I have never rented a storage unit so have no experience with other providers but I would not recommend Public Storage. I searched around and signed up for a drive up unit at 5005 Evans in Denver. First month for $1, $24 set up fee and $88 a month thereafter. Ok, I agreed to those terms and was ready to move in. All was going well, Stacie showed me the unit, she was nice, unit seemed fine. we went back to the office started filling out paperwork and "what level on insurance do you want"? - "I don't want insurance" - "We require insurance"- "well if it is required why isn't it part of the quote". I was pretty miffed at the bait and switch here, the cheapest policy is only $11/ month but the principle matters and I would appreciate honesty that insurance is required but not necessarily theirs. Never did Stacy mention I may have an existing policy that could suffice. I did some research and there was a class action lawsuit in Florida against public storage regarding insurance. Public storage settled, that claim was regarding the misrepresentation that ALL the premiums flowed through to the insurance company. Stacy did not represent that but what is relevant is it seems public storage employees follow scripts and are pressured to sell the insurance. And I don't feel this is like renting a car where they offer optional insurance even though your personal policy may cover. This is a mandatory reoccurring cost. I checked the public storage site again and NO mention of an insurance requirement or a lock throughout the process, yes they sold me a required lock for $30. The storage place right across the street clearly states "insurance and lock needed" when reserving a unit on their web site. Don't know anything else about the place but certainly feels like a better way to start a business relationship. Stacy also casually mentioned they usually will not increase my rate for at least 6 months??? I know where I am heading if they do raise rates in 6 months. Regardless of where you rent be sure to ask upfront about potential rate increases and insurance. I checked with my insurance company and confirmed my insurance covers my items in storage and I am comfortable with my policy so I canceled the Public Storage policy. This is simple to do if you have an on-line public storage account, just select "edit" next to your policy amount.
What I don't get is, storage is such a great business model that relies on human inertia and human inertia is so reliable why take action that adds motion to the equation? read more