Gate access is being let through a storage site's outer gate or entrance doors, usually by an electronic system that checks who you are and whether you're within the permitted hours. It gets you onto the site and into the building. Your own unit is a separate step, with its own lock.
At Wigwam
Our FAQ says we have "access control systems for the external doors" at our sites. Where your site's page describes smart entry, it opens the gate and the building doors from your phone, and then your unit. At Chipping Norton, a PIN you choose when you book opens the doors.
Two things in our terms decide whether the gate opens for you:
- The hours. "You have the right to access the Unit during Access Hours as posted by Us" (clause 12). That's normally 6am to 10pm, seven days a week, but check your site's page. Cheltenham's page publishes two conflicting sets of hours, so check them with that site. The same clause lets us change the hours temporarily "to other reasonable times without giving prior notice", though we'll try to warn you by notice, text or email.
- Your account. "We may refuse You access to the Unit and/or the Facility where moneys are owing by You to Us, whether or not a formal demand for payment has been made" (clause 15).
Clause 21 also asks you, "Where applicable", to "secure the external gates and/or doors of the Facility", so make sure they've closed behind you. Unless we've agreed extended access with you (clause 13), plan to be off the site by 10pm, and ask us how leaving works at your site.
Gate access vs unit access
Getting through the gate doesn't open your unit, and the gate being secure doesn't lock your unit for you. Clause 21 makes you "solely responsible for securing the Unit". If the gate won't open, check the time, your phone and your account first; our guide below goes through each.
Related terms: Smart entry · Unit access hours · Site security · Access PIN
Related questions: What if smart entry won't open the gate, or my phone dies? · Can I get to my storage unit 24 hours a day?