Faulty Storage Unit - Damaged Goods

JLouise02

Hello,

We have found ourselves in an unfortunate situation regarding our storage unit that we have been renting since June. Moisture has gotten into our unit as the seal of the bottom right door has broken off and has created a gap (as seen in the attached picture).

Due to this, multiple of our items were wet and our corner sofa has been severely damaged due to mould.

According to the website “the units are weatherproof”, and they have “a maintenance team who refurbish the containers and keep them in good condition”.

In terms of condensation the website mentions that they have “very little problem with condensation and that, on the rare times when condensation does occur, it’s generally as a result or moisture being imported into the container by loading it on a wet day or going in and out of the store on a wet day”.

We loaded the storage unit in June and have not kept any goods in there that contain water (i.e fridge freezers etc.) so we have not imported any moisture into the unit ourselves.

We have checked the terms and conditions of the contract and it states that “the hirer accepts no responsibility for any loss or damage to the Equipment or its content due to, or arising from, any cause other than due directly to a defect of the equipment. This includes damage or loss due to extreme weather or other external conditions”.

The damage is clearly due to the faulty door which we believe falls under “defect of the equipment”.

They have provided us with a new storage unit for the time being to move our undamaged goods into, however I have not been contacted about the damage and who is at fault.

The site manager did ask if we “ripped off” the seal which is quite ridiculous as you can see the rust on the door, however this makes me wonder whether they will easily accept the blame or if we need to take legal action against them.

From a legal perspective, are we in the right to claim compensation for this? Would we be able to sue if they did not accept liability? As this is clearly due to the faulty door.

Unfortunately, we no longer have content insurance (we moved back into my parents in laws house until our house is built) so claiming on this is not an option.

Any advice is much appreciated!

Thank you!

Aylesbury_Duck

I'm not convinced the broken door seal is the cause of the problem.  The images appears to show a container, which won't have been airtight even with the seal in place.  'Weatherproof' is generally accepted to mean protection from sunlight, wind and precipitation, not that the unit is airtight.  Any container that isn't heated or dehumidified is going to be somewhere where atmospheric moisture will condense in the right conditions.  It's no different to a shed, a garage, a loft or a greenhouse in that respect.  Moving the contents to another unit won't prevent the same thing happening if that unit isn't heated or dehumidified, especially in winter.

You've kept belongings in there for 6-7 months across three seasons.  It's not surprising you have damp problems.

I can't see you have a valid claim, sorry.

born_again

Well unless the container is insulated at this time of year it will be wet through inside.
We used to have one for storing stuff at work. Was a joke in winter as it was like a drip fest inside.

sheramber

have you not checked the storage unit since June?

JetpackVelociraptor

Unfortunately if they didn't specifically advertise it as "dry storage", I don't think you will be able to claim on their insurance. It is worth a try, and maybe some conversation with the company to ask about recompense for the damage - but I wouldn't get your hopes up.

I probably don't have to tell you this, but you should absolutely dispose of that sofa and all associated cushions, soft furnishings etc as soon as possible for health reasons. The mould will have gotten into the fillings and possibly even the frame, either way cleaning will not get rid of the mould spores and it would continue to spread mould wherever you put it. Just wanted to say that in case you were thinking of doing the MSE thing and trying to clean it up!

JLouise02

Thanks everyone. We did check the unit in between now and June. We did multiple times and everything was fine even after it had rained. Only since the seal has broken things have gotten damaged. We expected some sort of condensation in Winter which is fine but we did ask whether it was safe to store a couch in the unit. We were told it was and the site manager even told us that he’s never had this happen to any of the other containers especially to this extent. 

We will dispose of the couch and anything that is mouldy and have spoken to the manager. They have issued a claims for and we will see what they say. They were quite surprised because this has never happened before apparently.

Aylesbury_Duck

I suspect it's more to do with atmospheric conditions in the period in question, and the loss of the door seal is a coincidence.  I don't know where your unit is but in the south east it's been another wet winter.  As I type I can see fences, sheds and garden play equipment that's all damp and has been for weeks.  A container isn't airtight, so humid air is getting in all the time, with or without the door seal.  All the seal does is stop actual rain getting in at floor level, it won't do anything to prevent humidity in the container, and it's humidity, combined with no heating and little ventilation, that's caused all your mould.

The storage company may help out, you never know, especially if you specifically asked about storing a sofa in there.