I learned a painful lesson about renting storage units. Moved possessions into a brand new SmartStorage unit in Mill Creek WA three years ago and set the account to autopay. Big mistake. They promised 30 days notice before any rent increases. I assumed even though it was a month to month contract that they would not raise rent more than the WA state limit of 10% annually (on residential units.) Well guess what, in most states there is no state mandated cap on storage unit rent. So with increaes every few months, they essentially doubled my rent every year. And for two years, not one warning of a pending rent increase. This last year I finally started to get sporadic written increase warnings, but they've had my address and email all along. During the 2nd and 3rd year I was in and out of hospital, barely walking, so they had my stuff as hostage. As they just announced this month an increase to $725, up from my initial $200 per month, a good friend gave me a lecture. He said "Is there anything in there you could not just buy brand new, for the money you've paid in rent? Good point. So I just spent a week taking truck loads to Value Village and my wonderful (immigrant family) friends just helped me move the remaining essentials to a new smaller unit, closer to home, for $100 per month. As I was moving out the last two weeks I noted three occasions where this "high-security" facility had their gates stuck wide open. And during the last six months someone was able to take the time to pick my very substantial lock, rip open several cartons, and steal two guns. Watch your back, storage unit companies accross the country are planning to rip you off with outrageous rent hikes, useless insurance, and poor security. https://youtu.be/t9cFlWTAoOo?si=LqX2nw9fxHTnUQZD read more

I have been renting a storage unit since 2018, and every year they have increased the rent by about $100. Today, the rent is nearly double what I paid in 2018. I'm very disappointed with these frequent and significant increases, and I would not recommend doing business with this company. read more

Hi I've been here almost two months..yes there has been some issues but come on people put your self in th3 manager position. He has a hard job dealing with alot of us renters coming and going . We all dealing with the same things. It's nice to come to this storage. TJ and Garrett are doing a great job. If u have a bad day and come in a d take it out on these guys ..they trying to resolve things if they don't know what's bothering u . Be kind and rewind WHEN u come to ANY business .if u don't like this storage go rent somewhere else ..they have made a lot of changes since I'm coming and going to my storage . All u have to do is follow the rules you signed a contract with your name your responsible for your unit . Thanks a bunch to and Garrett. read more

Uber-friendly staff and clean facility. All new security cameras and gate system. Highly recommended SmartStop for anyone who needs to store their belongings in the Mill Creek area! read more

The worst ever. They will make sure you lose your storage, but if they can pull a little more money...they will. Overall, you will lose your money and property in the end. I'm telling you don't do it. read more

I had stored my items here since 2016 and I *thought* there were no problems, until I moved out last week. There had been water leaking inside of my storage unit for some time and almost every single piece of furniture and box is ruined by water damage and/or mold. It has been that way for some time because the mold really spread and permeated everything. While I was there unloading my unit, there was still water leaking and some of my items were waterlogged and leaking into a puddle outside of my unit. PLEASE BE AWARE, the storage facility will not cover any damage, even if it was due to a failure to maintain their own facilities. I heard of *at least* 5 other customers whose units/belongings were damaged by water in the last couple of weeks. This facility obviously needs to repair and maintain their property better, and until that is done, I could not recommend anyone store their items at this facility. I have renter's insurance, which hopefully will help with the thousands of dollars in damage, but perhaps future residents should use the on-site offered insurance since it seems like there is (at least currently) a good chance of your items being ruined in these units and I image it is easier to go through their insurance. But again, I want to make it perfectly clear that everyone is storing their items here at their own risk and the facility will offer no concessions or accept any liability for their failure to maintain the integrity of the property. Very disappointed, very frustrated, very sad at the antique furniture I lost. I'd recommend potential customers look elsewhere for storage read more

