Is the approach taken by Self Storage companies harassment?
Posted by flipflip0@reddit | AskUK | View on Reddit | 18 comments
Hi
I have recently contacted a few Self Storage companies (think Shuggard, Big Yellow, etc) regarding quotes.
Their quotes are behind a page that forces you to input your contact details. Then you get your quote. Since then I’ve been contacted daily 10+ times by multiple companies, some of which I didn’t even try to get a quote from.
Has anyone else had this and how do we stop it?
Suspicious_Goose1614@reddit
Put in fake details, or opt out of contact
Math_hurts_Sometimes@reddit
Well, I thought I was just being paranoid, until I read the responses to your post. I am moving home in about 2 months and wanted to use storage to keep some stuff while I decide whether I want to move the items into the new place or not.
Last time I used storage services was about 6 yeas ago and was stunned to see that, on two of the company websites, they were asking for personal details before giving a quote. Had nothing of the sort back in 2020 when I last used them.
ForeignBonus8977@reddit
A lot of storage companies uses translucent pricing.
Transparent pricing = you go on the site, see the unit sizes and prices, and decide if you want to contact them.
Translucent pricing = the price is technically there, but you only see it after giving your name, email, phone, postcode, etc. Once you submit that form, you’re now a lead in their system… and the follow-up calls start.
But yeah, 10+ calls is a bit much. I'd just ask them to remove you from their list when they call.
Due_Tailor1412@reddit
Just quick "For your information" and slightly off on a tangent from this .. if you need storage shipping containers are now insanely cheap a 20ft single trip container (So looks nice) is about £1800 +vat, I just bought two for a job I'm on for £5000 including VAT and delivered (Southampton to London), so if you have even the smallest bit of land or you can rent some hardstanding this is a far better option than the selfstore co's
Capitain_Collateral@reddit
This is unfortunately normal these days. “Free instant quote!” Appears and you know by page 4 or 5, after it’s got you in the habit of answering then clicking next, it’s going to ask you for contact details where you have to agree to let their partners start contacting you. All of them.
Recently enquired about stairlift costs, and the reasons for needing to consider a stairlift are traumatic, so getting calls everyday to discuss it a week later - even on Sunday - are quite frustrating. Only one of them apologised profusely and just gave a price when I informed them of the situation.
Insurance companies suck balls, but at least I can get a quote from them without needing someone calling me and offering some discount if I go with them in the next hour because ‘my manager wants to make a deal’.
phatboi23@reddit
if anything has a "contact us" for a price i usually think "yep, i can't afford it".
bacon_cake@reddit
It's more likely they're hiding a shitty pricing strategy from public view.
I had a storage unit a few years back, it was £600/mo for a 12mo commitment and then on renewal they wanted £1,200 a month! I had to pay a moving team £400 to move the contents 1.5mi up the road to their OTHER BRANCH where they gave me the "new customer" deal again and repeated the same shit 12 months later.
Grouchy-Nobody3398@reddit
Thats outrageous, we used a local independent site and the prices were published online, and didn't get raised in the 2.5 years we ended up using it for.
Immediate-Lab2771@reddit
I always use a spare email account that I never monitor purely for spam and give them a random mobile number. That’s how I deal with it. I get my quote and then I’m left in peace.
billsmithers2@reddit
Pity the poor sod who has that mobile number!
mcnutty96@reddit
Yeah temp emails are handy for this
EmojiRepliesToRats@reddit
Hit them with an SAR request under GDPR, including details of who they've sent your data to. Then after you get it, send a right to be forgotten request. Also, report them to the ICO for requesting more data than is necessary to provide their service.
Punish these companies for abusing our data.
iamlunarlizzy@reddit
I used to work for a small storage company, we were forced to call back after 1 day, 3 days, 5, 7 and then 14. If we didn't we were reviewed and penalised by losing comission. Needless to say I just took my Nintendo Switch to work with me and quit after 6 months. Gross.
iamlunarlizzy@reddit
oh and we used to have a "no lower than this price sheet" and some of the top sellers would quad x unit prices to get insane commission.
FreeBogwoppits@reddit
Safestore were a pain with bombarding me with calls and emails, then it dwindled off but got creepy "Hey Freebogwoppits it's Sunday again. It's a lovely morning and I'm thinking of you, wondering how we can really help you, I'll call again soon".
I blocked them on all platforms.
Big Yellow didn't do that, so I signed up with them.
I work for a company that chases possible customers, we have really strict rules about how many times we can attempt contact. Any "no" and we won't contact again. If you say "I'm busy" we'll call once more.
Avionykx@reddit
I actually tried to get a quote from a local company on Sunday (Safe Store) - I put my details in and within 15 mins the phonecalls were starting.
By lunchtime on Tuesday I'd had 25 calls, 10 emails, 5 voicemails and 5 text messages from them, despite me saying several times I wasn't interested and asking them to remove me from their lists.
I eventually snapped yesterday afternoon and emailed the email address given as the location manager detailing the amount of contact I'd had and asking him to remove me from the list before it was considered harassment.
Thankfully I've had no more contact since then.
TedBurns-3@reddit
It's 2026, this has been going on for years!
NapalmSword@reddit
This seems to be standard practice for a lot of internet quotes of any sort. If you can’t phone them up and you can’t get a quote without giving info, then don’t use them. Not much else you can do.