Tweet

RSS

Scenario one: It has taken you hours to pack everything just right so you could do this in just one trip! You've made sure all is secure so hopefully, nothing gets broken in the travel ahead. You check the unit once more to make sure you have everything, because you remember your lease stated that the unit must be returned in the way you received it. Yep! All looks good you even sweep it out just to make sure. You pull down the door and place your lock back in place because that's what you've always done. Then you pull slowly out of the facility for the last time silently thanking your unit and staff for being so good to you!  

You go home, unpack the truck, fill up your perfect home and go on living the amazing life until the first of next month rolls around and you receive a receipt thanking you for the payment that was made at the storage facility you left weeks ago. "What??? How can this be? Didn't the manager see me leave that day? They knew I was out there for hours. Surely they knew that I was gone and wouldn't be back?" So you make the phone call letting the manager know..."Yeah, uh, I moved out a few weeks ago. And I just got this email thanking me for my payment for this month? Can you tell me what that's all about?"  Manager replies, "Yes, sir! Let me check your account"...

pulling up customers account she kindly explains, " Sir, I still have you in our system because we didn't know that you had left. When we do our checks on the grounds as long as locks are on the doors according to the contract, you're still responsible for that unit! When you come in to get your lock, make sure you stop at the office and let us know so we can properly move you out of our system."

Scenario two: You've packed up your items into your vehicle and you decide that you don't need or want a couple of the things and you leave them in the unit thinking, "well, maybe they can use it or maybe they won't mind if I leave just these few things and this trash, I don't have any room in my car for that so I'll leave that too." You leave

and you get a notice stating you have rent due. You call or email the manager stating that "you have moved out and that stuff in the unit you were leaving for them to do whatever they wanted because you didn't really need it and couldn't get it all in your car anyway." Manager smiles and explains sweetly on the other end, "Honey, I appreciate you thinking of me like that but I really don't need any of those things either and according to the contract you signed you understood that when you leave, you must return that unit just like you found it and I'm pretty sure there wasn't anything like that in that unit when you moved in. Certainly you would have brought it to our attention if there had been!?" 

Both of these scenarios and others like it can be avoided if you'll just make sure of THREE things:

ONE: Take EVERYTHING our of your unit even if you can't do it in one trip. If you don't have time to come back that day remember, you've rented the unit until the end of the month in most cases, so take your time and just be out before the first of the next month.

TWO: REMOVE your LOCK! If you've moved everything out don't leave your lock. It shows the manager that you are still in possession of the unit.

THREE: Let the manager know you've moved out! The manager needs to check your unit so they can move you out of their system properly. Most facilities require a notice to vacate but that doesn't equate to the actual move out process.

I hope this helps explain the proper procedure for moving out!