Chico U Lock It Self Storage

Re: Complaint ID *** Dear Mr***, I have reviewed *** ***’s complaint and file historyAnd, while there are several inconsistencies with his description of events, I did speak with Mr*** on February 10, As I explained to Mr***, it is our policy not to accept
partial paymentsAfter refusing to pay, I took the time to go over the fee schedule with corresponding dates to help him avoid further feesThese are the fees outlined in the terms of the lease that Mr*** agreed to when signing his lease with usAt Chico U-Lock-It, we follow the terms of the lease and adhere to the self storage laws as set by the State of CaliforniaIt is our desire to assist Mr*** retain his items within his unitWhile we cannot release the fees because they are attached to legal consequences within the lien process, we would like to offer Mr*** an additional month (through April 30, 2015) to catch up on his outstanding balance. If you have any questions, I can be reached at ###-###-####. Sincerely,*** ***Chico U Lock It Self StorageDrMartin Luther King Jr PkwyChico, Ca95928###-###-####[email protected]

Review: [redacted]Since July 2013 I have been paying for storage unit #468 every month within days of the scheduled payment date. When I initially acquired this storage unit, my rent was discounted at $65.00 per month as arranged by Joel and his wife, the employees who were the front desk clerks there at the time. The room was discounted partially because it had a damaged door, and partially because it had been empty for some time and they wanted to fill it. By sometime in Spring 2014 my rent was increased from the discounted rate to $99.00 per month, which I continued to pay in a timely manner through 2014 aside from a few months of making late payments. By December 2014 my rent was increased again to $110.00, for what reason I'm not sure since it's still the same damaged storage room which has not received any maintenance since Joel helped me get the door working again in late 2013. I have continued to pay this amount monthly since the latest increase, usually by the 9th or 10th of the month.

On February 10th, 2015 at 3:11 p.m., I attempted to make a payment of $110.00 for my storage room as I have been for several months on this date with no problem. The male clerk who answered the phone informed me that I needed to pay $120.00, due to a $10 late fee being added onto my account. I asked if he could waive the fee, since I have paid on the 10th for several consecutive months with no problem. He said he couldn't do that, and if I wanted it waived I needed to speak with the manager, at which point I requested to speak with her. He said she was busy at the tune but he would have her call me back before 5 p.m. that day. She did not call me back, so I called again at 4:52 p.m. and no one answered the phone. I called back on February 11th at 1:28 p.m. and got the same clerk, who said the manager was there and he was going to get her on the phone for me. I was put on hold and after several minutes, the call dropped. I didn't receive a call back, so I called again at 2:54 p/m/ and 3:04 p.m., to no avail. I called again at 3:04 p.m. and finally the manager, Lisette, answered the phone.

Lisette told me that the fee had been added to my balance on the 10th this month because they had just "fixed something in their computers", apparently with their accounting system. This meant that even though there is a 10 day grace period from the 1st of the month when rent is due, and I had paid on the 10th many times with no problem, my payment was now technically late as of the 10th. I never got any notification about this change in their accounting before the fee was tacked onto my balance,which is required according to standard business procedure. I told Lisette that if I had known a late fee was going to start being added on by the 10th, I would have made it a point to pay my rent by the 9th this month instead to avoid a late fee. She retorted that my rent is due by the 1st of the month every month and indignantly told me I needed to be paying by the 1st, which she claims is stated in the contract I signed with Chico U-Lock (back in July 2013). I'm not sure that this term was expressly stated in my contract, not only because I haven't seen it in months and don't know where I put it, but also because I have numerous electronic and hard copy receipts that have given me different dates to pay my rent since July 2013 (please see documents provided on disc).

