When you rent a storage unit, you do so with the assumption that the company in charge won’t let a family of raccoons move in and destroy or urinate on all of your belongings. The La Gambina family of Illinois thought so, at least, but they were quite wrong.

La Gambina’s tale began in March, when he rented a $119-per-month drive-up unit at the Public Storage facility in Lombard.

When he retrieved his items in May, a raccoon had given birth to a litter of five babies inside the storage unit. The animals laid waste to (and on) many of La Gambina’s belongings, chewing through electrical cords and gnawing on boxes.

“It looked like a war zone,” La Gambina said.

Public Storage initially promised to reimburse him for any damages that insurance didn’t cover, but later changed its mind, he said.

The insurance policy, offered by New Hampshire Insurance Co. through Public Storage, agreed to pay La Gambina only $250, citing a “vermin damage” clause. La Gambina said the damages exceed $4,000.”

Even after being contacted by the Chicago Tribune, the company has no intention of giving the La Gambina family any more money, and claims that they never promised the family reimbursement. Of course not.

Making this story even worse, all of the raccoon kits died after they sat in a humane trap with their mother at the storage facility for an extended period.

Raccoons infest storage unit, and company won’t pay for damage [Chicago Tribune]

(Photo: harlequeen)

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