Tell us first, whether it's about a charge, your unit or how you were treated. Call us on 0800 2545585 (or your site's local number) and, if it's about money or something you may want to take further, put it in writing too, so there's a dated record; clause 39 of our terms gives info@wigwamstorage.co.uk for notices by email. If we can't put it right between us, clause 47 of our terms says we must both "first try to settle any dispute" through an independent mediator before either of us goes to court. There's no ombudsman for self storage among the schemes Citizens Advice lists, and our terms don't name one. Storing as a household or as a business, complaining for someone else, or already moved out? Each has its own section below.
If your unit has been broken into, see what happens if my storage unit is broken into.
How to complain to us
| Route | Details | Best for |
|---|---|---|
| Phone | 0800 2545585, or the local number on your site's page | Anything urgent, and a first conversation |
| info@wigwamstorage.co.uk, the address clause 39 of our terms gives for notices. Our terms page gives hello@wigwamstorage.co.uk for "any queries or questions", so copy that one in | A written complaint with a dated record | |
| Post or by hand | The address on your Cover Sheet (the front page of your agreement). Our privacy notice gives Wigwam Storage, Bloxham Mill (Suite 33), Barford Road, Bloxham, OX15 4FF as our postal address. | A formal letter, if you'd rather not email |
Clause 39 treats an email as received one day after it's sent, sooner than a posted letter.
If the problem is damage or a fault at the site, such as a leak, a door that won't lock or a broken light, ring us straight away. Clause 24 requires you to tell us about "any damage or defect immediately it is discovered", and a phone call is the fastest way. Then follow it up in writing if it isn't fixed.
We don't publish a set time for replying to complaints, so ask us when you can expect an answer, and note what we say.
We don't publish who handles complaints above your site, so if your complaint is about how someone at a site treated you, use 0800 2545585 or email rather than the site's local number, and ask who will look into it.
What to put in your complaint
A complaint is easier to sort out, and easier to take further, if it says:
- your name, your site and your unit number, and the name on the agreement if it isn't yours;
- what happened and when, in date order;
- what you've already done about it, and who you spoke to;
- what you'd like us to do: a refund of a charge (such as a late payment fee), a repair, a move to another unit, an apology;
- copies of anything that helps, such as photos, invoices or emails.
If your complaint is about damaged or stolen goods and you have our Contents Protection, tell us in writing that you want to claim. Clause 48 says that after we receive your written request, we "will notify Our insurer promptly of the claim".
Keep a copy of everything you send. If you paid by card, Citizens Advice suggests sending a copy of your complaint to your card provider too, as it helps if you later ask the provider for money back.
Disputing a charge or a late payment fee
Clause 5(b) of our terms makes you responsible for "a Late Payment Fee each time a payment is late or cancelled". If you think a fee or charge shouldn't have been added, raise it in writing as above, saying which charge and why. Our terms page doesn't give the amount of the fee and we don't set it out here, so ask us. Our page on what happens if I pay late explains the other steps that can follow a missed payment.
If we can't put it right
If you're still unhappy, ask us for a final response: a written answer saying where we've got to. Citizens Advice calls this a "letter of deadlock" and says you'll need it if you take the complaint further.
Mediation comes next
Clause 47 of our terms reads: "This Agreement shall be governed by English law and any dispute or claim that either party brings will be decided by the Courts of England and Wales. The parties must first try to settle any dispute in connection with this Agreement by mediation. Such mediation is to be conducted by a mediator who is independent of the parties and appointed by agreement of the parties."
Whoever wants to go to court has to offer mediation first; court is open if mediation hasn't started within a reasonable time of that offer, or for urgent emergency orders. The rule applies to us as much as to you. Clause 47 is about going to court. Our terms don't provide for putting the steps for unpaid fees on hold while a dispute is open, and clauses 6(a) and 15 let us refuse access where money is owed. If your complaint is about a late payment fee or blocked access, see what happens if I pay late.
Clause 47 doesn't name a mediation service or say who pays, so ask us which mediator we'd propose and how the cost would be shared. Citizens Advice says that if you're thinking of going to court, a judge will usually expect you to have tried alternative dispute resolution, such as mediation, first.
Court is the last step
GOV.UK explains how to make a county court claim for money owed by a business. Citizens Advice says this is "sometimes called making a ‘small claim’". GOV.UK adds: "A mediation service could be quicker and cheaper than going to court."
