Woman Charged $900 by Storage Place Where Her Stolen Car Was Chopped

[@grumpysanta6318]

Sounds like the owner of the storage facility is in possession of stolen property.

[@tartarus12]

I would also say there’s a good chance he’s in on it.

[@mikeloeven]

@@tartarus12 Counter sue for treble damages for conversion of the car that will shut them up real quick

[@I.PittyTheFool]

I was thinking the owner might be in on it: profit from the parts and the rent.

[@jackhodgson4749]

It's all bullshit. The storage owner owns the car if its abandoned and the owner is notified. Pay for your car and get it out, or its mine. 🤷‍♂️.

[@christopherkidwell9817]

@@jackhodgson4749 Except that the REAL OWNER had the car STOLEN. Therefore, it was not legally in the storage in the first place.

[@eightysea3780]

Storage owner is 100% in on the entire operation.

[@ICRangerT]

first thing i thought about it

[@I.PittyTheFool]

Agreed!

[@usseg]

O you want to call the cops if I dont pay? Well please do and explain to them how it got there.

[@guy0116]

Agree 100%. Forget about how many times its happened, how the hell did these people get access to a storage unit without signing a contract? That's just not how these operations work.

[@kenhawkins1033]

@@usseg What if the cops are in on it? Would anyone be shocked? I wouldn't.

[@arinerm1331]

The simplest explanation is that the owner of the storage units is involved in the car-theft ring.

[@richardwinter5315]

I was thinking the same thing! He's involved some how.

[@scottdean7613]

Your fly got me! 🐠

[@daviddubeck2436]

Was thinking the same thing. When this place had other stolen cars located there. Police need to surveil this place.

[@arinerm1331]

@@scottdean7613 Yeah, sorry about that. (But I'm really not.)

[@SeanBZA]

Yes storage units tend to have lots of cameras, and if they cannot show the footage of the renter, they can be assumed to be involved.

[@_GntlStone_]

I think I'd be reporting the facility for possession of stolen property. Let the cops figure it out.

[@kens.3729]

Cops are NOT Interested in Figuring it Out because it’s a Waste of their Time. 🤪👎

[@scottysgarage4393]

@@kens.3729 It's a reported stolen vehicle. The cops are most certainly interested in everything surrounding it being found.

[@PupOrionSirius26]

And her insurance

[@Morgan_Sandoval]

@@kens.3729 The insurance is, and they've got mean enough lawyers to make the cops care, lol.

[@440-6Pack]

She has no written contract so she owes nothing.

[@power2084]

Exactly. And you would think Steve Lehto would mention it!?

[@lakashii]

I think I read that she was told she has to take possession of the unit, so she entered a contact on the unit and now owes the money. The storage facility is a piece of something, but she also goofed by entering an arrangement with them.

[@paulallison3974]

strongly suspect this is also an owner taking advantage of someone completely unfamiliar with how storage units work. Would certainly be my response... I don't have a contract with you, I don't want a contract with you.

[@davidkuehne476]

yeah, until they bully you to take responsibility for it.

[@robertrooney50]

@@lakashii She is only liable for the fees from the day she signed the lease.

[@Bob-Lob-Law]

The storage owner demanded that the $900 be paid in gift cards.

[@21palica]

Funnily, this would make more sense than what really happened!

[@arribaficationwineho32]

Cool. So give him cards with no balance on them. Oops

[@PupOrionSirius26]

LMFAO you win the internet! Tell me it's a scam without saying it's a scam.

[@matushorvath]

Somebody steals your mobile phone, you trace it down using "find my device", it's in an apartment. You go to the apartment, the thieves already left but the landlord lets you in. You see your mobile phone on the desk. You try to grab it, the owner stops you and tells you "Yes I accept this is your phone, but the guys who rented this apartment left without paying their rent. You need to pay their rent before I let you take the phone." Makes about as much sense as what Bill Storage tried to do in this story. Which is none.

[@nolongeramused8135]

People get shot for trying to pull stunts like that.

[@rodeowerewolf3004]

If she didn't sign an agreement to pay, she has no obligation to. If anything she should be able to sue the place for holding her car if not file charges for theft.

[@flipper184]

Yeah. Who cut up my car in your yard? A crime has been committed. You have the evidence in your possession.

