In response to complaint ID [redacted], regarding advertising
issues, from a tenant with three 10’ x 20’ units at our self storage facility,
Abe’s Storage in Albuquerque, the accusation of false advertising is not valid.
The tenant states that by
law “climate control” units are required to...
maintain a median temperature
of 65°
F. I have never heard
of such a law. I have talked to The Self Storage Association, the New Mexico
Self Storage Association, two self storage management companies and numerous
self storage facilities in Albuquerque and none have heard of such a law. It is
my understanding and always has been, that the meaning of “climate controlled”
differs depending on geographic region and can vary from levels above freezing
and below 90°.
For example storage facilities in Northern
states may only use heating during the winter, Southern states may only use
cooling during the summer, various regions may use a combination and regions
with high humidity may also use dehumidifying.
Abe’s Storage uses swamp
coolers/evaporative coolers on approximately half of our facility from
approximately the beginning of May through the end of October depending on the
weather. We have never purported to maintain a “climate controlled” median level
of 65°
. Our climate control
method is discussed prior to and/or during the lease signing process. Neither,
Jon nor Marsha S[redacted], our onsite managers, have any recollection of the
tenant’s discussing their expectation of their units maintaining a median of 65°
at the time of leasing. Had the tenants
expressed this expectation at leasing, Jon and/or Marsha would have made it
very clear that our “climate control” service would not meet their demands. I don’t know our tenant’s prior self storage
rental history in Albuquerque or in other regions of the nation. They very well
may have and/or do rent with a facility that offers a median of 65°
as their “climate
controlled” service with both heating and cooling. I understand given their
history that may be their expectation; however, it is neither a law nor even an
industry standard.
I would also note that the tenants signed
their three leases with us on February 16, 2015 and moved their property into
their storage units the following day. The temperatures in Albuquerque those
two days were a high of 53 and a low of 31, a high of 52 and a low of 24
respectively. Given these temperatures their storage units would not have been
in the median range of 65°
. In fact, Marsha
S[redacted], our co-onsite manager, specifically remembers offering for the tenants
to wait in the office (which is heated) while they waited for their moving
truck to arrive. If there was any question as to our “climate controlled”
service, this would have been the time to ask, not some 10 months later. We
truly, to my knowledge, have never had any complaints about our “climate
controlled” service.
As stated by the tenants, they requested
2 months of storage be credited back to them and moving forward be given the
discounted rate of our non-climate controlled units. In a generous gesture on
our part for the tenant’s misunderstanding, we gave them the 2 months
requested, January and February, equaling $891. We, however, will not offer the
discounted rate per storage unit of $123.30 vs. $148.50 moving forward.
We also asked them to move out at the end
of February as they are so dissatisfied with the “climate controlled” service
we offer. We are well within our rights
to not renew month to month leases. We are willing to allow the tenants to
continue renting storage space with us at their current rate of $148.50
($165/climate controlled unit less 10% military discount) with a signed
agreement that the tenants understand and accept that our “climate controlled”
service offers cooling via swamp cooler during the summer months (approximately
May through October – depending on the weather) and that there is no heat
during the winter months.
I would also remind the tenants, that our
contract clearly states that our insurance does not cover any tenant losses
whatsoever and that all property stored in the storage units shall be at
tenant’s sole risk. It is tenant’s responsibility to insure property through an
existing policy, or a policy purchased at the time of rental. The tenants
elected to be self-insured.
I hope this clearly explains our defense
of the accusation of false advertising and offers the tenants an amicable
solution.
