"I had a plastic bag with towels in it. We pulled the bag open and mice just shot out all over the place," she said. "My mattresses, they've been chewed up and ate through.”
Her full length mink coat is now going to the garbage as it has holes in it, along with other household items like a blanket, clothes, and Christmas decorations. Some of her furniture even has some damage.
"Right here, mice feces all down here in the bottom of it," she explained.
Lewis says she went straight to the top to get answers.
"I went to management to tell her what's going on and she came down here and said basically there was nothing they could do," Lewis claimed.
She says management told her someone must have food in their unit to attract so many mice.
"I have nothing here to attract them. She tells me it could be something from this unit beside me,” she said.
A rep for Uncle Bob's Self Storage told Eyewitness News they take pride in all of their properties and have pest control frequently. In fact, she says they were there earlier in the day before Portia brought the mice to their attention.
She said they do everything to prevent this, and this is unfortunate and disappointing, and that they're doing their best to work with the customers. But Lewis says she just wants to be compensated.
"I definitely want some action or reimbursement with all the things I've lost," she said.
Uncle Bob's did move Lewis' salvageable items to other storage units and they also offered to clean her items. As for reimbursement, the rep for Uncle Bob's Self Storage said they're following their contract which states they do not cover rodents, even if Lewis did purchase the insurance protection that does not cover rodents. She also added while they tell renters not to store any type of food in their units, they can’t control what is brought in.
Troubleshooter Diane Wilson did talk to the company that does the pest control for Uncle Bob’s. He did confirm they treat Uncle Bob’s Self Storage in Fayetteville frequently and were there earlier that day. He adds while they can only spray and set traps outside the units, they don’t treat inside the units since they are rented out.
The best advice, check out the storage unit before signing a contract, look around to see if there are traps, and take a look if there are actually mice inside the traps. Also take a look at the contract to see what is and isn't covered.
