Donate to Remove ads

Got a credit card? use our Credit Card & Finance Calculators

Thanks to johnstevens77,Bhoddhisatva,scotia,Anonymous,Cornytiv34, for Donating to support the site

Goods in long-term storage, household-name company recently not replying re: status

including wills and probate
DiamondEcho
Lemon Quarter
Posts: 3131
Joined: November 4th, 2016, 3:39 pm
Has thanked: 3060 times
Been thanked: 554 times

Goods in long-term storage, household-name company recently not replying re: status

#165475

Postby DiamondEcho » September 10th, 2018, 1:11 pm

While I was living abroad I put a range of personal possessions into storage, including a range of valuable antiques. I thought I'd be away say 3-4 years but it ended up being about 10. Throughout all this time, and still today, the company has billed me each month for storage.

About 8 weeks ago I contacted them and told them I'd soon be returning to the UK, and asked them to outline the options I had for the return of my goods. They didn't reply.
A few days later I followed up my request. [by now we were in the middle of our international house-move back to the UK; ie in household turmoil].
In reply they told me that they couldn't access my file on their systems and would have to request a hard copy. That was 5 weeks ago and I've heard nothing back from them since.

I don't know what to think, incompetance? They presumed I was deceased and so sold or stole my goods? I am considering instructing my solicitor to deal with this matter, but feel I should try one more time to get something constructive/positive out of them. Can anyone kindly suggest how I might phrase such a stern e-mail?

Thx!

Ps. The goods are insured, but that's not really the point with some of the valuable and irreplaceble antiques.

midnightcatprowl
Lemon Slice
Posts: 419
Joined: November 4th, 2016, 1:07 pm
Has thanked: 338 times
Been thanked: 197 times

Re: Goods in long-term storage, household-name company recently not replying re: status

#165479

Postby midnightcatprowl » September 10th, 2018, 1:19 pm

However you phrase it make it a stern letter on paper & post it and get proof of posting. I find that even today many companies find it easy to ignore/forget emails and they pay much more attention to something physical on a piece of paper. I recently found this very handy when dealing with the remarkably difficult to contact Virgin Media.

Lynn

Clitheroekid
Lemon Quarter
Posts: 2858
Joined: November 6th, 2016, 9:58 pm
Has thanked: 1385 times
Been thanked: 3772 times

Re: Goods in long-term storage, household-name company recently not replying re: status

#165490

Postby Clitheroekid » September 10th, 2018, 2:13 pm

I would agree that a letter by post is more likely to receive attention than one amongst a million emails.

However, in order for it to have maximum impact it should be addressed to a named individual, and marked `Private and Confidential'. This should ensure that it gets into his hands, even though he will almost certainly delegate someone else to deal with it.

The appropriate addressee would usually be the CEO or MD. You should be able to obtain his name from Companies House - https://www.gov.uk/get-information-about-a-company.

If you have any difficulty just provide the name of the company and I or someone else will be able to supply the relevant information.

Slarti
Lemon Quarter
Posts: 2941
Joined: November 4th, 2016, 3:46 pm
Has thanked: 640 times
Been thanked: 496 times

Re: Goods in long-term storage, household-name company recently not replying re: status

#165509

Postby Slarti » September 10th, 2018, 4:05 pm

midnightcatprowl wrote:However you phrase it make it a stern letter on paper & post it and get proof of posting. I find that even today many companies find it easy to ignore/forget emails and they pay much more attention to something physical on a piece of paper. I recently found this very handy when dealing with the remarkably difficult to contact Virgin Media.

Lynn


And I'd recommend sending it Guaranteed Next Day Delivery as the post office does a much better job with those than recorded or registered mail. The delivery is not just the normal postie, but a special trip by someone in a van.

Slarti

didds
Lemon Half
Posts: 5244
Joined: November 4th, 2016, 12:04 pm
Has thanked: 3244 times
Been thanked: 1018 times

Re: Goods in long-term storage, household-name company recently not replying re: status

#166017

Postby didds » September 13th, 2018, 8:40 am

A non legal idea...

have you a friend that you can supply with a letter of permission etc that can turn up to the storage facility and ask to get to the goods as they need to extract an item (any item)? To force their hand so to speak?

didds

DiamondEcho
Lemon Quarter
Posts: 3131
Joined: November 4th, 2016, 3:39 pm
Has thanked: 3060 times
Been thanked: 554 times

Re: Goods in long-term storage, household-name company recently not replying re: status

#167023

Postby DiamondEcho » September 17th, 2018, 9:05 pm

After a follow-up they now tell me that they will reply within 2 weeks, when they have retrieved my archived records. Touch wood I managed to get their attention and answer. I'll post an update re: how this ends up.

