Collusion & Fraud and a grand down the drain?

I think you've missed the point here. This is not a question of the locker paying off or not paying off. What happened here is a conspiracy between the tenant and the property manager to first remove the valuable items and then send the left over garbage off to auction. They intentionally set the stage for an unsuspecting buyer to get robbed, especially when they failed to disclose this arrangement prior to the start of the auction. This goes beyond being unethical and is a criminal act. The buyer has every right to file charges.

Thank you alloro~that was my point.  We have had numerous lockers that were not what we planned on them being, but we knew beforehand who we were dealing with-namely the storage facility.  This time we're dealing with a private individual.  Completely different set of circumstances.

We are chalking this one up to a loss and learning experience.  We will no longer deal with Cubesmart and stay with the 'professional' auctioneers. 

We should be able to recoup about half.  Costly lesson, but one that will not be soon forgotten.  Not only that but others are now aware of EXACTLY what happened.  We talked to our whale yesterday and he had bid up to $1500 before stopping on the other unit that was misrepresented.  He said he is so grateful he didn't go any further......so folks, while we may be relatively new to the game.......even the seasoned vets were duped here.

I guess I am having a hard time wrapping my mine around the logic I see being used concerning this particular issue. I think it's mainly because where I live, the industry has no law enforcement component that I have ever seen or heard, and the law here allows the facility to take possession of the leined property and dispose of it however they wish, so ALL of it could be auctioned, SOME of it could be auctioned, or NONE of it could be auctioned.

I think if I understand the logic, it's the assumption of hidden value  in a unit based on the fact that the property was seized by a lein and will be auctioned off in whole, therefor any other type or condition of auction is fraudulent, mainly because of the decreased potential of hidden value/property?

In my mind, there is no difference between bidding on a unit with leined property in it that includes a couch, loveseat, and 10 boxes of unknown stuff; and bidding on a unit that the facility owner let his mother-in-law put in a couch, loveseat, and 10 boxes of unknown stuff.

The risk is the same. you have a general idea of what the couch and loveseat is worth in the resale market and if you bid beyond what is profitable on those two peices of furniture to get to the unknown boxes then that decision is on you.

I agree with one of the posters that in the long run it's not a good idea to have a reputation as a trouble maker for the other facilities that hold auctions. I would just avoid that facility all together until I heard from others that the managment has changed or it appears everything is on the up and up.

Rockin’ and Hubby were rolling the dice all the way up to the point they found out the locker was not going to payoff. When they found out the locker wasn’t going to payoff they cried foul. The time to back out of the deal was when they were presented with the paperwork from the previous tenant BEFORE they did a closer inspection of the locker, period.

You weren't there and you have no idea how it went down and furthermore you don't know either of us, so quit trying to paint us with your broad brush.  Don did question it over and over before ever approaching the locker.  He was told the tenant was not allowed to go in and remove anything but personal items (photos, documents et al).  We found out later that was not the case and he went and removed other items just prior to the auction.  He was told the only difference was he would be entering a contract with the tenant and not cubesmart.  Granted the big mistake was signing the document, but what's done is done and we'll deal with it.

We're not crying foul because the unit is crap, we're crying foul because of the way the whole thing was handled.  Old-timers that were there are talking about how it went down and most agree that it was shady. 

Again, you don't know us and for you to be so condescending is getting tedious.  I'm sure you've never made any mistakes in your illustrious career, but people like you are quite rare.  Most have to learn by taking their lumps, which we are doing.

With all due respect, no, I didn't miss the point. I am being extremely pragmatic about this. If you were to step back and look at it unemotionally I think you would understand what I am saying.

Not only are you are missing the point, but you are showing extreme naiveté regarding criminal acts and law. There was a deliberate conspiracy between the tenant and property manager to remove the valuables and defraud whomever bought the unit at the auction. This is not my opinion, this is what fraud is, and conspiring to commit fraud is a criminal act.

Crappy deal Rockin'!

I hope things work out for you.

Bev

Hmmmm, it looks like you left out some vital information in your OP. RE: “Don did question it over and over before ever approaching the locker. He was told the tenant was not allowed to go in and remove anything but personal items (photos, documents et al).” Strange how that happens.

Maybe bidding on a locker with such a close relationship too the previous owner wasn’t the best idea. I’m just saying…

Me, I wouldn’t bid on it knowing there was some sort of arrangement between the facility and previous owner. Which, IMHO, makes the situation even worse. You are now saying Don knew there was a deal with the previous owner and still bid on the locker. And then after seeing the locker wasn’t worth what Don bid you cried foul.

Seems to me the new information you brought to the thread kind of throws out the whole collusion concept. Don knew (before bidding) what he was bidding on and knew somebody went into the locker to remove stuff.

OMG!

No he didn't know that prior to the auction going up for bid.  He was not told that he was entering into an agreement with the tenant until after the auction was over and he had paid.  We did not know the former tenant was there until the following day when we were at a different auction.

I know my writing this out has been a bit scattered as I'm adding information as I learn it, but really......your comprehension skills seem a bit off~

Come to the Atlanta area and get a real Self-Storage Auction education. We eat thin-skinned people alive while they are gasping for air and spit out their bones leaving them with nothing but the tail between their legs when they go home too their spouse – LOL!

Just kidding of coarse -  

edit~just not worth the time~

.