[@GARDENER42]

Here in the UK, it's called demanding money with menaces: Section 21 of the Theft Act 1968

[@OccamsToaster]

@@GARDENER42 I think a charge of extortion might make it to a jury, but it depends on what was said to her and being able to prove it.

[@reddyredwolf3931]

Sounds like a scam. The Storage owner may be in cahoots with the car jackers.

[@skillethead15]

Makes sense to me. How else would the thieves even have access to the storage unit? And it would be foolish to use a unit attached to one of the thieves names. So what makes the most sense to me is that the owner of the storage unit is in on it and gave the thieves access to the unit. And is now here extorting the victim for more cash.

[@jasonbourne1596]

Maybe he chopped it up. Pretty good way to get rid of the evidence and victimize the owner twice.

[@mattfarahsmillionmilelexus]

The "owner" is also the chop shop owner.

[@Mick.Porter]

I'm not going thru all the comments but simply asking..."how did the storage place find out the owner without calling the police to report the chopped vehicle?"

[@flipper184]

Winner!

[@dangeary2134]

Excellent question, unless there is a dirty cop on the inside… Hmm….

[@BrandonLeeBrown]

It likely had the registration with her name in the glove box.

[@Gmac_Greg_M]

Registration and proof of insurance was probably left in the chassis of the car.

[@TheRealScooterGuy]

Registration shows ownership, and automotive receipts (tires, oil changes, etc.) may have shown a phone number or other contact info.

[@davidzarodnansky4720]

Can she cannot charge the owners of the storage unit with possession of a stolen car?

[@dalesplitstone6276]

The victims need to get together and file a class action lawsuit against the storage facility.

[@andrewfidel2220]

No, the storage facility owner wouldn't meet the legal requirements for possession of stolen property. Just because something stolen gets dumped on your lot doesn't mean you possess it. Think about a stolen car getting driven into the woods and left on someone's back 40, would you want them to be criminally liable for possession of that car? No, the law is going to have definitions and tests and owning a facility where a criminal has left stolen property is not going to meet that hurdle.

[@CreamSoda56]

​@@andrewfidel2220 There seems to be a significant difference between a car being dumped on a lot, and the lot owner saying "if you want it back, pay up". I suspect that changes the situation.

[@tarrantwolf]

​@andrewfidel2220 that only applies if the owner of the property isn't trying to hold your stolen property for ransom. In this case, the storage unit is trying to retain possession of stolen property for money.

[@jeraldbottcher1588]

@@tarrantwolf But you are not allowed to retain stolen property for money at all. In effect it is trying to hold onto the property for ransom.

[@GoPetty43]

A similar thing happened to my father-in-law's boat several years ago. It was stolen out of a storage unit, taken somewhere and stripped, then dumped in another storage unit with a clue about where the motor could be found. When the storage unit called the cops they seized the boat, found the clue that led them to the motor, and then sold it all at a police auction to someone who just happened to have all the other non traceable parts needed to put it back together. If they hadn't gotten caught they would have been legitimate owners of the boat they stole for a fraction of the price. I suspect the storage owner was in on it just like this one was.

[@sarajuanaict]

I can't believe she fell for that nonsense This storage owner is crooked af

[@chadillac2472]

I once found my stolen car in my neighborhood a block over. I called the police, they showed up, verified that the car was indeed stolen and that it was mine. They had it towed to their impound yard for no real reason, where I had to pay towing and impound fee. Needless to say I was happy and pissed at the same time..

[@michiganmaxedout6248]

The cops were the real thieves. The car could have just been taken home. But instead, they towed it, took it even farther from home and held it for ransom.

[@markg7030]

My guess is the police needed to prove the case was solved by following procedures. It makes them look good.

[@flipper184]

If you have the Huevos and the bugger starts, recover it yourself. Avoid chit-chat.

[@ray_donovan_v4]

Did they even bother to get fingerprints off of the car? 🤔 Also being present to witness whether or not the police are actually doing their jobs, should also be a factor.. if the claimant is not present if the car was dusted, how can the claimant verify the dusting, occured or not? 🫣 (Half-assed police work yields half assed results, just to point that out) The fact police charge a victim for the impounding is just shitty.

