That 30 day cancellation clause in my lease cost me $500

I signed a storage unit lease back in March without reading the fine print about cancellation. There was a clause buried in there saying I had to give 30 days written notice to cancel, but it also said they'd charge me for the full next month if I gave notice after the 15th. I moved everything out on the 18th thinking I was done, but they hit me with another full month's rent plus a late fee when I didn't pay. The manager told me it's standard warehouseman's lien language that favors the facility. Now I check every contract for that specific combo of notice period and billing cutoff dates. Has anyone else gotten burned by that kind of timing trap?

3 comments

3 Comments

kai_ramirez3816d ago

Man that sucks. Those timing traps feel so deliberate.

schmidt.iris16d ago

My cousin tried to fight their early termination fee by claiming they were a "household pet" under the fine print since they sleep in their storage unit sometimes. The manager actually had to call corporate about it and everything. They ended up getting an extra month free just to go away, which is honestly the most storage place outcome imaginable.

morganl7116d ago

And of course they probably had it in 6 point font buried between the carbon monoxide detector warning and the rules about not storing live animals. I swear storage places have perfected the art of making you pay twice for the same empty unit. Next time I'm sending my cancellation notice by certified mail, carrier pigeon, and smoke signal on the exact first of the month so there's no debate about timing. They'll nickel and dime you for every hour past their imaginary 3pm office closing time too.