Not in person: someone you authorise, such as a friend, relative or colleague, can meet the removals van (if you've never been to the site, ask us first whether a stand-in can do your first move-in). Set up their access before the day; you complete the ID check, payment and agreement yourself. Our terms say "Only You or Your Agents may access the Unit", and an agent is anyone "who you authorise, or who accompany you". A removal crew can't be left to load on its own, so someone from your side must be there (see below). Using a removal firm, moving from abroad, helping a relative or expecting a business delivery? Each has its own section below.
What only you can do before the day
These are done by you, as the person renting the unit:
- Your ID check. Our booking guide asks for "two forms of ID, a photo one and a copy of a recent utility bill", matched to you by our identity check, Stripe Identity. What ID and documents you need has the detail.
- Your first payment.
- Your storage agreement. Our booking system says: "Before you move in to your unit you must sign a simple Storage Licence Agreement with us."
- Your smart entry. Before your move-in date you get a text with instructions for setting it up on your phone (at Chipping Norton, our move-in guide says your unit alarm is set and unset by your unique PIN code). If you don't have a smartphone, tell us, as we can supply a fob instead.
Our short guide to how you move into your unit covers the smart entry set-up. Then you can set up access for anyone who'll be there without you.
Using a removal firm when you can't be there
If you'll be at the new house while the van goes to the unit, send a stand-in with their own access to let the crew in, see everything into your unit and lock up.
Someone from your side has to be at the unit while a removals crew or courier is loading or unloading: you, or a friend, relative or colleague you've given their own access. Our sites don't take in deliveries, and anyone you give access to is your responsibility under our terms (clauses 14 and 16). Our Cheltenham, Tewkesbury, Lincoln and Warminster pages say you can give that person access with the sharing button in smart entry; at Chipping Norton and Bath, our location pages say we add the person for you, which those pages say is done by email. Our guide to how much notice you need to book storage for a move says: "If you are using a removals firm, someone from your household needs to be there", and "a removals crew cannot be left to load into the unit without you". The same guide says "someone from your side needs to be there if other people are handling your goods", so a sister or friend who lives elsewhere counts. Plan for someone from your side to be at the unit for the whole load: you, a relative or friend, or, for a business, a colleague.
Whoever you send, the unit and its rules stay yours:
| Our terms say | What it means on the day |
|---|---|
| You're responsible "for Your own actions and those of Your Agents" (clause 14) | What your stand-in does on site, you answer to us for |
| No damage to the unit or site, which "includes by removal, haulage or delivery contractors" (clause 22(f)) | If the crew scrapes a door frame or dents a wall, you answer to us for it |
| "You must not store (or allow any other person to store)" the items clause 18 lists | You answer for what goes in, even if someone else packed it. Tell the crew and your stand-in that items such as gas, paint, petrol, oil, cleaning solvents and compressed gases can't go in |
| You "should not leave a key with or permit access" to anyone but "Your own Agent who is responsible to You and subject to Your control"; if you do, "it is at Your own risk" (clause 16) | Choose a stand-in you know and who will follow your instructions |
Our full guide to a removals firm dropping off without you has the stand-in's checklist. For who covers your things between the van and the unit, see are my belongings covered while moving into storage.
Who locks up, and who holds the padlock
Clause 21 makes you "solely responsible for securing the Unit and ensuring it is locked" whenever you're not in it, and adds: "Where applicable, You will secure the external gates and/or doors of the Facility." On moving day, that means the last person out locks your unit and closes any site doors or gates behind them.
How your unit locks depends on your site, and our own pages don't all agree. At Chipping Norton, the location page says "Bring your own padlock for the unit", so your stand-in needs its key or combination, and you should keep a spare. Our Bath page says "There are no padlocks or physical keys." Other location pages describe a unit door opened by smart entry, but some of our guides mention a padlock at other sites too. If you do use one, clause 21 also says: "You are not permitted to apply a padlock or other device to the Unit in Our overlocking position and We may have any such padlock or device forcefully cut off at Your expense." Ask us when you book whether your unit takes a padlock, and see do I need my own padlock.
Family members helping
Anyone who comes with you counts as your agent and needs no access of their own, though we may still ask them for ID (clause 14). Anyone going without you, such as your son meeting the van or your sister unloading the car, needs their own access first (see sharing access to your unit). Ask everyone to bring ID: clause 14 lets us ask "any other person" for proof of identity at any time, and refuse access to someone who can't show it.
Moving from abroad or another city
Book and finish your ID check before you travel; if your utility bill isn't from a UK address or your mobile isn't a UK number, ask us first (see the questions below). Set up your stand-in's access and hand over any padlock key before you leave: our guide to managing a unit from overseas suggests "one trusted person in the UK who is authorised on your account", and our locations page has site access details.
Businesses receiving a delivery
A colleague needs to be at the unit for any delivery, including a removal firm bringing your business's own goods, because our guides say we don't sign for or take in deliveries. Clause 22(a) bars using the unit "as a home, business or mailing address", so book a timed delivery inside access hours instead; see receiving stock at a self storage unit.
Access hours on the day
Access is normally 6am to 10pm (check your site's page and confirm your hours when you book). Clause 12 lets us change access hours temporarily. Book the van early enough that a late run still finishes inside the hours. If you're unsure about smart entry, our move-in guide suggests moving in during our office hours, when we can be reached on the phone.
Questions to ask us before the day
Call us on 0800 2545585:
- whether a stand-in can do the first move-in if you've never been to the site;
- who completes the ID check if the unit is in your company's name;
- whether the access you share opens the site's doors as well as your unit;
- whether your unit takes a padlock;
- whether you'll see from your own phone when your unit is opened and locked;
- what the person you share access with needs on their own phone, and how far ahead of the day to share it;
- what we accept if your utility bill isn't from a UK address, and whether the smart entry text reaches a non-UK mobile.
Book your unit
If you haven't booked yet, get a price online and finish your ID check early, then call us on 0800 2545585 to tell us who'll be meeting the van.
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