When Takisha Gordon and Jay Grandy put their couch and mattresses in Uncle Bob's Self Storage in Durham, they didn't think they'd have any problems. But when they went to check on their items 10 months later, they couldn't believe what they saw.
There was rodent droppings all over their couch. Their mattresses have rips and holes in them. They tell Troubleshooter Diane Wilson, "We don't even want to touch it. It's totally covered. No, I will not bring it back in the house. We thought there might be some cobwebs or some dust but not come back to ruined furniture."
When they informed an employee at Uncle Bob's about their damaged furniture they say they didn't get welcome news. Takisha adds, "Basically the first thing she said was 'Well you must have had food in there or it must have been dirty when you put it in there.'" The couple says there was no food in their unit and they don't think the rodents are just a problem in their storage unit, as there's traps throughout the entire facility. Takisha says the manager told her, "He said it was a preventative measure. That they don't actually have rodents but they have the traps there just in case."
The couple tells Troubleshooter Diane Wilson they're not buying it. Takisha adds, "As paid customers, no one even wanted to listen to us. You would think that after we paid rent and our stuff is ruined you should want to compensate us for it. They're just blowing us off." When Troubleshooter Diane Wilson called Uncle Bob's Storage, a rep from corporate said they would pay to have the furniture cleaned and offered them a free month's rent. It's an option Takisha and Jay say they don't want. They have this advice for others, "Before you put up anything into storage, wrap it up in plastic."
A rep for Uncle Bob's also added the traps are there for preventive measures only saying that there's no evidence of a rodent problem in any other units except that one particular unit.
