Mayflower Properties LLC

My wife and I had used Town Centre Self Storage around five years ago and were very pleased with their service, rates, and promotional incentives, therefore, we did not question who we were going to use when we needed self storage. On July 31, 2010, we leased the first unit, number 925. It was a 10x10 temperature control unit for $148.00 per month. Because we had such a good promotional incentive the last time we leased with Town Centre Self Storage, we inquired about any current rental specials. Nezell was working that day and informed us that there really weren?t any move-in specials; however, there was an incentive of two free months if the unit was prepaid for one year. Because we did not know how long we were going to need the unit we asked her about the refund policy for any unused months. Nezell stated that the refund would be based on 14 months, for example, if we only needed the unit for six months then eight months would be refunded to us at the monthly rate of $148.00. We also asked if this was a common procedure; the reply she gave us was that it was very common and she just issued a refund to a customer the previous week. Prior to signing the contract and prepaying for one year, we read the contract and questioned section number two. Section two of the contract states ?REFUNDS ON RENT, FEES OR PAYMENTS OF ANY KIND WILL NOT BE GRANTED.? Nezell stated that this did not apply to a prepay, she further explained that section two of the contract explained the rental terms on a month-to-month basis, therefore, the section of the contact regarding the refund applied on a month-to-month basis. She further illustrated this by stating that if you were paying month-to-month and you paid for the month of August, then in September they would not be able to refund your August payment. Nezell conveyed herself with confidence and appeared to be very competent regarding the rules in the rental agreement. Based on the information we received that day, we decided to prepay and wrote out a check in the amount of $1,804.00. On October 16, 2010, I leased the second unit, number 711. It was a 10x10 non-temperature control unit for $128.00 per month. Nezell was also working that day and when I went into the office to lease another unit she inquired whether or not I wanted to prepay again. She explained that there would be one free month with a six month prepay. She called the corporate office and I prepaid the amount of $798.00 on the credit card. We received confirmation regarding acceptance of out-of-state employment for my wife, Cynthia. Therefore, we packed up our belongings in the storage units and on November 23, 2010, went to the office to inform them that we had moved out. Marinda Carr, the property manager at Town Centre Self Storage, checked us out of unit 925 and 711. When we inquired about the refund she stated that she would needed to contact the corporate office and verify the refund with them. She tried calling at that point in time, however, she was unable to reach the manager. I continued to call Marinda Carr, however, she stated that she was having difficulties contacting the corporate office due to Thanksgiving and holiday leave. She mentioned a refund in an approximant amount of $1,400.00, however, she was unable to explain how that figure was computed. When asked for a breakdown of the computation she referred me to Sheldon Badzin, the owner of Mayflower Properties, LLC. On December 7, 2010, my wife, Cynthia, contacted Sheldon. Sheldon stated that refunds were not standard operating procedure. He continued to say that because he was not there when units 925 and 711 were leased, there was nothing he could do until he heard from Nezell. He stated that the next step would be to contact Nezell regarding this issue and come to a consensus with her. Nezell and I talked a myriad of times regarding this issue. There was a lot of back-and-forth between Nezell and Sheldon, and Nezell and myself. Unit number 711 was less of an issue than unit number 925. It was agreed that there would be a refund in the amount of $512.00 for unit number 711. The amount was computed by four months times $128.00. There was documentation that Nezell called prior to the prepay and verified that any unused months would be refunded. The refund amount of $512.00 for unit number 711 was agreed upon by Sheldon, Nezell, and me. Unit number 925 is where the dispute has not been resolved to my satisfaction. Even though Nezell did not recall the conversation as described above on July 31, 2010, she did concede that it was probable that a refund of unused months would have been discussed because she set-up the second unit in the same manner. Nezell and I came to a mutual agreement that a fair and equable refund would be $1,182.00 for unit number 925. This calculation was determined by subtracting the four months that were used at a monthly rate $148.00 plus the application fee of $30.00 from the total charge of $1,804.00. However, Sheldon did not agree that the refund in the amount of $1,182.00 for unit number 925 was appropriate. Sheldon contended that the rental agreement covered his decision not to refund any money for unit 925. In addition, when the matter was pressed, he inferred that he would redact his previous decision to refund $512.00 for unit number 711. He stated that the best he could do would be to give me a gift certificate in the amount of $200.00 to be used at Mayflower Properties in lieu of the $1,182.00 for unit number 925. To date we have not received any refund. My wife and I prepaid in good faith with the understanding that any unused months would be refunded. My desired outcome is a total refund in the amount of $1,694.00 ($512.00 for unit 711 plus $1,182.00 for unit 925). I am currently unemployed and $1,694.00 is a lot of money to us.