Ripoff Report Needs Your Help!
X  |  CLOSE
Report: #1535537

Complaint Review: Storage Mart - Kansas City MO

  • Submitted:
  • Updated:
  • Reported By: Missouri Resident — Kansas City Missouri United States
  • Author Confirmed What's this?
  • Why?
  • Storage Mart 4121 NE Davidson Rd Kansas City, MO United States

Storage Mart Racked Up $980 Bill For Three Months Rental Fees After I Moved Out Kansas City MO

*General Comment: Couple of questions

Show customers why they should trust your business over your competitors...

Is this
Report about YOU
listed on other sites?
Those sites steal
Ripoff Report's
content.
We can get those
removed for you!
Find out more here.
How to fix
Ripoff Report
If your business is
willing to make a
commitment to
customer satisfaction
Click here now..

Learn how Storage Mart racked up a $980 balance on my account for a unit I moved out of over three months ago that is still 'past due' including 'lien fees' for liens they have never filed (according to the Clay County, MO Court Clerk). 

 

September 30, 2024 my girlfriend moved my belongings out of storage unit 101 at the Davidson Rd location of Storage Mart. She inadvertently put the lock back on the unit after removing my belongings. At this time my Storage Mart account was paid in full with no 'past due balance' remaining. I have copies of the monthly statements proving this.

 

I had also notified Storage Mart in 'writing' via the 'move out' function in my Storage Mart account that I was moving out Sept 30, 2024. This action legally cancelled (in writing) any alleged contract between myself and Storage Mart. I say 'allegedly' because I never signed any contract with Storage Mart. 

 

Next day the location Manager called me saying he noticed I had moved out of the unit and that I need to come back there and remove the lock from the unit. I told him that he had my permission to remove the lock and he did not say he would but said that he might have to charge me a dumpster fee for the two pieces of furniture remaining in the unit. (If the lock was still on the unit how did he know there was anything remaining in the unit?)

 

The location manager at this point did not say he would remove the lock, neither did he claim that the lock being on there continues my possession of the unit, neither did he inform me that he could email me a docusign document giving Storage Mart permission in writing to remove the lock. He just kept arguing about the dumpster fee so I got frustrated and hung up on him since I am a trucker and was 1000 miles away at the time and could not return there and remove the lock. Which I did inform him of this. 

 

My girlfriend returned a few days later to remove the lock only to find the gate code cancelled. When I spoke to Storage Mart about why they ask me to remove the lock then restrict my access to remove the lock they said 'When a balance comes past due the system automatically cancels the gate code'. 

 

The location Manager refused to remove the lock did not inform me of the document he could have provided giving him permission to remove the lock, restricted access to the property so myself or my girlfriend could not access the property and remove the lock.

 

All the while I noticed that Storage Mart was continuing to charge me for the unit and adding on two types of 'lien fees' to the monthly 'past due balance'. They charge a 'pre-lien fee' of about $15 once a balance is past due then at some point in the same billing month they add on a 'lien fee' of about $40 I think. (typing statement from memory, I do have the monthly statement copies). I called the Clay County Clerk and asked if any liens had been filed against me by Storage Mart and the Clerk said there was no record of any liens filed against me.

 

I made at least five or six calls to Storage Mart Corporate describing all this to many different agents of the company. Some of them promised to make this right, others said they would escalate the issue and have a manager from Corporate call me. Nothing changed in my Storage Mart account accept that the bill kept growing practically by the week. Messages notifying me often of threats to auction off my belongings. Monthly fees and 'lien fees' piling up until now over three months later the balance is now about $980. For a unit I paid $180 a month for, many years.

 

As of this day January 6, 2025 my alleged balance is now about $980 including the 'lien fees' they never filed. A 'lien' is a legal process. Not an accounting term. Storage Mart seems to be charging 'lien fees' as a means of increased profits for liens they never pay the Courts to file. The Storage Mart location Manager could have sent me the docusign document Oct 1, 2024 ending this.

 

About five or six weeks into this nightmare a Regional Manager called me to talk about the issues I have with Storage Mart. He was not friendly. Short, snippy and at some point became fairly abrasive and rude. The Regional Manager said that he would send me a docusign document that I could sign and return to Storage Mart giving permission in writing to remove the lock. At this point I think my alleged balance was about $600 including the seemingly fraudulent ‘lien fees’.  

 

I did not sign and return the document since I was considering legal action against Storage Mart and I did not want to do anything to void any legal action I might take. The past due balance could be applied to my credit and/or sent to a collection agency.

 

Basically, it seems that the location Manager never informed me that he could send me a docusign document to give him permission to remove the lock so Storage Mart could claim I still have possession of the unit and continue charging me for the unit. Which they certainly did continue charging me for the unit and adding lien fees to the monthly past due balance for liens they never file. 

 

I contacted the Missouri Attorney General’s office online and submitted a complaint and have yet to get a response now about three months later. The FBI don’t answer their phone in Kansas City. Their system forwarded me to the Federal Trade Commission that likely don’t do anything about complaints but continue to take our tax dollars for doing nothing about complaints. The Kansas City Police Department referred me to The Better Business Bureau. So thus far, no law enforcement agency seem to care that Storage Mart may be committing crimes, racking up fraudulent bills and abusing the legal process of liens for their own profits.

 

Sent a copy of this complaint to KCTV5 Kansas City Newsdesk and when I resent a revised version their email server blocked my email address returning my email with the following message: Your message to newsdesk@kctv5.com has been blocked.

 

Since no law enforcement and even a Kansas City News agency are not interested in this ripoff that seems to be in the realm of financial crimes I posted it here.

 

This report was posted on Ripoff Report on 01/06/2025 10:52 AM and is a permanent record located here: https://www.ripoffreport.com/report/storage-mart/kansas-city-mo-davidson-rd-1535537. The posting time indicated is Arizona local time. Arizona does not observe daylight savings so the post time may be Mountain or Pacific depending on the time of year. Ripoff Report has an exclusive license to this report. It may not be copied without the written permission of Ripoff Report. READ: Foreign websites steal our content

Search for additional reports

If you would like to see more Rip-off Reports on this company/individual, search here:

Report & Rebuttal
Respond to this report!
What's this?
Also a victim?
What's this?
Repair Your Reputation!
What's this?

Updates & Rebuttals

REBUTTALS & REPLIES:
0Author
1Consumer
0Employee/Owner

#1 General Comment

Couple of questions

AUTHOR: Flint - (United States)

POSTED: Wednesday, January 08, 2025

1) I would imagine the rental agreement states that you move out when you vacate the unit, not when you provide a notification of your desire to do so.  And you certainly have a lease agreement.  You should be able to get a copy by logging into your account.  What does it say?

2) You still had a lock on the unit and stuff stored in the unit.  By any reasonable interpretation, you were still occupying the unit.  Therefore, you owe the rental fees on it.  It doesn't sound like a "mistake" if there are multiple pieces of furniture in the unit and a lock securing it.

3) If the gate access is revoked, you can still go there during business hours and ask the manager to let you in.

4) The storage unit management can't just cut locks and throw your stuff out.  That would be illegal.  They have to go through a fairly long and drawn-out process of notifying you and auctioning off the contents.  I doubt the manager is allowed to draft legal agreements, so it's understandable that they would not want to potentially violate the law by forcibly entering your unit.  That literally constitutes breaking and entering.

Respond to this report!
What's this?
Featured Reports

Advertisers above have met our
strict standards for business conduct.

X
What do hackers,
questionable attorneys and
fake court orders have in common?
...Dishonest Reputation Management Investigates Reputation Repair
Free speech rights compromised

WATCH News
Segment Now