owner of Bader contacted me, but i was so upset that i never questioned him. he sounded sincerly concerned. I had since moved my things out of the storage and at the time i did that i asked the clerk on duty if she could pull and review the surveillance cameras at which that time she began to explain that the signs that were displayed are only there to potentially scare of burglars. i was fuming!so far and to this present daste, BADER company has not moved to help me recover anything! they receive my paperwork and never respond. once i sent back everything they requested and after not hearing from them after a month and a half, i decided to phone them. thats when i was told that my file was closed because i failed to produce original receipts for the merchandise i reported stolen. i explained that some were gifts and they even stole my ex-boyfriends work uniform and i was told to find a receipt for that as well. then she told me to keep in mind that i would never get anything close to the value of my claim or policy (policy is only 2,000) then they began beig nit picky and suggested that i could be brought up on charges for filing a bogus claim. i explained to the lady that i work in law enforcement as well as my ex..and i would never compromise my integrity or send myself through more unwanted pain. i even sent photo copies of how ravaged my storage looked after the burglary.
Today i spoke on the phone with Lindsay..a CSR..to check the status of my claim. that is when she placed me on hold and returned saying that the underwriter has it..AGAIN and that they have up to 30days from the receipt of the claim, to respond. and that they received it into their office on Oct 17.. i asked Lindsay for a supervisor..she left me on hold for five min only to return saying no one was available. i asked for the managers direct line. she refused to give it to me. im still stuck in the bad situation..PLEASE NOTIFY ANYONY OR EVERYONE WHO NEEDS A STORAGE..NEVER GO THERE! ITS A INSIDE JOB! yes we all need to find an atty and sue their butts! im still hurt and disappointed. if anyone has found legal council plz post the info so i can talk to him about class action law suit.