GREENSBORO, N.C. — Phyliss Morris had more stuff than space. Her home is simply not big enough to house all the items she had.
“There was a lot,” Morris said.
About four years ago, Morris rented a storage space to keep all her items safe. The unit worked out perfectly at first. A couple of years ago, a new company purchased the storage facility and Morris said she was sent a new lease to sign.
Again, everything seemed to be working out fine. Morris paid her monthly rent on time and the items were kept safe. Then, last year, Morris went by her unit to pick something up.
“I was just in shock. I drove around thinking I was in the wrong row of storage facilities,” Morris said.
Morris was not in the wrong spot. She quickly realized all her stuff was gone. Morris said there were a few other people wandering around the facility and their unit was also cleaned out.
“My door was open. Everything was gone. All the way down both sides; everything gone,” Phyliss Morris said.
The storage facility emptied her unit and threw everything away. Apparently, several other units were also emptied by the company.
“I was devastated. I didn’t know what to do so, I called a friend and she came over here. I’m like, 'I don’t know what to do',” Morris said.
The storage facility was apparently renovating the property and needed to clear out several units that were still full of items.
“There were people walking around like they didn’t know what was going on and I’m like, 'What happened?' They said that they were redoing them or tearing them down, and I said did you find out or did you know about this, and they said no,” Morris said.
After hearing about what took place, WFMY News 2 contacted 10 Federal Storage to try and understand what took place. A representative with the company said Morris was notified about removing her items 45 days in advance. The representative said Morris was sent an email.
“I keep everything. They never sent me a notice,” Morris said.
What makes this even more confusing is that Morris paid her rent just a few days before her items were thrown out.
“Why didn’t they call me, and make sure I knew what was going on,” Morris said.
We again reached out to 10 Federal Storage and wanted to better understand the efforts it took to notify Morris and other renters. A representative again said Morris was sent an email 45 days in advance. When we asked them to forward that email to us, we were told they do not share communications with third parties.
Morris left anyway, frustrated and sad. She was also not the only one. Several other renters, including Norma Harris, were in the same situation.
“I want to cry because it was everything I own,” Harris said.
Just like Morris, her unit was emptied and everything inside was thrown away.
“I know it’s gone. Pictures of me and my grandkids. I know stuff like that they throw in the trash,” Harris said.
We again sent an email to 10 Federal asking for answers. A representative emailed us back and stated it did not have a client with that name. We then provided documentation that showed Harris rented a unit.
We have sent multiple emails since then but have never heard back. The company has not responded to our emails in the past 10 months.
Harris said 10 Federal did make her an initial offer to settle the claim. Harris said the company offered her $1,000 and a one-month refund. Harris declined and will most likely be going to court to see if she can be reimbursed for the items she lost.
As for Morris, after we got involved, the storage facility and Morris settled the claim and said she is satisfied with the outcome.
We will keep you updated with any new developments in this case.