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Man Has Warning For Consumers After Storage Unit Is Burglarized

NEW YORK (CBSNewYork) -- Placing your valuables in a storage unit, you would expect them to be safe.

But as CBS2's Scott Rapoport reported Friday, a Brooklyn man who lost thousands of dollars in property has a warning for customers.

An angry Stephen Irizarry said the storage unit he is renting at Treasure Island Storage in Red Hook was broken into last week. He said he is now out thousands of dollars in stolen property.

"I was fuming," Irizarry said.

Irizarry said he received a call from the company on Thursday saying he left his unit open – which he flatly denies.

"They're definitely lying," he said.

And that was when Irizarry immediately went to check it out. He said the lock on the unit was missing and the door was wide open.

Gone were his high-end speaker system, three expensive remote-control cars, and an Xbox 1, among other things.

He said some from the company told him the equipment was probably boosted by a problem renter who had been evicted earlier in the week.

Even worse, Irizarry said he took out an insurance policy with the storage company, called Stor-Safe. It covers a lot of things, but it does not cover theft.

Still, insurance experts said for people like Irizarry, there is hope.

"Generally, your homeowners' or renters' insurance policy is going cover you for off-premises theft," said Michael Barry of the Insurance Information Institute.

The problem is that Irizarry said he canceled his homeowners' insurance policy a few months ago, because he is moving to Long Island with his wife and baby boy.

"What do you do?" he said. "You know, you don't expect to have your stuff get stolen."

Irizarry has filed a police report. CBS2 went to the storage facility to ask them about the incident.

The storage company did not want to comment on camera, but in a statement told CBS2 the issue has been brought to its attention and it is cooperating fully with detectives. There was no further comment.

Insurance experts said the takeaway for customers is this – make it your business to know what is in your policy, and keep your policy current.

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