[@norcaldeemichaels]

@@michiganmaxedout6248In the San Francisco Bay Area about a year ago, a homeowner caught thieves trying to steal his pickup from his driveway. Before getting the truck, they fled in their own car, while firing a few shots at the house, cops get called, they show up, investigates and decide to tow his truck to “collect evidence”…and then billed him for the tow.

[@antagonist99]

So the owner of that storage unit was aiding and abetting criminals? That sounds like a felony to me.

[@iggyboo]

I'm surprised they didn't charge her for cutting supplies and handling parts that were chopped.

[@iggyboo]

So are the Towing charges less than $900?

[@DKNguyen3.1415]

@@iggyboo If they amortize the cost of their chopping equipment over multiple cars, it's a steal!

[@williamsullivan2710]

She should of told the owner to call the Police and that she or the Police will charge him with possession of stolen property. Beside the Police probably would want to process the "Crime Scene".

[@277mitchell]

Shouldn't the person who rents the storage unit be the one on the hook 4 the $900???? The person who got there car stolen is the LAST person who should have to pay!

[@wrwindsor]

Certainly. The car owner could have easily responded with, "show me the contract I signed that agreed to your terms" and then let the police handle the matter. (assuming she didn't do such, I didn't dig into the details of the story)

[@erumara8584]

If the storage unit owner doesn't drop the fees when it turns out they're an accomplice to grand theft, then they need to be charged as such.

[@douglaswatters7303]

You can't rent a storage unit without providing ID. Who rented the unit where the stolen car was? WTF is going on here?

[@christopherkidwell9817]

Not true actually. In backwater areas, you can rent a storage unit without providing I.D. It is a "You pay us the fees, we don't care who you are!"

[@TheRealScooterGuy]

Assumes it was left in a rented unit, and not along the back fence or in a common area.

[@GoodCitizen-g6f]

1. Rent a unit in the storage area. 2. Put a lock on another storage unit. 3. Put the car in the empty storage unit that you are not renting and chop up the car. 4. Once done remove lock from unrented unit. 5. Repeat steps 2 through 4 until your original rental in step 1 is up. Usually you maybe able to get a unit for at least month before they discover a lock on a unit that is not rented.

[@TheRealScooterGuy]

@@GoodCitizen-g6f -- That would work at some places. (Not at the one I currently use, though. They have their own locks that they put on vacant units because they discovered that some people were dumping junk into those vacant units.)

[@johniwan1]

They probably couldn't identify him because he had a big red clown nose on or those fake glasses with the mustache and eye brows to hide his identity.

[@peteengard9966]

My mom bought a 77 Oldsmobile Cutlass. Two days after she bought it it was stolen from a guarded parking lot at work. The police found it six hours later completely stripped down to just the body and frame. They took every part that could come off. Dad said they stripped it faster than GM could assemble it.

[@321CatboxWA]

Probably the seller stole it back.

[@peteengard9966]

@321CatboxWA I doubt that the dealer stole it. Their too busy stealing customers money.

[@SpynCycle57]

The storage owner knows that if the police tow the car away, the back fees on the storage unit never get paid. By contacting the car owner the storage owner might get some money. How did the storage owner know who the car owner is?

[@whearts]

Registration or insurance card is my guess.

[@osco4311]

No less of a scam than being made to pay when your stolen car is taken to a police impound lot.

[@Big_Un]

Or if it's towed to ANY towing storage lot!! Where they remove all the contents from inside the car and charge you separate storage fees for the car AND your belongings!

[@blacki4268]

I've worked at a storage facility before, and yup this is an 100% inside job.

[@blacki4268]

renters needs documentation, and the storage place in which I used to work for do storage checks everyday with a storage report on what units should be free.

[@e00032r]

If a person can be charged for their stolen car being in the storage unit the the storage facility should be able to be held responsible for the stripping of the car and get sued for their facility being a chop shop

[@davidp2888]

My ex wife got into an accident, the car was towed and after some time the tow lot called me and told me to go pick up my car. Since we were in the middle of a divorce and the car was titled in her name, I said "It's not my car, I'm not responsible for it" and hung up.

[@Bowlymania]

Wouldn’t the storage place have the info on the person who drove it there to conduct an investigation into the theft and chop? Seems like the owner is in on it for his fee with this racket.

