DO NOT USE PUBLIC STORAGE, THEY ARE AN UNPROFESSIONAL RIP-OFF! PLEASE READ THE FOLLOWING BEFORE WASTING YOUR TIME AND MONEY!
I have been a responsible and loyal customer at Public Storage since 9-15-2012, and I have never missed a payment. Last month in May, I received notice that my rent was going up $40 beginning July 1st. I decided $336 a month for a 10x30 unit was insane, so on June 2nd I went to the Coon Rapids location with my friend to start the moving out process.
The lock I had on my unit was a Public Storage lock (I bought it from them in 2012). They gave me a key and kept the spare - in case I ever lost my own. On June 2nd they said they had no such key available. I asked if I could cut the lock with bolt cutters, but the woman in the office said no, and that the only way to have the lock taken off is to have the Manager cut it himself. The manager was not at the location that day, so the woman said I would be called to schedule a lock cutting appointment.
Between June 2nd - June 17th I called Public Storage several times, but only reached a voicemail. It wasn't until the evening of the 17th that I finally got a phone call back where they stated the lock had been cut off on June 5th, and they claimed to have called me and left a message stating the lock was cut. They never called me or left a message and I will be working with T-Mobile to prove that they never called me to the Attorney General. I was upset because I specifically requested that I be present when the lock was cut. They even have a sign in their lobby that states that customers have a legal right to be present during the cutting of their lock. I also lost out on over 2 weeks of time that I could have spent moving out my belongings (So I could be out before July.)
I contacted the District Manager, Mickey, and I explained to him who I was and what had happened. I asked if they could waive the storage fee's for July if I'm not completely out by then, since I lost time for something that wasn't my fault. He was very rude and stated that the lock cutting was done as a "courtesy" over and over again - not listening to anything I had to say. He did state that they would not to anything and would not give back any fees because the lock cutting was done as a courtesy... He also said I could have hired a lock smith - but that didn't even come to mind since the woman behind the counter said the only way to have the lock taken off was to have the manager do it. ( Lock cutting is a free service they offer so I don't understand why Mickey was repeating that it was done as a courtesy so many times.
So as a consumer who has done business with this company for the last 3 years, who never missed a single payment, I am shocked that they wouldn't do anything to rectify the situation. Not only did they violate my rights, were very difficult to get a hold of, and were very rude to me on the phone, but they made a good, loyal, and consistent customer stuck in a situation where she could not move out in time - forcing me into a charge of $336 for July that I could have easily avoided if they didn't lose my spare key, or if they would have just called me to have me come out for the lock cutting!
I regret ever going to Public Storage, especially not that I've found over a dozen storage facilities that offer the same size of similar units for a fraction of the cost. For example, a 10x20 unit at Hallberg Marine in Forest lake costs $60 a month, and your rent will never go up. They are also very flexible, and if you were to incur a late fee, it's only $5. (They are also very friendly and easy to get a hold of!!!) read more