Break-ins occur on a regular basis at this facility located on Bothell-Everett Hwy. My inside unit and five others in the same area were broken into twice in nine months. The thieves cleaned us out the second time and our losses are estimated at $17.8k (their insurance only covers $2k). The management said there is no video footage showing anything unusual for either burglary, yet every building requires a unique code to get in and there are cameras directly over the keypads, and other cameras outside to record vehicle traffic. Maintenance sucks, too. The door to our building doesn't lock (I first reported it in July 2023 and as of Sept 29 when I moved OUT, it still wasn't fixed), and the surveillance camera at the end of our building watching car traffic doesn't work. It would be easy to climb over the security fence because there is no barbwire top guard so perhaps that's how they're getting in and then if our door isn't locked, all they have to do is drill out the barrel locks or cut the padlocks (they did both on my unit). Or perhaps a disgruntled employee took the list of codes with them so that's how they get in, and they know where the cameras are located. When I complained after the second break-in, the Regional District Manager said, "don't blame me, blame the criminals." He said they'd had 20 break-ins so far this year but the police said it's many more than that. The day I was there to repack for the move, there were two more units and one drive-up unit outside our door broken into. My advice, DON'T RENT HERE! i'd give them minus 5 stars if I could. read more

SmartStop Self Storage - There had been boxes stacked to the top of the unit in addition to boxes on the floor. - Self Storage Near Me - Mill Creek, Washington

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Do not rent here -- I have had a storage unit at Mill Creek SmartStop for over 2 years. They have never stopped raising my rent during this time. Currently they are charging me 100$ OVER their posted rate for same unit! And the rate is even higher than their largest unit! I have brought this to their attention, and they will not budge. Something about random increasing and they have no control over it. So beware - good, loyal, on time paying customers are not appreicated. They make that clear by overcharging. read more

Same thing others have said bait and switch charge you one price then triple it. Calling it a introductory rate. Even though they advertise at the same rate on line nowhere calling it an introductory raising it twice went from 70 to 125 now 143 for 5x10 space. read more

Wish I could give zero stars! I have a unit here in Everett WA. I have had my unit since 2015. It has gone through three different companies owning it. I have had nothing but issues with it. First issues in 2017 unit next door went up in flames. 2019 my lock had been cut off and had my unit ransacked and items stolen. 2024 went to get personal items out and my unit was covered rat droppings!! Not to mention unit prices keep going up. I started at $65 and now it's $271 a month!! DO NOT RENT A UNIT HERE!!!! read more

DO NOT RENT HERE!!! DO NOT TRUST THAT YOUR ITEMS WIĹL BE SAFE. These people sold my storage unit after only being 1 payment late which was supposed to be on auto pay!! They are crooks, liars, scum. My entire business, my deceased spouses items are gone. I have no way to make an income now and nothing left that was my loves. I don't even know what to do. Just stay far away. Far, far away. They will destroy your life. read more

This place runs the old bait and switch. they raise the rate without notice . and the units are undersized from advertised .

Do NOT use this facility! The day after we rented a storage unit, we cancelled. We hadn't even put a single item in the unit, yet they didn't give us a refund. read more

Terrible- I would put a zero star if I could. I got a call that my storage locke was "broken" went and looked at my unit to find my stuff rummaged through and over $1000 worth of stuff stolen, I have asked management to review tapes and they have not, my friends are telling me I should file a police report and I find it odd the manager never encouraged that. I do wonder if it was an inside job since you need a code to get through the gate, then into the building and then again when you get into the elevator. The manager said my unit was the only unit compromised but my unit was located in an isolated area. I don't think my unit was the only one compromised. read more

Worse than useless. We have had a unit here for a number of years, originally Clock Tower, and had only positive to say. In January of this year, they had a break in and a number of units were broken into while a number of others had the doors damaged so badly they cannot be opened. Mine is one of the damaged doors. For starters, we can't seem to get an answer as to why a facility that claims 24/7 surveillance could have had a group of individuals break in and roam the hallways breaking into units without any alarm being tripped or any response occurring. To date, now April 2nd, the doors are still not repaired and they cannot give any answers on when they will be. They can force the door open but we probably couldn't get it shut again the assembly is so bent. When you ask for management contact info they refuse to give it to you. Even with no access we are still being charged and they refuse to issue any credit. Shopping for a new place and can't wait to move out. read more

I rented a small storage unit for $65 per month about 4 months ago. When I signed up, I rejected the insurance, but by the next month they just started adding $11/mon for insurance. Today, I got a letter in the mail that due to market conditions they are raising my rate from $65 to $114/mo! What a bunch of crap. read more