I offered to pay the $110.00 on the 11th, telling Lisette I simply did not have an extra $10 to give her to make my account current, and that I should not be compelled because of the lack of prior notification on her part about the change in their accounting system. I also told her that i'm struggling financially, and I usually don't have enough money to pay by the 1st of the month, also informing her that the only reason I continue to pay for the storage room is because I can't afford to move my belongings out yet. I also informed her that my mother and I are fighting against fraudulent home foreclosure, and barely even getting enough money to put food on the table right now, yet she still didn't want to waive the $10 fee for me.

At this point I got angry and started to raise my voice, threatening to report Chick U-Lock to the Revdex.com and also sue for fraudulent business practice of my storage room is locked up and I am denied access to my unit, or if my belongings are potentially auctioned off as a result of my non-payment of the arbitrary fees that I knew would continue to be added onto my balance until I paid the full balance.She said that was my choice, and I responded that it was actually her choice not to waive the fee that is now causing this snowballing situation to occur. I also called her a financial terrorist, because her behavior is just like the fraudulence being perpetrated in this country by many other corporations participating in predatory business practice, leaving thousands of people in financial ruin such as in the Mortgage Industry that have defrauded my mother over the past several years. As a result of February 11th Interaction with Lisette, I am left with the impression that she would rather take advantage of the situation and extract as much money out of me as she can through fees or by auctioning my belongings, rather than working to help me maintain my account as a loyal customer for 19 months. Why the sudden change in service and attitude towards me?

After this heated conversation with Lisette, I went through my e-mail to download all electronic receipts I had received from Chico U-Lock sine July 2013, and upon looking through them I realized how sloppy their accounting had been for so many months. It took me several minutes to figure out when my payments had actually been made and to understand hoe my payments were being applied on many of the earlier receipts. I don't even have any receipts for the months of January through March 2014 because they were never given to me hard copy or e-mailed to me like all the others have been, and many receipts I have from previous months show that my payments were keeping me current in my account up through the 4th, 9th, 10th, or even the 15th of the next month.

On February 23rd, 2015 I called Chico U-Luck at 12:53 p.m. and talked to the clerk working the front desk again, inquiring about the status of my account and my storage unit. He told me that as of February 15th, another 15$ "Pre-Lien Fee" had been added onto my balance, and that by February 28th another $15 fee would be added on top of that. He informed be that if I did not pay my fees by April, my lock would be cut off and my belongings would be auctioned, though sometimes they will wait a bit longer to send them to auction. I know I am not going to be able to pay the $110 for February and March with all the fees they will have added on top by April 1st, but am willing to pay $110 for February and March with the help of my Grandparents if thee arbitrary fees can be waived. Desired Settlement: I would greatly appreciate if the Revdex.com could help me mitigate this situation with Chico U-Lock so that I can prevent my belongings from being auctioned off after so many months of paying to keep them secure. Please contact me via e-mail and phone as soon as possible to let me know your office has received this letter and how you may be able to assist me in avoiding further fraudulence regarding my account. My e-mail address is [redacted] and me cell phone number is ###-###-####.

Respectfully,

[redacted].

Business

Response:

Re: Complaint ID [redacted] Dear Mr. [redacted], I have reviewed [redacted]’s complaint and file history. And, while there are several inconsistencies with his description of events, I did speak with Mr. [redacted] on February 10, 2015. As I explained to Mr. [redacted], it is our policy not to accept partial payments. After refusing to pay, I took the time to go over the fee schedule with corresponding dates to help him avoid further fees. These are the fees outlined in the terms of the lease that Mr. [redacted] agreed to when signing his lease with us. At Chico U-Lock-It, we follow the terms of the lease and adhere to the self storage laws as set by the State of California. It is our desire to assist Mr. [redacted] retain his items within his unit. While we cannot release the fees because they are attached to legal consequences within the lien process, we would like to offer Mr. [redacted] an additional month (through April 30, 2015) to catch up on his outstanding balance. If you have any questions, I can be reached at ###-###-####. Sincerely,[redacted]Chico U Lock It Self Storage1909 Dr. Martin Luther King Jr PkwyChico, Ca. 95928###-###-####[email protected]