When lessees fail to make their monthly storage unit payments, storage companies are often allowed to auction or sell the contents of the unit. Many people set up automatic payments for their storage units that take the appropriate amount from their credit card each month. If you pay for a storage unit via auto pay, make sure you don't forget to update your payment information when your credit card expires. If you do forget, you could miss payments -- and potentially lose your possessions stored in the storage unit.
Failing to Pay Your Storage Unit's Bill
When storage units' accounts aren't paid, they become delinquent and go through four stages. SpareFoot provides a general outline of what you can expect if you miss payments:
- Between five and 30 days after missing a payment, your account will go into default
- Once your account is in default, the storage company will attempt to notify you of the account's standing
- Before auctioning the items in your unit, the storage company will post a public notice
- Between 30 and 90 days after your account went into default, the items in it may be auctioned off
(Specifically how long it takes for your account to progress through each stage will depend on the laws of the state your unit is located in.)
Bringing a Delinquent Account Current
At any time during the above steps, a delinquent account can be brought current -- and an auction averted -- by paying the past-due amount in full. (The past-due amount may include late fees and other charges, in addition to the unit's monthly cost.) If you aren't aware that your account is past-due, though, you won't know to pay the balance before an auction or sale is scheduled.
Even though storage companies are required to send you a notification and post a public one before holding an auction or sale, it's easy to miss these. As SpareFoot notes, many states let companies send notifications to lessees via email. It's easy to accidentally delete or overlook an email. Additionally, public notifications may be posted online, likely on sites that you don't regularly visit.
Set a Reminder for Yourself
Because it's easy to miss notifications from a storage company, you should make a reminder for yourself to update your payment information when your credit card expires. If you never give your new card's number, expiration date and security code to the storage company you use, they won't be able to collect payment from you. They might try charging your old card, but the charges will be declined -- and your account will go into default.
To avoid this, simply mark a date on your calendar to send your storage facility your new card information. If your card expires this year, put a note on the first of the month that your card expires in. For instance, if your credit card expires in May, make a note on May 1. That way, you'll have a full month to change your payment information.
If your card doesn't expire for a few years, and you expect to still have the storage unit when it does expire, make a note on the last day of your calendar. When you get a new calendar, the note will remind you to mark your new calendar on the appropriate date.
If you keep items in a self storage facility and pay for it through automatic payments, don't miss payments when your credit card expires. Mark your calendar so you'll remember to update your information. Your account won't go into default, and you won't risk losing your possessions.
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