I rented an interior unit at CubeSmart Self Storage in January 2019. The rental process was easy, the payments were ACH'd appropriately. Everything seemed great. I didn't go there very often, mostly because, well, it's storage, and you don't need to get in and out very often, but also because on the third floor, where my unit was located in one of the buildings, several people appeared to be living there. They'd sit either in their units with the door open, or they'd hang out at the end of the hallways, again, with their various units open.
In early May, I went to my unit, to add/move whatever, and I couldn't get the lock mechanism to slide like it was supposed to - I banged it, I jiggled the door, you name it. So, I went and found the manager, and he told me that my unit must have been one of the ones broken in to the week before. What? I was kind of shocked, but when we went back up to the unit so he could replace the entry mechanism, I could see where someone had forcibly bent parts and there were scrapes all over the door frame. I asked why they didn't call or send a letter, and he said that he had no way of knowing which units were affected, so he didn't want to alarm everyone.
Let's take a minute and digest that. NO WAY OF KNOWING WHICH UNITS were broken into by force. Huh?
And, why wouldn't you want to ALARM EVERYONE? I mean, people pay you to securely store their stuff. Why not send a letter/call/anything at all to tell renters that there was a breach in the building and that they should check it out as soon as they can. What's the worst that can happen? You might actually know what happened in your facility?
Anyway, a family heirloom was stolen. I was/am devastated. I filed a police report, and filed an insurance claim (by the way - if you MUST rent here, FOR THE LOVE OF GOD, get the insurance). I was compensated, and have since cleaned out my unit and completed my contract. I took awhile to post something because I thought my anger or hurt or disappointment would subside. It hasn't, it's changed - I still miss my heirloom, but my anger isn't really with the opportunist who stole it, but with the mismanagement of a company and facility I trusted.
Long Story Short, my advice to CubeSmart: kick out the squatters, get better security, communicate with your customers... We all deserve better. read more