Self Storage Increase Rent

columbo78

Self storage companies are known to adjust their prices according to supply and demand so I get that. my problem though is that I joined (like so many others) with an offer. The offer was 50% off for as long as keep the contract. In this particular case I started off paying £50 per month. 6 months later they wrote to me and said they were increasing my rent by £10 per month. A later they are increasing by £10 per month.

I asked a couple of other customers if they had their rent increased and they hadn't.

When I asked the company they said that if someone was on the same contract as mine then they would also get an increase.

Question I have is:
1. What is stopping a company from falsely hiking their prices for an offer period to be able to say they can give you 50% (probably nothing I'm sure). Most like me will not get to find out what the rate was/will become to make that judgement

2. What is to stop them from rolling out rent increases by whatever amount they like, whenever they like, to bring me back up to the amount they would consider to be appropriate i.e customer pays £50 then 6 months later they hike it up to £100? Not that they have a fixed price for you to check that is what they have done or for you to ask other customers with the exact same storage that joined at exact the same time as you?

theartfullodger

What is stopping you moving your stuff to a storage company you are happy with?

Capitalism is about people/companies trying to make profit from others: Don't think this comes as a shock to most guys....

davidmcn

theartfullodger wrote: »

What is stopping you moving your stuff to a storage company you are happy with?

Or telling them you're not accepting their proposed new prices?

Their tactics are legal, as long as you're not locked in to the contract. If you want certainty of what the price will be over a longer term then you'll need to negotiate a suitable deal rather than one which allows them to change the price every month.

Miss_Samantha

If your contract states a price then when they ask for a rent increase you point them to the contract term and refuse to pay the increase.

TheGardener

get a friend to rent one at the 'offer price' and move your stuff into the 'new' locker - at least you don't have to move from the building.

eddddy

columbo78 wrote: »

1. What is stopping a company from falsely hiking their prices for an offer period to be able to say they can give you 50% (probably nothing I'm sure). Most like me will not get to find out what the rate was/will become to make that judgement

2. What is to stop them from rolling out rent increases by whatever amount they like, whenever they like, to bring me back up to the amount they would consider to be appropriate i.e customer pays £50 then 6 months later they hike it up to £100? Not that they have a fixed price for you to check that is what they have done or for you to ask other customers with the exact same storage that joined at exact the same time as you?

The contract that you agreed with them determines what they can/can't do.

If the contract says they can't increase prices - then they can't increase prices.

If the contract allows them to increase prices by as much as they want - then they can increase prices by as much as they want.


As you probably realise, the time to clarify/negotiate the contract would have been before you signed it. Perhaps the people you spoke to did that, and so got better terms than you.

columbo78

ok so here's a question.

Would none of you feel aggrieved/cheated if after accepting a 50% discount for life offer on self storage where you'd moved a whole heap of stuff..only to be told the price is going up 6 months later........taking you to the price you'd have originally paid without a discount.

Yes I could move my stuff every 6 months...incurring time and money every time but also consider the fact that I had another option that would have worked out cheaper in the long run which is no longer open to me.

People tend to 'store' things they hope they'll not need to move.

On the suggestion to have a friend take out a contract, well the problem here is that they do not have availability OR the 50% off.

columbo78

Add to the fact that you found out only YOU with your 50% discount worth £50 was being increased by £50

eddddy

columbo78 wrote: »

ok so here's a question.

Would none of you feel aggrieved/cheated if after accepting a 50% discount for life offer on self storage where you'd moved a whole heap of stuff..only to be told the price is going up 6 months later........taking you to the price you'd have originally paid without a discount.

Yes - I'm sure many people would feel aggrieved.

So if the purpose of your post is to warn people about the unscrupulous pricing practices of self-storage companies, that's a worthwhile warning.


(From you first post, it sounded like you were actually looking for advice on contract law and negotiating contract terms)

usefulmale

From what I have read about these places, its a common tactic. Lure you in with a low rate, then raise the price, hoping you will just pay up, rather than deal with the hassle of moving your stuff. I assume there is no other self storage company nearby?

AdrianC

columbo78 wrote: »

Would none of you feel aggrieved/cheated if after accepting a 50% discount for life offer on self storage where you'd moved a whole heap of stuff..only to be told the price is going up 6 months later........taking you to the price you'd have originally paid without a discount.

Has the un-discounted price also increased?

What do the Ts & Cs of the offer and your contract say?

People tend to 'store' things they hope they'll not need to move.

People tend to spend a LOT more money storing stuff than it's actually worth.