We are chalking this one up to a loss and learning experience.  We will no longer deal with Cubesmart and stay with the 'professional' auctioneers. 

again im sorry you got burnt , it happens to all of us at one time or another

no guarantees the professional auctioneers are any better , the entire process anywhere anytime is going to be as legitimate or as illegitimate as the person involved with the least ethics will let it. It could be the auctioneer the storage manager , the corporate office , or the guy sweeping the place up,

this business is making money off peoples misfortunes at its best , and dodging questionable and crooked people at its worst, anything involved with the auctions will rarely bring out the best in people

this being said if this happened to me id be livid but id still go back to the facility , i would just keep my eye on what i bought you never know whats someones idea of valuable is and isnt

Well final update:
Don is over finishing the 'dump run'.  While there he ran into the other guy who was duped.  We've managed to find out that both units were owned by the same tenant and it seems he is.....wait for it.....a storage auction buyer.  No doubt an 'old-timer' with tons of knowledge on how to stage a unit.  So here's a new way to make money in this business....screw your fellow bidders.  Just make sure you find a way to keep your identity concealed.......unfortunately this one was not that smart.  And of course having a facility manager in your pocket can't hurt.

We're probably gonna take about a 700 loss on the unit, but thankfully we have enough inventory from previous units/endeavors to cover that loss.  Expensive lesson, but one that will inevitably be learned by many of our fellow local bidders.  And hopefully a few of you.  Do not pay a dime until you've got all the facts! 

I pray that I never become as crass and arrogant and unscrupulous as some of those 'regulars'.
 
I will state that the gentleman working the weekend there has been wonderful and told Don how bad he feels for what happened.  He basically confirmed what we knew to be true.  Nice young man with morals.....

I have to ask - Where did you get your law degree?

That's your best comeback to my post? Obviously you didn't even do something as simple as looking up the definition of fraud before carrying on like this. Any normal person that had, wouldn't even both responding with uneducated remarks like you're making.

Come to the Atlanta area and get a real Self-Storage Auction education. We eat thin-skinned people alive while they are gasping for air and spit out their bones leaving them with nothing but the tail between their legs when they go home too their spouse – LOL!

Just kidding of coarse - 

Glendon Cameron is that you?  If not could be his twin.

Sounds like you are full of hot air blaming everything on Rockin and Don. Sure they may have made a mistake or two who doesn't (hindsight is 20/20). But from her description of events they were scammed.


Rockin still up set about this. We have been fortunate and have not run into this, but we do go together and I stand in the wings while Bob (husband ) looks. Over here some good stuff.

If you and Don ever visit Fl look us up we will buy you guys a drink.

Well final update:
Don is over finishing the 'dump run'.  While there he ran into the other guy who was duped.  We've managed to find out that both units were owned by the same tenant and it seems he is.....wait for it.....a storage auction buyer.  No doubt an 'old-timer' with tons of knowledge on how to stage a unit.  So here's a new way to make money in this business....screw your fellow bidders.  Just make sure you find a way to keep your identity concealed.......unfortunately this one was not that smart.  And of course having a facility manager in your pocket can't hurt.

We're probably gonna take about a 700 loss on the unit, but thankfully we have enough inventory from previous units/endeavors to cover that loss.  Expensive lesson, but one that will inevitably be learned by many of our fellow local bidders.  And hopefully a few of you.  Do not pay a dime until you've got all the facts! 

I pray that I never become as crass and arrogant and unscrupulous as some of those 'regulars'.
 
I will state that the gentleman working the weekend there has been wonderful and told Don how bad he feels for what happened.  He basically confirmed what we knew to be true.  Nice young man with morals.....

Great!!! Since they made you sign that "contract" (by the way, Don was under distress, and a third party cannot compel you to sign a contract with another party without your knowledge and agreement. The "contract" is void.  No law degree, did take business law in college though) You now have the tenant's/storage locker buyer's name. Now you guys just need to put a face with the name and implement project "RUNHISA$$UP!!" I would make sure that guy never got a unit for a good price again!!

I wish you guys hadn't spent the extra time and money to clean out the unit. Remember the "contract" was between you and the tenant, not the facility. The facility had a "deal" with the tenant. I would have left that crap and told the facility "sorry, I don't have a contract with YOU!

Contracts are funny things. Cubesmart might have a full legal team at their disposal to cover themselves, but I bet the "tenant" doesn't. Might not hurt to consult an attorney and see if you can get some satisfaction from the "tenant". A nice little letter from an attorney telling this guy he is going to be spending a lot of time in court fighting a pricey lawsuit might make him consider a "deal" with you guys.

Good Luck!

But if you look at what I quoted back to you, you clearly said Don was asking questions about the locker before the locker went up for auction.

Wrong again~why am I not surprised?  I said he was asking questions before approaching the locker, but that was after the bidding was done, after the payment was made and while discussing it with the storage facility manager.  Sorry if that was not clear enough for you, but I figured with your omnipotence you would have known that or at the very least figured it out.

As far as moving on.......we're in the process of doing so.  Seems you're the one who can't let it go as you keep coming back and getting your digs in to those that don't see everything your way~

I anxiously await your oh-so-smarmy reply~

***yawn***

You’re Funny!

Every time you make one of these ridiculous responses you reduce your credibility around here. If you plan on sticking around you might want to take a step back and try and grasp the concept that you're not making any friends this way.

Enough people have pointed out that you're off base and yet you still you keep trying to fault the buyer. Perhaps its time for you to stop talking and start listening.

Every time you make one of these ridiculous responses you reduce your credibility around here. If you plan on sticking around you might want to take a step back and try and grasp the concept that you're not making any friends this way.

Enough people have pointed out that you're off base and yet you still you keep trying to fault the buyer. Perhaps its time for you to stop talking and start listening.

NO, I think that StorMe is pointing out the obvious....which is that Don looked the unit over and made a decision
on what he would go based on what he saw, which was $1000....then whines when things did not pan out

As for "Making friends" here....if having to stroke the ego of a poster or following the lemmings off the cliff is what it takes to make friends here, just call me the "lone wolf"