I am one among many who have experienced the unregulated and deplorable business practices of storage facilities. These establishments are currently allowed to increase rates at their discretion, force customers into purchasing storage insurance that often fails to provide adequate coverage, and even auction off customers' belongings without fair warning or justification. This is not just a business issue; it's a personal one affecting countless individuals and families.

According to the Self Storage Association, there are approximately 50,000 self-storage facilities in the United States alone (SSA). Despite this large number, there is little to no regulation on how these businesses operate. This lack of oversight allows for arbitrary rate increases and mandatory insurance policies that often do not cover the full value of stored items.

Storage facilities are used by many for a variety of reasons. They are often used by those who are homeless, displaced, and/or in some economically disadvantaged situation. People experiencing economic hardships should not be preyed upon by storage facilities. There should be protections in place that cap the percentage of any price increase and the frequency of price increases. Often prices are increased by large percentages multiple times in one year. This allows storage facilities to systematically sell customers' belongings, and rent the unit to the next person who might fall victim to the same fate. The storage companies keep all the money from the customers' rental payments, make money on the auctions, often receive a portion of the monthly storage insurance premium that they force customers to purchase, and often charge customers other junk fees.

The insurance policy that the storage companies force customers to purchase is often completely worthless. In cases of theft, insurance companies like Great American (affiliated with CubeSmart) have a clause where they deny the claim if they decide that there is no evidence of "forced entry" following a documented theft with police reports. Employees who have keys or anyone with a lock pick set can steal everything out of any CubeSmart storage unit, and Great American can simply deny the claim. The storage companies often refuse to comply with criminal investigations, refuse to provide video and other evidence to detectives, and completely ignore customers and detectives until they receive a subpoena signed by a judge. The storage facilities are also allowed to be dishonest in their marketing. They can tell customers that they have surveillance cameras and recordings. In reality, the cameras may only be capturing the entrance and exit or the exterior perimeter of the facility and only saves the recordings for a matter of days. There may be absolutely no coverage of the interior halls, doors, or elevators, and recording may be erased by the time a customer discovers a problem. Marketing "security cameras" is often a worthless ploy that only protects the employees if some immediate threat were to arise. The customers, however, are expected to take a full loss after paying thousands of dollars in monthly storage fees and monthly storage insurance premium for a worthless policy. These practices cannot continue.

Customers rent storage units at a price that they can afford. Often, there is a promotional rate for one month or maybe longer, which customers can compare to the regular price they will pay after the promotion expires. What actually occurs is the storage facilities often raise the rate several times a year, over and above the rate that the customer expected to be the regular rate, based on the non-discounted rate they were initially quoted. Customers expect to pay the regular price they were quoted when the promotion expires, but they end up experiencing a series of price increases beyond the regular (non-discounted) price they were quoted. If customers reach out to the operators with concerns or questions about the practices, the operators are currently allowed to ignore the customers indefinitely.

Furthermore, when customers are unable to pay these inflated prices, their personal belongings can be auctioned off. Storage facility operators are allowed to enter customers' units without permission from the customer or any advance notice to the customer. Customer belongings can be stolen or auctioned off. The emotional toll this takes on individuals who lose sentimental and valuable items is immeasurable. Anyone who has ever had something valuable taken from them should understand.

If customers are unable to afford the random price increases and have no other place to quickly move their belongings, they lose everything. There are countless stories across various platforms documenting the horrific abuse of customers by storage companies. Many families lose everything they own. Some are already living in their cars. Families have reported having many irreplaceable items taken from them as a result of the unregulated practices of storage companies: important documents and identification, family photographs, family heirlooms and furniture passed down to them by their ancestors, tools and materials that they need to work and earn money to feed their children, belongings and memorabilia of their deceased child, and so many other items. The greed of storage facilities has victimized so many, and it tends to be the most vulnerable Americans who are most preyed upon. Where do these people go for help? Many of the victims do not speak English, they have no idea how to advocate for themselves, and they are too busy trying to survive to be able to dedicate the time to fight against these large companies who are abusing and taking full advantage of them and their misfortune. The storage companies are betting on the fact that the customers will not have the disposable resources to take legal action.

We need your support in urging lawmakers to implement regulations on storage facilities. These should include caps on rate increases, requirements for clear communication about pricing changes and auctions, as well as rules ensuring that offered insurance policies provide adequate coverage for stored goods that does not rest upon "forced entry". Regulations should mandate that facility operators respond to customer concerns within 48 hours and resolve matters within 14 days. Storage facilities should face steep fines for the abuse that they have normalized across the industry. There must be oversight and regulation. It must be regarded as an urgent need because each day there are more people abused by the unregulated practices.

Storage facilities often hold everything that people own, everything that people have worked hard to earn, and the storage facility operators know that. Americans need protections, and they need protections NOW. 

Please sign this petition if you believe in fair treatment for all consumers using storage facilities. Together we can make a difference!

There are producers working on a project around this topic. If you or someone you know is interested in sharing their story on camera, please complete this form: https://forms.gle/tgbEFkVfQJi8nFuy5