A claim needs the name of the company your agreement is with. Our conditions don't name it, so ask us which company it is before you file. Our page on who your agreement is with explains the names you'll see.
Is there a self storage ombudsman?
Our terms don't name an ombudsman, and none of the private-sector ombudsman schemes Citizens Advice lists covers self storage: they deal with things like energy, phones, banking and insurance, property agents and home improvements. That's why mediation, then court, is the route after us.
The Self Storage Association
Our about page says we are "fully accredited members of the UK Self Storage Association" (SSA UK), the industry's trade body. SSA UK says on its own website that it does "not represent customers of storage providers", and points customers to organisations such as Citizens Advice and the Chartered Trading Standards Institute. Our page on whether Wigwam is an SSA UK member covers the membership question.
For free, independent advice at any stage, call the Citizens Advice consumer helpline on 0808 223 1133 (Monday to Friday, 9am to 5pm; if you can't hear or speak on the phone, Relay UK on 18001 then 0808 223 1133).
If you store with us as a household
If you rent a unit as a private individual, the law treats our agreement with you as a consumer contract. The Consumer Rights Act 2015 says: "Every contract to supply a service is to be treated as including a term that the trader must perform the service with reasonable care and skill." Clause 30 says your goods are stored "at Your sole risk and responsibility", and that you bear the risk of "any and all theft, damage to, and deterioration of the Goods". Where loss or damage is caused by our negligence or breach of contract, clause 30(b) says our liability is limited to "the sum of £100 in total". The Act says a term restricting a trader's liability for reasonable care and skill is not binding on a consumer if it "would prevent the consumer in an appropriate case from recovering the price paid" (section 57(3)). The same section adds: "(If it would not prevent the consumer from doing so, Part 2 (unfair terms) may apply.)" Unless you have our Contents Protection (clause 48), clause 31 requires your belongings to be insured for their replacement value, and a claim on that cover is how damaged things get paid for. If you think a term is being applied unfairly, the Citizens Advice helpline can advise you.
If you store with us as a business
If you rent the unit for your business, the consumer protections above don't apply; under the Unfair Contract Terms Act 1977 (sections 2(2) and 3), a term limiting liability for negligence or breach of contract, such as clause 30(b), stands only if it "satisfies the requirement of reasonableness", which is for your adviser or, in the end, a court. The same routes apply: tell us, put it in writing, ask for a final response, then mediation.
If you're complaining for someone else
If you're an attorney, an executor, a family member or a second contact named on the agreement, tell us who the customer is, how you're connected and what authority you have, and ask what we need to see before we can discuss the account with you. Where more than one contact is named on the agreement, clause 39 says notice "to or by any single contact" is enough. If you're the ACP (the alternate contact person) on the Cover Sheet, clause 28 says we are "entitled to discuss any default by You with the ACP registered on the front of this Agreement"; that covers missed payments, so for anything else ask what we need from the customer. Our page on whether someone else can sign the agreement explains lasting powers of attorney.
If you've already moved out
A complaint about a final bill, a deduction or money you're owed can still be made after you leave. Use the same routes, give your old unit number and site, and say what you think you're owed and why. If you found damage when you emptied the unit, clause 42 asks you to tell us "as soon as is reasonably possible". Clause 43 says ending the agreement doesn't affect rights that arose while it ran, including "the right to claim damage for breach of the Agreement". Clause 47's mediation step covers "any dispute in connection with this Agreement".
Complaints that go somewhere else
If you're unhappy with how an insurer handled a claim, including a claim on our Contents Protection, complain to the insurer first. For most complaints it has 8 weeks to give its final response. If you're still unhappy, or it doesn't respond, you can go to the Financial Ombudsman Service within 6 months of that final response. The Financial Ombudsman Service's rules include people for whose benefit a policy was taken out, so you may be able to take the complaint to the ombudsman once the insurer has given its final response. Anything about our own part in a Contents Protection claim under clause 48, such as passing the claim on or what we deduct from the payment, comes to us. Our page on making a claim if something in your unit is damaged sets out the steps, including who is responsible when water damage comes from another unit or the building.
If your complaint is about your personal data, our privacy notice explains how to raise it with us and, if you're still unhappy, with the Information Commissioner's Office.
Talk to us
If something's gone wrong, call us on 0800 2545585. To leave a review, see how to leave a review.
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