Today I was suppose to move my boat to the storage and we came all the way and the gate code didn't work. There was nobody at the office but we tried calling several times...customer care sucks...we had to leave and go back . This is the most pathetic self storage service. read more

Wow. People have zero compassion. Ive been renting a 10x10 unit for over a year at the cost of $160 a month! They used to send reminder emails.. Nor anymore. And you can hardly get anyone on the phone. Seriously... These phukers suck. They care about one thing...... The MOST important thing... Themselves. DO NOT RENT HERE! YOU WILL GET FUCKED read more

Hello. I have been with Smartstop Storage in Mill Creek for a couple of years now and until recently, only had positive feelings towards the service. On Monday, 5/24, I rented a u-haul truck in Lynnwood to move my queen sized bed to my new home in Seattle. I left early that day and picked up a friend of mine on the way to help with the mattress. I gave him $50 for the help. I picked up my u-haul truck in Lynnwood in that afternoon and headed towards my storage unit in Mill Creek. My Dad also has a unit there, more on that later.  I couldn't get my unit unlocked, thinking I wasn't doing it properly, before I looked at my dad's lock and compared it to mine, and realized my lock was set to the over-locked position. I knew i was not behind in my payment and this was simply a human error on the facility's part, but it was now after the onsite office had closed for the day. There was no 24 hr contact for Smartstop that I could find, so I had to abort the mission, and return the empty truck to U-Haul, as this was my only option. So after nearly $200, and half of the day, nothing was accomplished because of the facility's error. I took timestamped photos of my storage lock at the facility, and screenshots of my account page online with the storage company, confirming I was paid in full, and had made my payment on the 7th of May. Assuming that Smartstop would not make me pay for their mistake, I felt confident about asking them what they could do for me in terms of either reimbursement, or simply renting me another truck for a different day. I called and was told by the employee at the front desk that I was rude to ask them what they are willing to do, but they are sorry for what had happened. I asked her how I could contact a manager, and was promptly disconnected on the phone. This is beyond the pale as far as basic customer service and store policy. To expect that I wouldn't take my business somewhere else where it is respected and appreciated, is delusional. Moving forward, I hope this employees actions and behavior are not shared by the company as a whole, and something can be done to compensate for these stated mishaps, without any legal interjection necessary. read more

Sales are high pressure on the phone, with unsolicited return calls, and that should have been my first clue that something was off. We went out to look at a 10x10 space, but the agent took us to one much smaller. When I told him it was definitely not ten feet, he shrugged and said it was marked that way in his system and also it was ten feet TALL, he said, so that still counted. We did not end up renting, because that was not an honest business practice. It's too bad. Before they changed ownership we had rented there in the past and had such a great experience that they were the first place we thought of this time. read more

Having been with Clock Tower Storage at this location for many years this facility was recently acquired by SmartStop Self Storage. Once a locally owned and managed facility it has been bought by a corporate storage company that operates hundreds locations throughout the United States and Canada. Contrary to what you would think having been a long term client, the longer you stay the more you will pay vs a new tenant. What is most frustrating dealing w/ a corporation vs a locally owned storage property is the site managers inability make adjustments of your rent. In my situation if I were a new tenant I could get a 10x12 unit reserved online for $124/month. My current unit is a 10x10 and I pay close to $220/month. I was totally unaware of how much more I was paying vs a new tenant who could get a unit for $100 less a month. When I shopped around at other storage locations locally of equal quality and compared costs the savings of moving was compelling. I thought that having been a long term tenant paying almost twice the price I asked if they could accommodate a price adjustment that would compare to their local competitors. Being a large corporation, the site manager doesn't have the latitude to make those decisions. Instead the individual had to ask upper management. They offered lowering the rate but wasn't even close to the cost of moving into a new locally owned location and was still over $50/month more than a new tenant would pay for a LARGER UNIT. My suggestion is to shop around and stay with a locally owned storage facility where the actual site manager doesn't have to checkin with upper management. There are a lot of new move in deals right now. My hypothesis is that during Covid people have had time to get rid of stuff in their homes and looking for ways to get rid of extra expenses like a storage unit. read more