Tough to keep watch on storage lockers: firms

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This article was published 22/10/2014 (4214 days ago), so information in it may no longer be current.

OPERATORS of private storage companies insist they do their best to prevent clients from putting illegal or dangerous items in lockers but “can’t control what people bring in.”

A manager who oversees one of the largest storage units in Winnipeg said he’s seen containers full of money, drugs and stolen goods — all seized by police who had a search warrant.

Operators have seen people who’ve tried to live in a locker.

The thought of finding dead infants is beyond unsettling.

“I was just horrified,” said Cheryl Collins, office manager at Mint Self Storage on Niakwa Road. “But I know those type of things have happened. I’ve seen it on TV, but…”

Collins was still shaken after employees at a U-Haul storage facility discovered as many as four dead infants in a locker on Elgin Avenue and McPhillips Street on Monday. The employee inspected the locker after the client had stopped paying the monthly rental fee.

Operators of the U-Haul on McPhillips declined to comment on Tuesday and employees who were approached by reporters refused to be interviewed.

Collins said clients must sign lease agreements not to store dangerous goods, hazardous materials or livestock, but conceded that in many cases it’s “impossible” to monitor all locker contents.

“How could you?” Collins said. “It would almost be infringing on people’s rights.”

Chad Wolokoski has been a supervisor at Mini Storage on Higgins Avenue for 18 years, and during that time he’s seen a variety of goods — including stashes of money and illicit drugs — even though the company keeps a close eye on its 1,000 lockers.

“We need to see what goes in lockers,” he said. “We don’t want anything flammable. We don’t want guns (that are not properly stored). But if you really want, you can smuggle anything in a sealed container or something.”

Contraband has been discovered by police dogs, he added.

The vast majority of the company’s 900 clients, however, are either corporate or families storing possessions between moves.

Lockers range in size from 1.5 metres by 1.5 metres to three metres by nine metres. Costs range from $80 to $300 a month.

The time range for declaring lockers delinquent varies among the 80-some storage companies in the city.

For example, Wolokoski said clients are sent registered letters after 90 days without payment. If there’s no response for 10 days, the locker is foreclosed and contents auctioned off.

Collins also said they wouldn’t enter a delinquent locker for at least three months, but often wait much longer.

The company auctioned off three units last year and two so far this year.

Most companies employ security staff and have cameras inside and outside the premises. “I’m looking at six monitors right now,” Collins said.

Many companies also limit access to lockers during the evening, Collins said, adding at Mint Storage the limit is 11 p.m. “Any time after that is usually when people are up to no good,” she said.

randy.turner@freepress.mb.ca