Dogwood Storage Self Serving Self Storage Facility Ripoff Milton Florida

We were hit very hard by Hurricane Ivan. We lost our home and had to store what was left. On Monday March 7, 2005 I received a phone call from a representative of Dogwood Storage informing me that my unit had been broken into. When I arrived I noted that the unit had been backed into and the door was lifted 3/4 of the way up and off it's track. My belongs were gone. They did leave a few item behind. The representative then stated on Friday (March 4, 2005) she and another coworker had noted that the lock brace was cut and the lock was gone from my unit. She stated that she also noticed that the door was off it's frame but that it was not lifted. The door was still closed. She stated that they tried to open (lift) the door but that it would not budge. She then stated that she was busy that day preparing for Saturday's Property Auction, so she didn't have time to call me and that she decided she would deal with it first thing Monday morning.

Monday morning when she came in the door on my unit was lifted and my items were gone. That is when she called me. I live 5 minutes from the storage unit so I went immediately. A police report was filed. The value of the items stolen was only approx. $3400.00 I fail to understand why the company waited 3 days to inform me that my unit was tampered with. The door was wedged down (closed) Friday when they noticed it. My belongings were probably still inside. I would have responded immediatley and secured my property. The officer that responded told me that this facility has had approx. 50 break ins since the Hurricane. People here have already suffered enough. How much is too much. I cannot report this to my home owners insurance as my home is being replaced with a mobile home through a Small Business Administration loan. My insurance company already looks upon a mobile home as a risk. To file a claim at this time would only increase my chances of denial of insurance. I feel ripped off and cheated, denied of my rights as a consumer. This should not happen.

Jerri
Milton, Florida
U.S.A.