[@bobbybackpain]

Owner is in on the scam

[@p.elcott2715]

These owners of the storage unit is in on it. Sounds like the cops are too. Imagine that. Otherwise the perpetrators wouldn’t take on such a risky operation. The owner is double dipping. Detectives should investigate!

[@georgiaparentsforkidsright9572]

Sounds like theft by receiving stolen property or possession of stolen property charges could be brought against the self storage unit.

[@ronaldbradley9949]

Sounds like a case of extortion to me.

[@jonathanaliff6121]

You think that's bad? My truck was stolen. I filed a report. I don't hear a thing for two and a half years. Last month I received a bill from an impound lot for $2700. Turns out they recovered my totaled vehicle within two weeks of my report.

[@MikinessAnalog]

Allowing it to accrue profit until they needed the space open.

[@mph5896]

My state, they need to notify you in a certain amount of time. If they don't, you are not responsible for the difference in time in which they failed to notify.

[@johnpopoff7950]

Please tell us that you didn't pay.

[@christopherkidwell9817]

@@MikinessAnalog Bingo. He should contact that impound lot and ask them why they did not contact him much sooner.

[@mikelarry2602]

Sue them.

[@Strideo1]

She never had any agreement or business arrangement with the storage facility.

[@chrisjohnson2460]

She never entered into a contract withthe storage facility and is not liable for storage fees.

[@vociferon-heraldofthewinte7763]

Sounds like the storage facility is complicit in the crime.

[@borabora4480]

Storage place could be prosecuted for possession of stolen property.

[@mf--]

*should

[@chrisruskai9341]

I would have been like "Call them and tell them how you are charging me to get the stolen property off of your land"

[@Lauren_C]

Personal policy: I don’t pay someone I never made a contract with, nor have been ordered by court to pay. Pretty damn certain my stolen vehicle ending up at someone’s impound does not constitute a willful contract.

[@canadaplease7981]

"That's not a story.... Wait! That man *did* bite that dog!"

[@newshodgepodge6329]

Did the dog bite back though? 🤣

[@jaynecobb1]

Just wait until she gets the mechanic's bill for "auto disassembly".

[@TheJase8566]

Sounds like they're admitting to handling stolen goods

[@davesnotheremanok2910]

Sounds like she needs to file a lawsuit against the storage unit place. Maybe for aiding and abetting a criminal organization in the act of stealing her car and chopping it up.

[@DJdoppIer]

Sounds like the storage owner should be charged as an accomplice and also as being in possession of stolen property or conversion.

[@windchasing9698]

I would think Bob Storage could/should be charged with receiving stolen property.

[@guidichris]

The storage location has had more than one stolen and stripped vehicle at their location. Sounds like a criminal enterprise to me.

[@rickb1387]

I would not pay them a penny.

[@johnathandouglas007]

Sounds like the storage unit owner is in on it to me....

[@stevehenson5737]

If she doesn't have a legal contract with the storage company to store her property it sounds like the company is in possession of stolen property

[@rodneymiddleton9624]

If she did pay for the unit it could be assumed that she rented the unit to strip the car and claim it stolen! Thanks Steve!

[@canadaplease7981]

Best shirt I've seen on the show so far!

[@Bob-Lob-Law]

Everyone should wear that shirt

[@rjgaynor8]

I am looking for one now.

[@aelfheld]

Seems likely the owner of the storage facility is in on the thefts.

[@jgar1867]

They would not even let me park a camper here in the Tennessee area without a plate in a storage area… renting a storage area can be as difficult as renting a car

[@idristaylor5093]

Ben is behind the Viper.

[@2cartalkers]

YES!!!! 👍👍

[@brucelytle1144]

I think he's grabbing parts off it! 😊

[@braddl9442]

sounds to me like this storage place knows whos doing it and is making profit off it.

[@My-Pal-Hal]

NOW THAT'S JUST EVIL. And the storage company is an accomplise.

[@michaellowe3665]

Sounds like they are running a nuisance business. There is a lot of liability in that.

[@gordiehowe-ky6xt]

Obviously the storage place is in on it.

[@joepalmer1594]

Isn't there something like "Strawman liability?" The owner of the property can be liable for use of that property for unlawful purposes?

[@newshodgepodge6329]

The government sure seems to think so the way they "forfeit" the property of even disinterested third parties.

