Long term storage – damage caused by moths

[GregMac]

Afternoon chaps. A very quick one I hope you can help with:

My brother put the contents of his flat into long term storage with a major removals firm prior to going into the Navy, and after five years has finally had it delivered to his new address, where we unloaded it at the weekend. After opening the crate it quickly became clear that a number of rugs and other items had been destroyed by moths – the box was full of their larvae, as well as both dead and living moths.

In this situation, does the removals firm bear responsibility for the damaged goods? We're yet to hear back from them and are currently under the (perhaps deluded) assumption that, for £100 per month, they should ensure the facility is free of pests and vermin.

[civicduty]

I am about to put some stuff into storage, and I need to personally insure it (either through the storage company or my own insurance). Did your brother not have some form of insurance in place?

[Monty Python]

GregMac said:

Afternoon chaps. A very quick one I hope you can help with:

My brother put the contents of his flat into long term storage with a major removals firm prior to going into the Navy, and after five years has finally had it delivered to his new address, where we unloaded it at the weekend. After opening the crate it quickly became clear that a number of rugs and other items had been destroyed by moths – the box was full of their larvae, as well as both dead and living moths.

In this situation, does the removals firm bear responsibility for the damaged goods? We're yet to hear back from them and are currently under the (perhaps deluded) assumption that, for £100 per month, they should ensure the facility is free of pests and vermin.

How can you be sure they weren't present before you put them in storage? It's only the combination of light and regular cleaning that keeps them under control in a house. If you want to store wool for a long time then the only guaranteed way is to put them into air-tight containers.

[BOF]

Miths?

A Shot in the Dark - Moths - YouTube

Have a look

[JustinP1]

GregMac said:

for £100 per month, they should ensure the facility is free of pests and vermin.

Does the contract say that for £100 a month they will ensure the facility is free of moths?

That's where your answer is.

[TooMany2cvs]

GregMac said:

...for £100 per month, they should ensure the facility is free of pests and vermin.

Which is great until the unit next to yours has some stuff put in there, which turns out to import some moths to the unit.

Or, just as likely, which was great for the unit next to yours, until your stuff was put in there, and turned out to have moths in it...

[untakenname]

I wouldn't have thought the storage would be moth free, the only way to prevent moth damage is to use one of those vacuum packaging that you put the clothes into and then connect to a hoover.

[mcflurry]

On a side tangent - was the stuff worth paying £6000 to store?

An old colleague of mine ended up paying AUD4000 odd to store an old CRT telly and sofa in Australia, as never got round to sorting it