A friend has a self-storage unit in California. He fell behind on
rents and was notified appropriately by the storage company that he
would be denied access to the unit and the good would go to auction,
etc. on a specific date if not paid in full. He is out of work and
couldn't pay and basically called and said, "go ahead and sell it".
The self-storage business locked him out as promised, however, they
didn't follow the prescribed business code for this matter, they
simply keep adding to his rent each month AND keep him locked out.
Can they do this? Isn't there a point where resolution occurs? They
keep charging him $85 a month for a unit he can't pay for and he also
cannot get access to his stuff. I realize he is responsible for his
back rent but is he still responsible after the notification when he
has told them to auction it off? He is stuck and it keeps getting
larger and larger with no resolution in sight. The owner as mentioned
that he might be able to "work" some of his back rent off by doing
some work on her home (he is a drywall journeyman) and although he
would do this, she hasn't been available to really work something out.
What can he do at this point to find resolution for this situation?
Thank you. |
Request for Question Clarification by
cynthia-ga
on
14 Apr 2006 16:44 PDT
How long has this been going on?
Call your friend and get him to scan the original contract, upload it
to a free file server. If he needs one, I'll post a link.
You're not imagining it, IMHO--this is absurd.
|
Request for Question Clarification by
sublime1-ga
on
14 Apr 2006 19:55 PDT
I just worked on a similar question about abandoned property, and
though it was specific to Minnesota, the principles are likely to
be the same in most states:
http://answers.google.com/answers/threadview?id=714097
The fact that the company notified him that the goods would go to
auction on a specific date, and that your friend agreed, means they
were both clear that the property was abandoned, and that the company
would reclaim what was owed them from the proceeds of the sale.
Certainly no charges can be levied subsequent to the given auction
date. What may be going on, as is touched on in the answer above,
is that the company has examined the laws for abandoned property
and has realized that they can only take as much of the proceeds as
they can legally show they are entitled to. If the auction proceeds
exceed this, they are obligated to return the rest to the owner.
Perhaps they are dragging out the auction in order to try and
entitle themselves to a bigger cut (or all) of the proceeds when
they finally go to auction.
I'd recommend talking to your friend to see if he estimates the
value of the stored property to exceed the amount owed, and by
how much. If the property value exceeds what is owed, then the
company is probably playing the game I described above, which
is not legal. A certified or registered letter should then be
sent to the company clarifying in writing that the property is
officially abandoned and should be auctioned immediately,
followed by a written record of the proceeds and the amounts
withheld from payment to your friend due to legal and reasonable
charges.
Let me know where this takes you...
sublime1-ga
|
Request for Question Clarification by
sublime1-ga
on
14 Apr 2006 20:08 PDT
Also - this page from the Department of Consumer Affairs website
covers the issue of property abandoned at a rented domicile and
how the landlord should handle it. The principles are undoubtedly
similar for a rented storage unit, and with regard to auctioning
property worth $300+, it notes:
"If the property is reasonably believed to be worth $300 or more,
the landlord should arrange to have it sold at a public bidding
sale after giving notice of the sale through publication. Both
the landlord and the tenant have a right to bid on the property
at the sale. After the property is sold, the landlord may deduct
the costs of storage, advertising the sale, and conducting the
sale. The remaining money must then be paid over to the county.
The county can then give the money to the property owner if the
owner claims the money at any time within one year after the date
when the county received the money."
http://www.dca.ca.gov/legal/lt-5.html
Since the company already knows the location of the property owner,
they might be able to simply send any excess proceeds to him, but,
if they follow the letter of the law, they will give the excess to
the county and your friend can then claim it at any time within the
next year.
|