[@missulu]

Weird as hell... How can this even happen without the owner of the storage place going to jail!?! I'd love to hear what happens next in this case! Thanks for the video Steve!

[@Waldens002]

Stay safe on the roads today! This winter weather this week has been brutal in MI

[@PupOrionSirius26]

Look to what happens to a Pawn shop with stolen goods, they are on the hook for taking them. File charges for holding stolen property.

[@thewolfe1099]

You can't fix stupid . She should have never paid it. The facility could never collect from her. She never entered any agreement with them

[@noworriesmate5903]

They rented a storage in someone's name and put the car in an empty unit and put a lock on both. They now have a code to enter the storage property. She still isn't liable for the fees!

[@thehellyousay]

was hertz involved? i feel certain hertz was involved, for some strange reason ...

[@foxymetroid]

They weren't accusing her of grand theft auto, so Hertz probably wasn't involved.

[@DannyWildmann]

​@@foxymetroid Hertz was probably making her pay fees for a rental! Lol . Also you missed the joke by about a mile!

[@Hatbox948]

They probably bought some of the parts.

[@foxymetroid]

@@DannyWildmann I didn't miss your joke. I simply added a joke of my own about how the only reason we know Hertz wasn't involved was because they would have made the situation worse than it already is.

[@DannyWildmann]

@foxymetroid sorry my bad.

[@user-no1cares]

Behind the Viper.

[@SuperFrank6666]

OUTSTANDING.

[@user-no1cares]

@@SuperFrank6666 That’s what Mom always says.

[@Bobs-Wrigles5555]

Frank's right, beat me by 38 secs... Mornin' Bill

[@user-no1cares]

@@Bobs-Wrigles5555 Can you believe I merely blundered into this channel as I was distracted by important news stories on ‘The Onion’ !?!? G’nite Bob.

[@Bobs-Wrigles5555]

@@user-no1cares I can believe it, because I can't remember how I ended up finding it at all🤔🤔

[@gwcrispi]

How do you rent out a unit without collecting a method of payment? I couldn't possibly rent a unit without ID and a credit card.

[@bashclassof04]

Many private owner places don't check id's and don't care as long as you pay cash

[@matts1166]

My family runs a self-storage business. Back in the late 80's and 90's we'd often just do a handshake deal, until we started having deadbeats. Then we had contracts, then ID checks.

[@lokiva8540]

In addition to police complaint about receiving stolen property, the storage unit should be reported to the Coast Guard for HazMat spills, and see how the operator likes paying remediation costs.

[@markmiller5606]

Seriously! WTF is wrong with people.

[@AlanSanderson-u4t]

The storage unit owner or manager should be charged with possession of stolen property.

[@oldfordman68]

I'm betting the manager of this storage unit is involved with what is going on. If that was me I would refuse to pay the storage fee then sew the storage facility for having my stolen car

[@Eidolon1andOnly]

*sue (not "sew").

[@seeya205]

sue

[@cdrone4066]

They can’t charge her, they didn’t have a contract with her.

[@lilithcal]

How does the storage facility know who the owner of the car is?

[@geoffstrickler]

The owner of the storage facility should be investigated as an accessory to the theft.

[@SandroWalach]

I find it a little sad that it's always about paying money. What happened to the concept of doing the right thing?

[@Wbfuhn]

The storage owner should be liable for the stolen vehicle unless they provide evidence of it being brought in.

[@BrianButterworth-s4z]

Who made that ridiculous decision? AI? Did the storage area have anything to do with the theft of the car?

[@Bobs-Wrigles5555]

Ben lurking behind the Red Viper, Steve's RHS

[@Natediggetydog]

8:57 In addition to being a very common car with a high demand for spare parts, it was also just discontinued. I would assume that legitimately acquired parts are a little harder to get now that Dodge no longer makes the car.

[@CB-hp1zn]

Postion is 9/10 of the law, sounds like there responsible for the car payment 😮 actually , and to hide it in a storage, shows its was done internally

[@TomsBackyardWorkshop]

Both scenarios are outrageous. No one should have to pay to get their their stolen property back.

[@mech007unknown]

A $900 dollar bill would mean they knew it was there for awhile

[@matts1166]

That may only be one month's rent. A unit of that size would mean AT LEAST a 25x15 unit, and likely bigger, if it was stripped there. Not only do you need room for the car, you need to get around it while stripping it, and room to store parts. My family runs a storage company in the rural Midwest, and something like that would go for about $240/month here. If it's in a larger city, much, much more. And if it has any electrical plug-ins or lighting, even more. Climate control? Astronomically more.

