Laurel Company, The

We purchased the Phoenix location in Jan of We rent storage space to our
customers at which time once they execute their rental agreement and while they are paying their monthly rent it is their responsibility to monitor the condition of their belongings inside their leased space as we are not legally allowed to access that space without them giving us access to their personal lockMs*** admits in her statement that she only checks her storage unit once a yearTwelve months is a long time to not inspect your unit and condition of your belongingsWhen Ms*** originally rented the storage unit from the previous property owner she declined to obtain renters insurance coverage which is strange to usIn the storage business as it is always recommended to protect personal property from damagesWhen customers decline renters insurance we believe that generally means they do not feel their belongings are important to them nor have value or they would obtain a renters insurance policy to protect the value of their investment(See attached lease & declining of insurance #1)
We do not offer renters insurance but do offer an enrolled protection plan that Ms*** accepted and has been paying on and has filed a damage claim for the maximum $payment(See attached protection plan and claim forms #2.)
If we did not offer this protection plan Ms*** would simply have to take a full loss as she had declined the original renter’s insurance policy which would have left her fully exposedAt least with the protection plan she is getting her damage claim processedOur lease agreement which Ms*** signed cites that we are not responsible for damages to her belongings including but not limited to vermin as did her original signed lease with the previous property owner(Copy of lease enclosed #3.) We advise all of our customers not to store food or water in their storage units but not all customers choose to follow that adviceWe contract a pest control company to service our location as we have done at all of our locations that handle an array of pest prevention processes including setting traps and spraying exterior perimeters of buildings as deemed necessary by the Pest Control Professionals as that is not our expertise
We are sorry that Ms*** has been experiencing this situation and will need to purchase new furniture for her new home but it was explained to her by our VP of Operations Sandra Reiling that she would not receive a refund but the late fees and lien fees would be waived once they were assessed by the computer generated billingsMs*** requested that she be contacted via email July 8, at which time we were on the road on business in Las VegasWe responded that to her to feel free to call us July 9" at am at our office of which she did not doShe did email us again on July 11, (See email enclosed #4.)
Please see the email (enclosed #5) from Ms*** regarding this issue on July 11, after letting her know that our VP of Operations would be waiving the late and lien fees that she responds “Thank you, DarrenI don’t mean to be rudeI am just very unhappy with all of thisThank you for your immediate response and attention.”
So to receive this letter about a claim with the Revdex.com after emailing us responses of this nature is quite perplexing to usWe hope this will show the nature of this topic from our perspective and appreciate this matter to be completed with no marks against our good name or follow up needs for responses Dennis APeterson
Chief Operating Officer
DA Peterson EntIncAmerican Self Storage

Review: This company owns American Self Storage in Phoenix. I have rented a storage unit for the past 3-4 years from American Self Storage.. I check on my unit once a year. On the evening of July 2nd, 2015.. I went to check on my unit- I found rat feces everywhere in my unit. I returned the next day to file a complaint with the office.. an employee from the office went with me to my unit, we took pictures and were horrified to see all of the feces in the unit and how rats ruined my sofas and mattresses. They obviously knew there was a rat problem because there were mouse traps everywhere. I was then told I would receive a refund - I returned again and the Manager Sandy indicated that I would only receive $500.00- My sofa set and mattress set are worth more than $500.00. While waiting for the insurance paperwork- I am receiving late notices and lien notices! I am in process of buying a new house and I no longer have anything to put in my new home and have to start from scratch- everything is that unit is destroyed by rat feces and have have been chewed up. I not only lost out on furniture but have thrown away more than 4K with paying the monthly rent on the unit. This is devastaing.Desired Settlement: I would like a refund of what I've paid to the unit or at least on the items that I have lost.

Business

Response:

We purchased the Phoenix location in Jan of 2013. We rent storage space to our customers at which time once they execute their rental agreement and while they are paying their monthly rent it is their responsibility to monitor the condition of their belongings inside their leased space as we are not legally allowed to access that space without them giving us access to their personal lock.Ms. [redacted] admits in her statement that she only checks her storage unit once a year. Twelve months is a long time to not inspect your unit and condition of your belongings.When Ms. [redacted] originally rented the storage unit from the previous property owner she declined to obtain renters insurance coverage which is strange to us. In the storage business as it is always recommended to protect personal property from damages. When customers decline renters insurance we believe that generally means they do not feel their belongings are important to them nor have value or they would obtain a renters insurance policy to protect the value of their investment. (See attached lease & declining of insurance #1)We do not offer renters insurance but do offer an enrolled protection plan that Ms. [redacted] accepted and has been paying on and has filed a damage claim for the maximum $500 payment. (See attached protection plan and claim forms #2.)If we did not offer this protection plan Ms. [redacted] would simply have to take a full loss as she had declined the original renter’s insurance policy which would have left her fully exposed. At least with the protection plan she is getting her damage claim processed.Our lease agreement which Ms. [redacted] signed cites that we are not responsible for damages to her belongings including but not limited to vermin as did her original signed lease with the previous property owner. (Copy of lease enclosed #3.) We advise all of our customers not to store food or water in their storage units but not all customers choose to follow that advice.We contract a pest control company to service our location as we have done at all of our locations that handle an array of pest prevention processes including setting traps and spraying exterior perimeters of buildings as deemed necessary by the Pest Control Professionals as that is not our expertise. We are sorry that Ms. [redacted] has been experiencing this situation and will need to purchase new furniture for her new home but it was explained to her by our VP of Operations Sandra Reiling that she would not receive a refund but the late fees and lien fees would be waived once they were assessed by the computer generated billings.Ms. [redacted] requested that she be contacted via email July 8, 2015 at which time we were on the road on business in Las Vegas. We responded that to her to feel free to call us July 9" at 10 am at our office of which she did not do. She did email us again on July 11, 2015. (See email enclosed #4.)Please see the email (enclosed #5) from Ms. [redacted] regarding this issue on July 11, 2015 after letting her know that our VP of Operations would be waiving the late and lien fees that she responds “Thank you, Darren. I don’t mean to be rude... I am just very unhappy with all of this. Thank you for your immediate response and attention.”So to receive this letter about a claim with the Revdex.com after emailing us responses of this nature is quite perplexing to us.We hope this will show the nature of this topic from our perspective and appreciate this matter to be completed with no marks against our good name or follow up needs for responses. Dennis A. Peterson Chief Operating Officer DA Peterson Ent. Inc.American Self Storage