Auction backfires on locker owner

Just a little story about a guy my mother was dating 4 years ago. Great guy, full of life, but he didn't want to work. He did however keep my mother's house spotless and have her dinner made every evening when she got home.

Anyway, he got behind on his payments on his storage unit and everything he had in the world was inside. I think he owed $400, which he didn't have. I felt bad for the guy so I lent him the money to buy his unit back. He chose to test his luck at the auction instead of just paying off his debt, thinking he was going to save some money. He ended up getting bid up to $650. 

I payed for his locker and we made arrangements for him to pay me back over 2-3 months. Of course, being a deadbeat and all, he never had any money to pay me back. So, I put him to work moving storage units for a total of 65 hours spread out over a few months.

Anyone else had to help a friend or family member out to keep their stuff from being sold at auction??

He chose to test his luck at the auction instead of just paying off his debt, thinking he was going to save some money. He ended up getting bid up to $650.

Couldn't he have just gone over and paid his bill before the auctions were paid for and walked away for the $400?

Sure he could of, but he didn't realize it.

depends on the facility.  Public Storage will only pay up to the when the auction starts not when it ends.

Some facilities in Long Island will also cut them off the entire day of the auction so if you don't pay the day before you are out of luck

Depends on the individual state laws. Some states allow the tenant to pay up right until the auctioneer collects payment from the winning bidder.