Question
Hello. I rented a self-storage unit in Michigan for just two months in 2013. I just needed a place to store my stuff temporarily between moves. (I'm about to talk about something that will seem irrelevant, but it's not) I rented the unit in August, and I bought a lock at the front desk (this will be relevant). I had the unit until late October, during which I paid my bill each month, like I always do. I called and notified the office I'd be closing out my storage unit.
I cleaned everything out of my unit with a friend in October, and I went into the front office, with my friend, and I made sure everything was paid and I did all the paperwork (which was all done by signing on a computer...no papers) and I even let them have the lock back and told them to give it to someone who might not be able to afford one sometime.
In January 2014 I received a notice from the storage company that I was in default, and my unit was going to be foreclosed. I went into the office to talk to someone, and of course the manager that had closed my unit originally no longer worked there. I talked to the new manager and explained the entire situation, and he said that he would take care of it. Just for good measure, I called the corporate office number and talked to them too, and they also said that it would be corrected.
I stayed at that same address for 5 more months, and never heard anything from anyone. Fast forward to today, April 2015, over a year later. I received a phone call from an attorney's office who told me that I owe $400 to the storage company because I had a past due amount and they had to foreclose on my account. The storage company forwarded the account to the collection/attorney office in January. I told them that I didn't owe any money to the storage company, but there wasn't a lot of dialogue besides the attorney telling me that I signed a contract that made me liable for attorney's fees and a bunch of other stuff, and that since I wouldn't pay I left her no choice but to "recommend that further action be taken."
This has to be illegal? They are obviously pursuing fraudulent charges.
If they had to "foreclose" on my rental unit... wouldn't it have been a little weird that there was literally nothing in my unit? Why have I not been contacted, at all, for over a year? No mail, no phone, no e-mail, nothing.
They are using extremely unethical business practices... is this something that I can sue them for? What kind of recourse do I have here? I didn't request any documentation, everything was done on a computer, so lesson learned, but there still has to be something I can do.
Can I make them prove that I did what they claim I did by providing all their computer records relating to my account? Can I force them to disclose the name of the manager that was there when I closed my account? Can I see if they have a recording of the phone call?
Thank you, if you're still reading, I appreciate it.
Answer
The Self-Storage Facility Act governs how and when a storage unit facility can take action and the methods that must be used to make contact with a renter. Email and first class mail is the way to provide notice and that Act mandates certain notices be set out at the beginning of the contract. You must be contacted by them prior to a sale. If you moved then the mail would have bounced and they would have known that was a bad address. My first question is do you have any documentation at all from this storage facility? If you paid by credit card it would be easier to track rather than cash. If you paid by cash do you have a receipt(s) or any documentation to support that you moved out? If they did foreclose then they had to have had a sale and there must be documentation on the sale as well. If the unit was empty there probably wasn't a sale and there was only a debt owed. That would support your version of events. The fact that a debt collector is involved can make it easier as well. If you paid by credit card this will be easier but if you paid cash then it will be more difficult.
You can sue them for this and hope that the computer records have not been destroyed but you should immediately put them on notice (both the storage unit and debt collector) via certified mail return receipt that they are not to destroy any records from this time period as you may have a claim. You should send that notice to the storage place, the corporate office and the resident agent of the storage facility.
You could also have a claim under the Michigan Regulation of Collection Practices Act because you called corporate and told them about it and they said it would be corrected. That is a misrepresentation and is actionable.
