E-Z Storage Center

I am writing to report a not secure storage facility and very bad customer service with respect to addressing the issue of vandalism of our vehicle. We arranged for storage of our RV at the E-Storage, INC facility, 240 Doubleback RD, Reno, NV 89506 in April of this year. We stored the unit forfour months, from April through July of 2014. E-Z Storage advertises its business online as "Affordable and Secure," and we were never given any warning that we might not want to store our vehicle with gas in the tank or that we should make sure we had a lock-style gas cap. Ours is a vintage 1970 RV before the era of locking gas caps.When we came to pick up our unit, over $100 of gas had been syphoned out of the tank. It was absolutely empty. It took us nearly three hours to assess the problem (at first we thought it was an engine issue since we knew we had left plenty of gas) drive back and forth between gas stations and the facility, etc. The delay interrupted our travel itinerary for hours. We received zero assistance from staff. When we informed one worker driving around the site on a four wheeler of the theft (supposedly performing security), he said, "Oh, I wouldn't know about that."When we attempted to leave the facility, I went in to report the theft, but all that had been done was to cancel the code so that we could not exit the grounds. The office manager made no effort solve the issue, simply saying she was "so sorry" we had been vandalized and that she would buzz us out.In the weeks that followed while in the midst of an extremely complex and taxing cross-country move, I nevertheless made two attempts to address the issue through the co's website. I described our issue and asked for two month's refund to address it, though $95 will not even cover the cost of the gas stolen.I received no reply though the website form claims it will get back to all posts. We should not have to pay to have our vehicle's gas stolen. This is bad business, to say the least.We wish to receive a refund.Desired SettlementDue to the false advertising -- the storage site is absolutely not secure, and nonexistent customer service -- NO attempt was made to acknowledge let alone address our issue, we are requesting a two-month's refund of the storage fee. This will not even cover the cost of the gas stolen, but we feel it is a fair solution since we cannot prove how much gas was in the RV tank. We have absolutely zero motivation to misrepresent this -- we simply want E-Z storage to make this right.Business Response This tenant is accusing our facility of false advertisement - not being as secure a storage facility as we claim. We do NOT falsely advertise...in fact, we have MORE security onsite than we advertise to increase our protection against criminals! We were very sorry and disappointed to hear that our tenant allegedly lost gas while their RV was parked at our facility. This is the first incident like this that's been reported to us in years. We take vandalism very seriously, which is why we've invested so much into preventing it from happening with state-of-the-art security. Due to this alleged incident we shouldn't be accused of false advertising for the excellent security that we DO provide, nor should we be held responsible for the possible wrongdoing of someone who may have committed a crime. Every bit of security that we claim to have, we have in working order! Our promise is to do our best to prevent criminals from preying on our customers, and we're proud of our record for preventing theft and damage on our property while vehicles are being vandalized and burglarized on sales lots, storage facilities and residences all over the area. Our lease agreement also states that we are not to be held responsible if a criminal is ever able to crack our security measures (which is RARE). We looked into this incident seriously to find a possible perpetrator and to prevent this from happening in the future.This tenant is accusing our facility of having bad customer service because we made no attempt to address their issue. This is false and unfair. I've made several attempts to contact this tenant both by phone and email to discuss their complaint. The phone number provided by them was invalid but I tried it several days in a row anyway. The tenant sent us a message through our website and listed an email for us to contact them. On Aug 18, 2014, I sent an email asking them to call so we may talk but we received no phone calls or responses to our email. We received another insulting message through the website with threats to report us to the Revdex.com. I responded (desperately) again on Aug 22, 2014 to the email provided but it must have been false like the phone number because they claim they didn't receive it. I haven't had difficulty replying to other customers who correspond through our website - only this tenant. I have proof of both emails that I sent trying to correspond with this tenant regarding this issue. This tenant is asking for a two-month refund in rent for a space they did indeed occupy for four months. This is how they want our facility to compensate them for an alleged theft of gasoline that they can't prove was in their RV tank. We reviewed our video surveillance and saw no suspicious activity in, or around their RV for the past two months (which is how far we can search on this particular camera). Why should our facility be held financially responsible when we didn't do anything criminal or negligent?Consumer Response (The consumer indicated he/she DID NOT accept the response from the business.)Our goal is to make this right. We were not delivered the service promised -- a secure storage facility space for our RV. While we appreciate that the facility tries to provide security, in this instance it failed. We are not accusing the facility of wholesale failure to provide a service to all its customers -- but in this instance it fell short -- and the company should address our issue. If, even after best efforts at surveillance, etc., a customer's vehicle is vandalized, the company should take ownership of that issue. Doesn't matter if it is a rare event; doesn't matter if they usually do a great job -- if a problem occurs, it is no excuse to say, oh, this never happens -- the problem should