[@Marinealver]

After it is stolen, the owner has no control over it.

[@RaysLaughsAndLyrics]

This logic would mean if I was robbed I would be sent a bill to pay for the expense of the robber's incarceration. 😂

[@davidmasiello9449]

why is this so bizarre? Cops and cities do this to people. My car got broken into one night in Boston, cops toed it to their yard and then charged me 300$ to get it out. I did not ask the city to tow my car after someone broke in and stole the radio, and i certainly think it is BS that they charged me for the toe and storage after someone broke into my car. It is just a racket.

[@joeambly6807]

Tell us you didn't listen to the story

[@namegoeshere3838]

I would immediately sue for damages, receiving stolen property and press charges for the storage center stealing my car!

[@stevenkreiss2113]

This is crazy.

[@JustATakit]

I'm sorry but I busted out laughing my guts out when Steve started talking about this story. Just imagine that happening to you, lord knows I can imagine it because this is just my luck.

[@jacesullivan4563]

She should sue them back for aiding and abiding in criminal activity

[@CASE_of_ÆrTh]

"He didn't just kill the car! He killed it from every fookin angle."

[@denniscrannie1126]

Sounds like a conversion charge could be made.😮

[@charlesjames1442]

Being in possession of stolen property is a crime - last I heard.

[@gold98gtp]

I was adding a bedroom to my house back in 1998 and rented a storage unit for a few months to hold all the stuff going into the addition. My experience was the same as Steve's - one time I walked thru the gate without entering my code, and within a couple minutes of me opening the door on my unit the guy working there showed up to investigate the alarm that went off due to me not entering the code that would disable the alarm. This place has to be in on it.

[@featherrakka]

I spent several years flipping storage units bought at auction. From that experience I can tell you there is an opposite side to this story. It is very common for someone to buy an expensive car $30-$40k on loan and then fall behind on the payments. Imagine you've paid $25k on the loan and find yourself hiding from the repo man. Not wanting to let the bank take the car folks tend to hide the car in a rented storage unit. The law around this was crafted in such a way to balance the rights of the storage facility and the rights of the banks. The storage company is required to search the vin and notify the owner of the vehicle before the unit is auctioned, but is allowed to collect due rent to release the property. At the same time the bank can recover the vehicle and add the cost of storage to the debt they collect. Imagine you went to an auction and saw an expensive car in the unit. You bid $10k or more wanting that car only to find out someone else owns it. For that reason the law around storage unit auctions has some unique wording. Different by state, but generally they all say contents are transferred to the new owner "free of any encumberances" Once the auction has completed even if you had a lien on the title of a car it is no longer valid. The person who took the loan still owes the money but the lender can no longer collect the vehicle as collateral. The state will issue the auction winner a clear title. Banks are happy to pay $900 to retrieve a $30k car because they would lose the entire value if they didn't. This poor woman was just a victim of the situation. If they had called the police they would have impounded the car and she'd have paid the impound lot the $900 instead.

[@8000RPM.]

I've used storage units twice in my life. Both times, the unit was broken into and items were stolen. I now have a storage shed in my back yard.

[@donbangert]

Awful nice of the thief to leave her contact information in the vehicle.

[@anonemaus159]

My storage unit is in a facility that was bought by a national chain. The gate never works so they leave it open. The lights go out and don't get fixed. The cameras are on the same power. They cut staff, and the manager covers 6 facilities. She can only get to each facility once a week. Vacant units are left unlocked and unsealed. If someone knew her schedule, they'll have six days. And the rent is going up each year. From $118 to $221 in 4 years.

[@avengingemmapeel]

Let me guess: CubeSmart. What a freakin' racket.

[@kennethwiggins4396]

Would she have a chance of getting a judgment against the storage facility if she files a lawsuit?

[@josephwoehlerii2855]

If she did not sign the rental agreement then she is not responsible for the rent and when the storage facility claims ownership of the storage unit in order to sell off the contents for back rent they will be selling stolen property, catch 22!!!

[@christking85]

I don't understand how anybody in the world wouldn't have just called the cops.