Storage facility won’t release footage after theft of furniture

ON OCTOBER 12, 2016 we moved from the house we rented to stay with our family while waiting for the new house. We moved our furniture into a storage facility. The initial payment was R730, thereafter R600 per month.

I paid monthly instalments at the bank. In January last year, when I arrived at the storage to fetch items, the lock was missing and the door half open. All appliances, from the two-door fridge to microwave, were stolen. Only our beds and small things were left.

My storage was not far from the security gate which is manned 24 hours and cameras monitor every movement.

There was an emergency number which I called with no response. A security guard asked me to return the next day. The next day I went back. To my surprise I saw they had made a note on January 2 that the lock was missing, but they did not consult me or check the footage.

I asked them to release the footage, but they refused. I opened a case at Akasia police station. A forensic officer came and took fingerprints.

I stopped paying the storage for the remaining furniture, insisting they release the footage. They refused.

Eventually they sold the remaining stuff because of non-payment.

This means they stole my furniture. I was three months in arrears.

According to one of the guards, they suspect an inside job. That’s why they refused to show footage. A Makwela Georgie: I’m pursuing the matter with the owner of the facility.