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Safeguard Storage Settles Lawsuit with NY City
By Amanda Antell
New York mini storage renters at Safeguard Properties LLC are preparing themselves for major changes as the company adopts a series of strict policies after investigators seized 44,000 worth of counterfeit and unauthorized items from their facilities.
After the city confronted the company with the fact that an illegal trading operation was occurring right under their nose, Safeguard agreed to adopt stricter rules for its renters and adopt the code of “best practices” as part of the agreement they made with city. Safeguard CEO Allan Sweet hopes the new rental procedures become standard procedure.
The company was slammed with a civil lawsuit because many officials felt that if the company already had stricter policies it would have prevented the criminal activity to begin with. As a result, in a first-of-its-kind agreement with the city, Safeguard has agreed to the stricter conduct to prevent future mishaps like this from happening. In addition to the company’s already existing rules and procedures, Safeguard will follow a code of best practice, which includes reporting any illegal activity of any level, to law enforcement.
Storage Unit Renter’s Rights
While a great victory to public authorities, many tenants now feel anxious about the new rule changes to this storage unit. Though some are considering it a blessing due to the enhanced security, others feel that it may invade their privacy, or allow property managers to abuse their power and conduct unauthorized searches. One of the most common complaints against public storage units is that property managers try to sell private property illegally.
One man posted to his blog describing the horrors of dealing with his storage unit company in Florida. He did not specify as to which company it was, but he told the common horror story of changed management. The new management had illegally sold his goods to several auctioneers after mistakenly using an older credit card from the tenant, which resulted in him being late in payment.
The tenant had been there a number of years, and had multiple credit cards on record, so he wasn’t fazed when he was told his credit card didn’t go through because this has also happened with the old management. But after showing up about three months later, he found several paintings and vintage records missing from his unit, with no signs of burglary. Despite getting the police involved, the storage unit managers insisted that it was outside intruders.
Unfortunately, without solid proof of foul play or auction receipts, this poor man never recovered his stolen property. So tenants are advised to be aware of Safeguard’s new rule, as to prevent similar incidents.
These new rules will govern all of Safeguard’s 14 existing public self-storage facilities in New York City, and any additional locations that subsequently open in the five boroughs. As a result of the City’s settlement with Safeguard, the new rules in place to protect the company and other tenants are:
- Safeguard must report all illegal/criminal activities observed within its facilities to a governmental law enforcement agency. Additionally, they must keep written records of all submitted reports, and provide information in such reports to the city upon request.
- Safeguard will expressly prohibit storage of counterfeit merchandise and machines capable of producing counterfeit merchandise, and forbid sales of any kind out of units.
- Customers must expressly grant Safeguard access to their units for inspection, without prior notice, when Safeguard reasonably believes illegal activity is occurring.
- Safeguard will be required to conduct walk-through patrols of all their facilities at least once per day, keeping a record of each patrol, and any observations of unusual activities or conditions.
- Safeguard will photocopy the picture ID cards and store all of applicants’ information for no less than one year after termination of their rental agreement.
- Safeguard must have sufficient video cameras installed to monitor each facility’s activities.
- Safeguard must regularly review their internal records on a daily basis to see if unusually heavy activity occurred at any particular unit and if so, it must further investigate that unit.
- The renter must comply with all Federal, State and local ordinances regarding use and materials. That includes any health code restrictions, hazardous material requirements and fire restrictions.
- Due to the new policies, many renters are encouraged to look over their rental contract and consult legal experts to ensure nothing in their contract is breached. Generally, all landlords must comply with the terms of the written lease, as long as the tenant complies with the specifications of their contract.
Taking Legal Action
If you believe that you or a loved one has been the victim of a New York storage unit issue, you have legal options. Please visit the New York Mini Storage Property Seizure Class Action Lawsuit Investigation. There, you can submit your claim for a free legal review and if it qualifies for legal action, a seasoned storage unit lawyer will contact you for a free, no-obligation consultation. You will be guided through the litigation process at no out-of-pocket expenses or hidden fees. The storage unit attorneys working this investigation do not get paid until you do.
Updated June 29th, 2013
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