This is in reply to complaint response (ID#[redacted]), regarding Abe’s Storage in Albuquerque and its advertising issues for our 3 units. Difference of opinion and Misunderstanding: The owner (Respondent) focused on a “median of 65º” that was unfortunately taken out of context. According to the American Heritage® Dictionary of the English Language, Fifth Edition, “climate controlled” means “having the temperature and humidity regulated by a heating and cooling system.” Respondent states that Abe’s does not have a heating system. The self-storage industry consensus, however, is that heating must exist for actual climate and temperature control to be claimed by a facility. And in most cases, humidity control is required. Respondent states, “I have talked to The Self Storage Association, the New Mexico Self Storage Association, two self storage management companies and numerous self storage facilities in Albuquerque ...” The Respondent does not mention the names of any of the self-storage facilities to which he spoke. The “The Self Storage Association and the New Mexico Self Storage Association” are one in the same. I did call and speak to a number of self-storage facilities in Albuquerque as well as national companies, and was told that a climate-controlled facility nationwide maintains a standard average temperature range between 55º and 85ºF. I found that without heat, my units have dipped below 40ºF. To summarize, the facilities I did speak to are the following: acceptable temperature ranges are at [redacted] (60-80ºF); [redacted] (55º-85ºF) [17 facilities in Albuquerque]; [redacted] (55º–80ºF); [redacted] (55º-85ºF); [redacted] (55º-85ºF); and finally an article sent to me by the NM Self Storage Assn. is (55º-85ºF). There are other subjects of disagreement to which we could respond. However, it appears that on the primary subject, the Respondent and I are not going to arrive at an agreement as to what constitutes “climate control.” Regarding moving out of Abe’s, we have also called numerous self-storage facilities in Albuquerque for space availability and have not been able to find any that have 3 large (10x20) storage units that offer normal “climate control” at this time. We have been advised to keep checking back at the beginning of every month. Therefore it is neither feasible nor practical that we would be able to move out of Abe’s by March 1st. There would also be an unwarranted substantial cost to this move, to hire movers, truck, packing and unpacking, etc. for our 3 large units. Therefore, as we are truly not able to move out of Abe’s storage by March 1st, and Respondent stated, “We are willing to allow the tenants to continue renting storage space with us at their current rate of $148.50 …” ($165/climate controlled unit less 10% military discount), thus we appreciate that we can pay that monthly fee, without prejudice, until we find another facility as soon as possible allowing us to remove our belongings from Abe’s. Thank you. [redacted]Page 1
In response to complaint ID [redacted], regarding advertising
issues, from a tenant with three 10’ x 20’ units at our self storage facility,
Abe’s Storage in Albuquerque, the accusation of false advertising is not valid.
The tenant states that by
law “climate control” units are required to...
maintain a median temperature
of 65°
F. I have never heard
of such a law. I have talked to The Self Storage Association, the New Mexico
Self Storage Association, two self storage management companies and numerous
self storage facilities in Albuquerque and none have heard of such a law. It is
my understanding and always has been, that the meaning of “climate controlled”
differs depending on geographic region and can vary from levels above freezing
and below 90°.
For example storage facilities in Northern
states may only use heating during the winter, Southern states may only use
cooling during the summer, various regions may use a combination and regions
with high humidity may also use dehumidifying.
Abe’s Storage uses swamp
coolers/evaporative coolers on approximately half of our facility from
approximately the beginning of May through the end of October depending on the
weather. We have never purported to maintain a “climate controlled” median level
of 65°
. Our climate control
method is discussed prior to and/or during the lease signing process. Neither,
Jon nor Marsha S[redacted], our onsite managers, have any recollection of the
tenant’s discussing their expectation of their units maintaining a median of 65°
at the time of leasing. Had the tenants
expressed this expectation at leasing, Jon and/or Marsha would have made it
very clear that our “climate control” service would not meet their demands. I don’t know our tenant’s prior self storage
rental history in Albuquerque or in other regions of the nation. They very well
may have and/or do rent with a facility that offers a median of 65°
as their “climate
controlled” service with both heating and cooling. I understand given their
history that may be their expectation; however, it is neither a law nor even an
industry standard.
I would also note that the tenants signed
their three leases with us on February 16, 2015 and moved their property into
their storage units the following day. The temperatures in Albuquerque those
two days were a high of 53 and a low of 31, a high of 52 and a low of 24
respectively. Given these temperatures their storage units would not have been
in the median range of 65°
. In fact, Marsha
S[redacted], our co-onsite manager, specifically remembers offering for the tenants
to wait in the office (which is heated) while they waited for their moving
truck to arrive. If there was any question as to our “climate controlled”
service, this would have been the time to ask, not some 10 months later. We
truly, to my knowledge, have never had any complaints about our “climate
controlled” service.