be addressed. The company claims it tried to contact us; We find this really perplexing. What possible motive would we have for taking the time to file a complaint if our issue was not real? Why would it be in our interest to go to the trouble of sending emails through the company website seeking redress with a false email? Further each time one fills out the contact form, an email must be included: WHY would we type in an email address we have had for over ten years incorrectly each time? This doesn't make sense. I went back and researched our spam file to see if somehow the email ended up there -- my files go back to before August 22 and after -- there is no email from the E-Z Storage staff either in the inbox or spam files. Why on earth would we make this up?We have changed our cell provider and number since we moved since we are now in [redacted]. So if the company tried to contact us by phone, it is possible staff reached an old number. We can't verify the copy of the email included with the company response; however, if we had actually received it, why would we not have responded? We were specifically writing because we wanted a response, what possible reason could we have for asking for a response and ignoring it once it arrived? Again, this doesn't make sense.Finally, what the company indicates at the end of its response is that if they had gotten in contact with us, they would not have attempted to address the issue, rather to indicate they feel the problem is not their fault, that the theft we reported is "alleged" (again, really, what possible motive would we have for making this up -- that would be way more trouble than it is worth) and that their surveillance cameras go back two months so that they can't verify it. Obviously, the theft could have occurred earlier in the tenancy, but the bottom line here is that a problem occurred on E-Z Storage's watch; maybe it is a rare event, that doesn't negate the point that when a problem with a customer occurs, and sometimes they do, it is good customer service to take care of the complaint and make it right. We respectfully request a refund of two month's rent to cover the cost of gas syphoned out of our RV when it was in supposedly secure storage at the Reno E-Z Storage Facility. Thank you, Gene and [redacted]Final Business Response I'm forwarding a copy of the lease agreement that all tenants (including this tenant) agree to and sign when renting their storage space. Item #10: Non-liability of Lessor for Damages; Non-Liability of owner for Lessee's possessions holds our facility harmless from any liability, loss, cost or obligation. This tenant signed this agreement. If it were common protocol for a self-storage facility to automatically reimburse any tenant who claimed to have lost something or had something broken or stolen while on the property, our 1000 tenants could all make claims and demand the business to pay them for storing their items. No SELF-STORAGE facility is expected to be responsible for the amount of gas a tenant has in their tank when a vehicle is brought onto the property. As stated before, our facility and staff were not negligent when providing the security promised or responsible for knowing the status of gas in the tenant's tank. The fact that this alleged incident can't even be proven is another reason why a refund in rent isn't fair for the tenant to ask. Their vehicle was, indeed on the property, occupying a rentable space that we wouldn't be able to rent to another tenant for four months...it doesn't make sense for them to ask for a reimbursement of two of those months. We have state-of-the-art security, do not falsely advertise and attempted to contact this tenant but were falsely accused of the contrary by this tenant. This is defamation of character and there will be no refund.Final Consumer Response (The consumer indicated he/she DID NOT accept the response from the business.)I must record I find the most recent response from E-Z Storage beyond disappointing. If company representation is going to throw around terms like "defamation of character," they would do well to know the legal definition of the term under Nevada statute. No aspect of the complaint we have submitted approaches this threshold. Further -- that statement not only underscores the lack of attention to customer service demonstrated by this company, it displays a pretty appalling ignorance of basic business practices and terms. We filed a complaint with the Revdex.com in order to access an appropriate avenue of redress when our attempts to get a response to our grievance through the company's (not public) website form failed. We detailed our grievance with the company through a venue that is not readily advertised to the public and, most importantly, in a manner that records OUR INDIVIDUAL experience with the company; we do not claim it happens to all clients. Nor do we target any individual. It is interesting that E-Z Storage brings up its company waiver form and policy at this stage in the complaint process. Certainly we signed the waiver; we signed it in good faith that the company would deliver the service its clients pay for: secure storage of their property. Waivers protect both the company and in some cases the client should some aspect of service delivery fail. What they do not do is absolve a company from any honorable obligation to rectify a wrong should their service delivery fail. Does E-Z Storage have to believe our claim that over $100 of gas was syphoned out of the tank of our RV while in the supposedly secure care of the facility? No. As an entity that claims it provides top-notch customer service and in a case where the client has zero motivation or anticipation of gain (we are not looking to make a profit, here; we are simply asking for a $90 refund of two month's rent in order to offset our loss) does E-Z Storage have the opportunity to provide good customer service and address the loss there is every reason to believe was experienced by their customer? We think so. We fundamentally did not get what we paid for. We do not accept E-Z Storage's response to our complaint, and we respectfully ask for a refund of two month's rent. Perhaps we will go next to the consumer blogs to report our individual experience with this company.