My mother has been a CubeSmart customer for more than two years. During that time, we accepted the steady rent increases because we understand that costs go up. However, after my mother was diagnosed with cancer last year, her ongoing medical treatments and expenses made it necessary to find ways to reduce costs wherever possible.
For nearly a year, my mother talked about downsizing from her 10x10 unit to a smaller 10x5 unit to save money, but because of her health and physical limitations, she needed help moving. Eventually, my aunt flew down to Florida specifically to help her make the move.
On Friday, June 12, my mother and aunt met with a CubeSmart employee who personally showed them unit #4120. During that meeting, the employee clearly stated that the monthly rent for the unit would be $93 under the current promotion, which matched the price advertised on CubeSmart's website. Based on that information, my mother agreed to rent the unit.
The next day, my mother, my aunt, and two hired movers spent the entire day moving everything out of the larger unit and into unit #4120. It was a physically exhausting process that required significant time, effort, and money.
A few days later, my mother was shocked to discover that she had been charged approximately $170 per month instead of the $93 she had been quoted. Naturally, we assumed there had been a mistake and contacted the facility expecting a simple correction.
Instead, we were met with one of the most disappointing customer service experiences I have ever witnessed. The same employee who showed my mother the unit and quoted the $93 rate denied that the conversation ever happened. She claimed that the promotion did not apply and that she never quoted that price in the first place.
What is especially frustrating is that my mother made a major decision based entirely on the information provided by CubeSmart's own employee. Had she been told the true monthly cost, she may never have gone through the expense and physical hardship of moving units at all.
Whether this was a result of incompetence, poor training, or a deliberate bait-and-switch tactic, the outcome is the same: a long-term customer was given inaccurate information, spent hundreds of dollars and countless hours moving based on that information, and was then told that the conversation never happened.
After more than two years as a loyal customer, this experience has completely destroyed our trust in CubeSmart. If you choose to rent here, get absolutely everything in writing because apparently what you are told in person means nothing once it's time to pay the bill. read more
