Storage company sold my fathers items after only 1 month deliquency?

Question

My father moved down to Arkansas for work and put some stuff in a storage locker. He called me today and told me he was a month behind and when he called the place to arrange payment , they told him it had been auctioned off. Don't they have to provide some kind of letter informing him of this sale and also place an ad in the legals? What could his course of action be. He lost all his furniture and me and my brothers baby pictures.

Answer 1

You may wish to check your contract with the company and read the fine print.

Your only other recourse is to try recovery through small claims court after you pay what you owe!

Answer 2

That is pretty much standard boiler plate language in a every storage contract I ever signed. I am sure it was i nthat one too.

He has no course of action, everybody lived by the contract they signed willingly.

Maybe if you are lucky and fast and a good investigator you can track down who bought the lot, and see if you can recover the pieces with emotional appeal, which are the least liekly for them to be able to sell on ebay or wherever.

But they are also the ones they are most likely to throw away when they see what they got, so get on it now!

Answer 3

When people post questions here, it really helps if they tell what state they are in. You mentioned that your father moved to Arkansas, but you do not tell me what state his property was located in. Here is the law in Oklahoma:

The law in Oklahoma gives the storage facility owner a lien on any property located at the storage facility “for rent, labor, or other charges, present or future, in relation to the personal property and for expenses necessary for its preservation or expenses reasonably incurred in its sale or other disposition” until the owner of the property corrects his default. No enforcement action can be taken until the occupant of the storage space has been in default continuously for a period of 30 days.

Once in default of 30 continuous days, a storage facility owner may begin to enforce the lien by sending the occupant a notice that is delivered in person or by certified mail to the last-known address of the occupant. A notice must also be sent to any other lien holders of the property in the storage space.

This notice must contain the following information:

1. An itemized statement of the owner's claim showing the sum due at the time of the notice and the date when the sum became due;


2. A brief and general description of the personal property subject to the lien. The description shall be reasonably adequate to permit the person notified to identify such property, except that any container including, but not limited to, a trunk, valise, or box that is locked, fastened, sealed, or tied in a manner which deters immediate access to its contents may be described as such without describing its contents;

3. A notification of denial of access to the personal property, if such denial is permitted under the terms of the rental agreement, which notification shall provide the name, street address, and telephone number of the owner or his designated agent whom the occupant may contact to respond to such notification;

4. A demand for payment within a specified time not less than fifteen (15) days after delivery of the notice; and

5. A conspicuous statement that, unless the claim is paid within the time stated in the notice, the personal property will be advertised for sale or other disposition and will be sold or otherwise disposed of at a specified time and place.

The law presumes that the notice is delivered when it is deposited in the mail with postage prepaid. Therefore, the 15 days, or whatever time is specified in the notice, begins to run the day the notice is deposited in the mail.

After the expiration of this time period given in the notice, an advertisement of sale or other disposition must be published once a week for two consecutive weeks in a newspaper of general circulation in the county where the storage facility is located. This notice must include a brief and general description of the property. The address of the storage facility and the number of the space where the property is located must also be included. Also, the name and last-known address of the occupant must be included in this advertisement. Finally, the time, place and manner of the sale of property must be included in the advertisement. The sale must not take place sooner than fifteen days after the first publication of the advertisement.

Before the sale takes place, the occupant may pay the amount necessary to satisfy the lien and the reasonable expenses incurred by the storage facility in attempting to enforce the lien. If the occupant does this before the sale takes place, the storage facility owner must return the property to the occupant.

If the sale of the property provides more money than is necessary to pay the obligation owed by the occupant, the storage facility must hold the excess proceeds for 90 days. During this time the occupant, or any other person claiming an interest is such proceeds may make a claim by providing adequate proof to the owner of the storage facility. After the 90 days has passed, the storage facility owner must distribute the excess proceeds to all claims presented. If after this 90 days has passed and there are still proceeds left, those proceeds become the property of the storage facility owner.

This may or may not be the same or similiar law in your state. Your cause of action now is to file a lawsuit against the storage company for the value of the belongings minus the amount owed for rent.

Edit to add this: Consumer protection laws override anything written in a contract. If the contract with the storage company says that they can sell all items in storage if the renter is in default for one day and state law says that they can't sell items until after 30 days and after proper notice is given, then the State law is what controls regardless of what the rental contract says.

Answer 4

Step 1, read your contract with them.
Step 2. If they violated the contract call a lawyer.

Answer 5

he has to read the terms of the contact he signed when he set up the storage space. they don't have to provide anything to him if the contracts states so. he needs to read through the contract. if they violated the terms, he can take them to court.

Answer 6

It depends more on what was in his rental contract. You should probably speak with a local attorney about this for detailed answers.