Customers locked out as store rooms shut suddenly

Customers of a storage room complex which shut suddenly last week have been unable to access their belongings.

The Store Room on Whessoe Road, Darlington, was closed after the premises owners HDDL Limited went into administration. The Store Room itself is not in administration.

One user said they stored sentimental items there while renovating their house, while another said they had camping equipment for an upcoming holiday which they had been unable to access.

Appointed administrators KR8 Advisory Limited said it was dealing with a high volume of inquiries, and some customers had been granted access to their units from Monday and would be given further access this week.

At the weekend, customers arrived to find the doors locked and a sign put up saying to contact the administrators.

One, who did not want to be named, said there had been no proactive contact.

"It's disappointing that despite The Store Room not being in administration, they haven't actively tried to reach out and explain what's going on, the situation doesn't make sense," she said.

"It's got sentimental items such as my children's memory boxes," she added. "I need to be reassured, why am I paying for a service I'm not receiving?"

Administrators were appointed for HDDL Limited on 11 May.

KR8 Advisory said it was "reviewing the position of the company and exploring options in relation to the sale of its business and/or assets".

It said it had sought to secure the list of customers and details of who occupied each unit so access could be granted to ensure the correct owners accessed the correct lock-ups.

KR8 went on to say the stored items were safe in the meantime with "full insurance cover in place".

It added the contents of the lock-ups did not form part of the assets of the administration and the legal title remained with the lock-up owners.

The Store Room, which has sites across the county, did not reply to a request for comment.

It has taken the Darlington site off its website.

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