Public Storage review: fees

The Brits have a pejorative term for a person or company that engages in cunning and sneaky behavior that is "technically within the rules of the law but borders on being unethical." It is called "sharp practices."

The self storage company known as Public Storage meets this criteria hands down.

I pay all of our bills online through our bank. The bank immediately removes the funds from the designated account and less than 48 hours later the vendors are paid. Last week, I received a call from the manager of the storage facility I use informing me that the electronic check I submitted had been returned due to insufficient funds. I said that's not possible because the bank would not have processed the order if there was not enough money in my account.

That's when I found out Public Storage had taken nearly ten days to process the payment! I quickly came to the conclusion that Public Storage's extreme tardiness on processing my payment was done with the intention to be able to assess me for late fees and returned check fees. The fact the bank has not charged me, too, for a returned check tells me my hunch is correct. By my reckoning this company must collect tens of thousands, if not hundreds of thousands, of dollars every month.

I gave notice last Thursday and our stuff will be out by the end of the month. Public Storage is a sleazy company. Don't do business with Public Storage.