As stated by the tenants, they requested
2 months of storage be credited back to them and moving forward be given the
discounted rate of our non-climate controlled units. In a generous gesture on
our part for the tenant’s misunderstanding, we gave them the 2 months
requested, January and February, equaling $891. We, however, will not offer the
discounted rate per storage unit of $123.30 vs. $148.50 moving forward.
We also asked them to move out at the end
of February as they are so dissatisfied with the “climate controlled” service
we offer. We are well within our rights
to not renew month to month leases. We are willing to allow the tenants to
continue renting storage space with us at their current rate of $148.50
($165/climate controlled unit less 10% military discount) with a signed
agreement that the tenants understand and accept that our “climate controlled”
service offers cooling via swamp cooler during the summer months (approximately
May through October – depending on the weather) and that there is no heat
during the winter months.
I would also remind the tenants, that our
contract clearly states that our insurance does not cover any tenant losses
whatsoever and that all property stored in the storage units shall be at
tenant’s sole risk. It is tenant’s responsibility to insure property through an
existing policy, or a policy purchased at the time of rental. The tenants
elected to be self-insured.
I hope this clearly explains our defense
of the accusation of false advertising and offers the tenants an amicable
solution.
This is in reply to complaint response (ID#[redacted]), regarding Abe’s Storage in Albuquerque and its advertising issues for our 3 units. Difference of opinion and Misunderstanding: The owner (Respondent) focused on a “median of 65º” that was unfortunately taken out of context. According to the American Heritage® Dictionary of the English Language, Fifth Edition, “climate controlled” means “having the temperature and humidity regulated by a heating and cooling system.” Respondent states that Abe’s does not have a heating system. The self-storage industry consensus, however, is that heating must exist for actual climate and temperature control to be claimed by a facility. And in most cases, humidity control is required. Respondent states, “I have talked to The Self Storage Association, the New Mexico Self Storage Association, two self storage management companies and numerous self storage facilities in Albuquerque ...” The Respondent does not mention the names of any of the self-storage facilities to which he spoke. The “The Self Storage Association and the New Mexico Self Storage Association” are one in the same. I did call and speak to a number of self-storage facilities in Albuquerque as well as national companies, and was told that a climate-controlled facility nationwide maintains a standard average temperature range between 55º and 85ºF. I found that without heat, my units have dipped below 40ºF. To summarize, the facilities I did speak to are the following: acceptable temperature ranges are at [redacted] (60-80ºF); [redacted] (55º-85ºF) [17 facilities in Albuquerque]; [redacted] (55º–80ºF); [redacted] (55º-85ºF); [redacted] (55º-85ºF); and finally an article sent to me by the NM Self Storage Assn. is (55º-85ºF). There are other subjects of disagreement to which we could respond. However, it appears that on the primary subject, the Respondent and I are not going to arrive at an agreement as to what constitutes “climate control.” Regarding moving out of Abe’s, we have also called numerous self-storage facilities in Albuquerque for space availability and have not been able to find any that have 3 large (10x20) storage units that offer normal “climate control” at this time. We have been advised to keep checking back at the beginning of every month. Therefore it is neither feasible nor practical that we would be able to move out of Abe’s by March 1st. There would also be an unwarranted substantial cost to this move, to hire movers, truck, packing and unpacking, etc. for our 3 large units. Therefore, as we are truly not able to move out of Abe’s storage by March 1st, and Respondent stated, “We are willing to allow the tenants to continue renting storage space with us at their current rate of $148.50 …” ($165/climate controlled unit less 10% military discount), thus we appreciate that we can pay that monthly fee, without prejudice, until we find another facility as soon as possible allowing us to remove our belongings from Abe’s. Thank you. [redacted]Page 1