If your unit has been broken into, call the police, then call us on 0800 2545585, and photograph everything before you move anything. What you get back for stolen or damaged goods comes from insurance, not from us: our terms say your goods are stored at your own risk, theft included, and if a loss is down to our negligence or breach of contract, our liability is limited to £100 in total. That's why every customer must keep their goods insured, either with our Contents Protection or with their own policy. Our Contents Protection page lists "Theft involving forcible entry or exit" among the risks it covers, and the full policy terms, including the excess, are in the Summary of Insurance you're given when you take the cover.
If you've heard about a break-in at your site and don't know whether your unit was affected, call us on 0800 2545585 and ask.
Choosing storage and weighing the risk? Read who pays, and the business section if you'd store stock or tools. Other sections cover someone else's things and checking your cover.
What to do straight away
- Call the police. Ring 999 if the break-in is happening now or someone is in danger. Otherwise report it online or on 101. Keep the crime reference number for your claim.
- Call us on 0800 2545585. Our terms require you to tell us about any damage "immediately it is discovered" (clause 24).
- Photograph before you touch anything, once the police and we have said you can go in: the door, the lock, the gaps where things stood, and anything broken.
- Keep the evidence. Keep a cut or broken lock and any damaged items, and ask your insurer before you throw anything away.
- List what's missing, with rough replacement costs, and gather receipts or photos that show you owned it.
Then tell whoever insures the goods. Our guide to making a claim if something in your unit is damaged goes through the claim itself, step by step.
What we do, and what our terms let us do
Our CCTV FAQ says our sites have professionally monitored CCTV, monitored alarms and access control on the external doors, and that each unit has its own individual alarm and lock. Ask us whether the alarm or CCTV recorded anything, and whether it has gone to the police.
Our terms let us enter a unit without warning in an emergency or to prevent damage to people or property, breaking a lock if we reasonably need to, and we tell you as soon as practicable afterwards (clause 17(b)). We may also have to enter the unit if the police or the law require it (clause 17(d)). We can only reach you on the details we hold, so tell us of any change in writing within 48 hours, as our terms require (clause 28).
You may not get straight back in: we can refuse access to the site or a unit while the safety or security of people or goods is at risk (clause 15), and we're not liable for losses caused by you being unable to get in (clause 29). If an incident means your unit or its section has to be closed or sealed off, we can move you to another unit at least as big on short notice. We pay your reasonable removal costs if we approve them in writing before the move (clause 25(b)).
When you're back in, remember our terms make you solely responsible for keeping it locked (clause 21), so ask us what lock fits your unit if yours was cut. This page covers your goods: ask us who pays to repair the unit's door or lock, and whether storage fees continue while the unit is sealed or you can't get in.
Who pays for what was taken: is Wigwam liable?
Clause 30 of our terms reads: "The Goods are stored at Your sole risk and responsibility and You shall be responsible for and bear the risk of any and all theft, damage to, and deterioration of the Goods caused by any reason."
| Situation | Who pays | Clause |
|---|---|---|
| Theft or damage, with our Contents Protection | Our insurer, under the policy. We pass on what the insurer pays for your goods, less anything you owe us | 48 |
| Theft or damage, with your own insurance | Your insurer, under your policy | 31 |
| Loss caused by our negligence or breach of contract | Us, limited to £100 in total | 30(b) |
| Lost profits, business interruption and other knock-on business losses | Not us: our terms exclude them | 30(a) |
Insurance pays on whatever basis the policy sets; it can't pay for what something means to you.
If you have our Contents Protection
You tell us in writing that you want to claim, and we notify our insurer promptly. Call us and we'll tell you where to send it. You must give us, the insurer or anyone it appoints, "such as a loss adjuster", "such information and evidence as may reasonably be required". What we pay you is "restricted to payment to You of the amount that We recover from Our insurer", and "We are not under any circumstances obliged to start or threaten to start any legal proceedings" over the claim. The cover only runs while its charges are paid: if they're overdue, it stops from that date (clause 48).
Our cover page lists "Theft involving forcible entry or exit", so a unit found open with no sign of force may not be covered. The list isn't exhaustive, so the Summary of Insurance decides; ask us for a copy if you need one.
If you have your own insurance
You claim with your insurer directly. Check your policy covers goods kept away from home in a storage unit, and whether it pays for theft only where there was forced entry. Our cover page notes that home policies which do cover storage "often exclude various specific storage-related risks". It also says your policy "should cover goods stored in a self-storage facility and specify the storage company's name along with the full postal address of the premises". Under our terms you promise that your cover is in place and "will not lapse" (clause 31), so check it has renewed.
If you store tools or stock for a business
Our terms exclude losses to your business, including "consequential loss, lost profits or business interruption" (clause 30(a)), so lost trade is a matter for your own business policy, if it covers that. With our Contents Protection, the figure insured is "the full total replacement value of the Goods as new" that you state on the Cover Sheet, and "We do not carry out any valuation of the Goods" (clause 48). If your stock goes up and down, our terms require that the total value in the unit never goes above the insured value (clause 31), so set the figure for your busiest level. Whether our cover suits trading stock and how it's valued in a claim are set by the Summary of Insurance, so ask us before you rely on it; our terms add that "You must make Your own judgment as to adequacy of cover even when arranged by Us" (clause 31). See how much contents cover you need.
If the goods belong to someone else
The person named on the storage agreement is our customer. With our Contents Protection, the claim belongs to that customer and our terms provide for "payment to You", the customer (clause 48), so if you store a parent's furniture in your own name, the claim runs through you. Not sure whether they took our Contents Protection? Check their agreement or ask us. If you're dealing with a unit in someone else's name, as an attorney or executor for example, call us so we can talk through who can claim with us. Ask us who is recorded as the contact on the agreement (clause 28), and give us your details in writing. See storing someone else's belongings and what happens when the renter dies.
Checking your cover before anything happens
If you're a customer now, check these:
- Is the replacement value on your Cover Sheet still right? If you've added things since you booked, tell us (clause 31).
- Keep an inventory and photos somewhere other than the unit.
- Lock the unit every time you leave (clause 21). Only share access with someone acting for you; giving a key or code to anyone else is at your own risk (clause 16).
If it's happened, call us on 0800 2545585 and we'll go through the next steps with you. If the break-in has shaken you, Victim Support offers free help to anyone affected by crime, whether or not you've been to the police, on 08 08 16 89 111. If you're still choosing storage, see our Contents Protection page or get a price online.
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