By Friday morning, Nona Lee and her wife had had it with the PODS call center. The storage unit she rented for approximately $300 to hold their belongings was ransacked Wednesday night.
Lee said the couple took time off work over the past two days and have been trying to get PODS to come out since Thursday morning to lock it up again.
"My concern is they're doing nothing to help," Lee said. "There's no way to get any solutions. We've called them five times. All they have to do is send someone to fix this latch or secure it."
Abc15 called the company's local office and corporate office in Florida. Within minutes we heard back, learning there was a communication break down between the two offices. Michael Smith, the regional Vice President of Operations, said his team didn't know about the break-in until Friday.
"When an agent sends out an email saying there's a customer issue, they would include the territory manager and myself," Smith said. "In this instance, it was sent to one person, the dispatcher."
He said as soon as the message was received on Friday, the company sent someone to fix the latch.
That worker was able to change the latch within a few minutes.
Lee still plans to move their belongings. She said they thought the unit couldn't be broken into because the lock cannot be cut. Now that they know the latch can be cut, they are putting their items in a storage facility.
"We work hard for our stuff, everyone does," Lee said. "We trust people to do business, and things happen, nothing is perfect, and I understand that. But at least help."
Smith offered his assurance that the communication issue has been addressed internally.
As for the latch, Smith said it's virtually impossible to guarantee a thief won't find a way to get in. The company does offer insurance on both the contents and the unit itself. The couple did not get insurance on their belongings.
According to Smith, the company is adding up the costs and plans to reimburse the couple for costs associated with the burglary. The territory manager said the costs for the contents would not be included.
