ST. ANN, Mo. — Don Early’s St. Ann storage unit is a collector’s dream. But Early says this dream is an absolute nightmare.
“Buildings have been leaking for several years, and they keep saying they’re going to fix it, but they haven’t fixed it yet,” said Early. He says the leaks are so bad that he resorted to putting a pair of 35-gallon trashcans on a walk board to catch the water. “We have a siphon hose. That’s how we drain the water coming out of this facility.”
And there’s more trouble ahead.
“There’s a big bubble sitting up there. That’s approximately, maybe, ten gallons of water just being stretched up inside there, ready to burst. It drips,” said Early.
Next door, Jeremy Leavitt shared a video of his own water woes. A leaking gutter, causing water to spread under the door due to a worn weather seal and water is collecting in buckets from a leaking roof.
“I don’t know what else to do. I’ve emailed them. I’ve texted. I’ve called multiple people and there’s nothing anyone seems willing to do,” said Leavitt.
Both men say their rent keeps increasing at Public Storage’s facility on North Lindbergh, but the customer service has decreased.
“A lot of money for very little help,” said Leavitt.
“I don’t sleep. It’s beyond frustrating. I’ve got other situations I’m dealing with, but this is at the top of the list,” said Early.
FOX 2 went to the rental office to get some answers, but despite a sign stating the door is to remain open during business hours, it was locked, and no one was inside.
“This whole building has been neglected and every other unit has issues too,” said Leavitt.
“They should have your stuff well protected, and my stuff was neglected in every aspect,” said Early.
After FOX 2 visited the rental office, they contacted Public Storage’s corporate headquarters. While Fox 2 has yet to get a response from Public Storage, less than 24 hours after reaching out, Leavitt and Early say a district manager called to tell them that crews would be out to inspect the roof and other issues with the property.
FOX 2 will continue to follow this story and bring you any updates.