Dod101
The full Lemon
Posts: 16629
Joined: October 10th, 2017, 11:33 am
Has thanked: 4343 times
Been thanked: 7534 times

Re: Goods in long-term storage, household-name company recently not replying re: status

#167027

Postby Dod101 » September 17th, 2018, 9:20 pm

I am not saying that it excuses them but I guess that they probably have a mass of short term lets (4/8 weeks) and others which are long term but regularly accessed, and so a long term (10 years) let with no access probably gets the equivalent of the top shelf and so they need to dig out the file, dust off the cobwebs and track it down.

Hope it turns out OK. When you get the goods you may well wonder why on earth you paid all that good money for storage for a longish period.

Dod

DiamondEcho
Lemon Quarter
Posts: 3131
Joined: November 4th, 2016, 3:39 pm
Has thanked: 3060 times
Been thanked: 554 times

Re: Goods in long-term storage, household-name company recently not replying re: status

#167228

Postby DiamondEcho » September 18th, 2018, 3:12 pm

Thanks Dod, when I first relo'd abroad I was expectinng it to be for jut a few years; never in my wildest imagination did I expect it to stretch to c10!

Dod101
The full Lemon
Posts: 16629
Joined: October 10th, 2017, 11:33 am
Has thanked: 4343 times
Been thanked: 7534 times

Re: Goods in long-term storage, household-name company recently not replying re: status

#167245

Postby Dod101 » September 18th, 2018, 4:08 pm

Anyway, welcome back. I was working abroad for 23 years and even with regular return visits it felt like a foreign country to me when I returned to the UK permanently. Even today 20 years or so later there are great swathes of UK life/events that I suddenly realise I do not know about.

Dod

Infrasonic
Lemon Quarter
Posts: 4479
Joined: November 4th, 2016, 2:25 pm
Has thanked: 644 times
Been thanked: 1260 times

Re: Goods in long-term storage, household-name company recently not replying re: status

#167310

Postby Infrasonic » September 18th, 2018, 7:58 pm

DiamondEcho wrote:After a follow-up they now tell me that they will reply within 2 weeks, when they have retrieved my archived records. Touch wood I managed to get their attention and answer. I'll post an update re: how this ends up.


It's possible they use a third party data archiving firm who physically take it off site on long term storage media like M-Discs, so may not have it to hand within their own company IT infrastructure. It would make sense bearing in mind their business model, a bit like keeping your house deeds with a local solicitor.

didds
Lemon Half
Posts: 5244
Joined: November 4th, 2016, 12:04 pm
Has thanked: 3244 times
Been thanked: 1018 times

Re: Goods in long-term storage, household-name company recently not replying re: status

#167404

Postby didds » September 19th, 2018, 10:23 am

Dod101 wrote:Anyway, welcome back. I was working abroad for 23 years and even with regular return visits it felt like a foreign country to me when I returned to the UK permanently. Even today 20 years or so later there are great swathes of UK life/events that I suddenly realise I do not know about.

Dod


Me too Dod. I didn't even live abroad for long really... 1987/88, back in UK for three months, then 1989- (late)1993. Even in that brief three months in late 1989 I felt more in tune with Australia than the UK. I still have no idea about may things (music, TV, films even, political and social UK history etc) in that period 87-93.

didds

DiamondEcho
Lemon Quarter
Posts: 3131
Joined: November 4th, 2016, 3:39 pm
Has thanked: 3060 times
Been thanked: 554 times

Re: Goods in long-term storage, household-name company recently not replying re: status

#167431

Postby DiamondEcho » September 19th, 2018, 11:57 am

I know a American who got conscripted for the Vietnam war, and has stayed in SEAsia ever after. But not many expats I've met never return home in such a way.

I'd being an expat in 3 other countries prior to this ten year stint, mostly for 18Mos-2years each, so I feel I can guage the adjustment one faces on returning home. This time London feels so changed, it's going to take some time to re-adjust.


Return to “Legal Issues (Practical)”

Who is online

Users browsing this forum: pds61 and 7 guests