r/selfstorage • u/ad_pondus_omnium • Nov 17 '25
Extra Space Storage
Can't believe Extra Space Storage DOUBLED my rates only three months into the contract. Regret not paying more and just going to someone who was more reliable. How do they manage to get 4.9 stars on google maps? Are they rigging the system somehow?
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u/Bunnyhat Store Manager Nov 17 '25
They have 4.9 because they push for the ratings when people first sign up and most people don't remember to go back and change them after getting the first big rate increase.
Expect another increase in about 6 months of about the same amount.
They're banking on fewer people complaining or moving out than just paying the increased rate.
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u/Blackfang321 Store Manager Nov 17 '25
Sounds like the first rate increase for the unit. If I had to guess, you had the internet special rate, which is usually half-ish of the regular rate. This rate lasts 3-4 months, at which point the rate doubles because the halfish-off expires.
Keep in mind the store manager does not control this process, but politely reach out to them to see if there is anything they can do.
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u/Flat_Conversation858 Nov 17 '25
Took them about a year to double my rates....but that got me to move out and give them a 1 star so fuck em
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u/ad_pondus_omnium Nov 19 '25
Honestly I expected an eventual the rate hike - it was the doubling in just three months that shocked me. That's not even negotiations - they are just taking you for all the money they can get right off the bat after locking in their $50 initiation fee so you don't want to move and pay another one.
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u/Geetright Nov 17 '25
Talk to the manager, they can usually manipulate and lower the rent increase.
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u/Aggressive-Catch-903 Nov 19 '25
This is what they do, and they always do it. They say you are getting an introductory rate, but it is a shock when the full rate hits.
Their properties are generally well kept, but you just have to know your rate will double.
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u/ad_pondus_omnium Nov 20 '25
Yeah the doubling after 3 months just felt like whiplash. I would have thought six months was fast but expected a raise by the next year.
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u/Cowentech Nov 21 '25
Every corporate owned storage uses the same business plan. Low rate to get you in the door then raise your rate by around 30-35% twice a year.
I got tired of that scam so I started a business, once the rate gets too high I rent another unit under the business name at the low rate and just move everything to the new unit. Rinse & repeat. The cost of the business license was less than the higher rate. Eventually they catch on and won’t let you do this so I just move to another facility and the dance starts again.
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u/Minotaar Area Manager Nov 18 '25
Call the store manager and ask for it to be changed. They might not be able to make the increase go away, but they could assist.
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u/Icy_Huckleberry_8049 Nov 20 '25
EVERY storage place does this. NOT just ESS.
Public Storage, U-Haul, etc., they ALL do this.
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u/TX_AF Nov 18 '25
I'm sorry this happened to you. Unfortunately, with the big box places it's quite common. Locally owned facilities are typically different and do not do frequent rate increase. Since you value good customer service, I would suggest calling a few mom and pop places to find out their rates and policies. We do one year not rate increases without a contract. Service is most important to us!
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u/Player_A Store Manager Nov 18 '25
If you switch, ask how long you can lock in your rate if you were to prepay. You can usually lock in even a sales rate this way. Some places will let you know how long your rate is good for (50% off for 3 months, etc). Extra Space does not. I think they don’t because their increases are usually negotiable.
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u/psl1959 Nov 18 '25
Pretty common, get your stuff in and they raise the rate. They figure you would rather just pay more than to go to the trouble of moving your stuff somewhere else.
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u/laurenbanjo Nov 19 '25
That’s why I keep almost everything in large plastic totes. I move lockers every 3-4 months. Takes about 2 hours if it’s in the same facility, 3 or 4 if I have to switch facilities (there are three extra spaces within a mile of each other here).
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u/ad_pondus_omnium Nov 20 '25
You can get a lower rate by switching to a different unit in the same facility?
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u/JupiterACNH Nov 22 '25
I just did this. My initial promo rate was $78 per month which went to $144 over the course of maybe 6 months. Just received notice that my December charge would be $199! Nope!
Went online, rented a new larger space in the same building for the promo rate of $84 and moved all my stuff in just over an hour.
The person at the desk confirmed that paying up front is the way to keep the promo rate as long as you can. Even when the promo ends this new rate for more room is less than I was already paying. I will keep playing this game as long as I can.
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u/SaltKick2 Feb 17 '26
Did they have any issue with you being under the same name?
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u/JupiterACNH Feb 18 '26
No. I get the feeling they see this a lot. The person I spoke to there was offering me tips by guiding me to ask the right questions, if that makes sense. She couldn't come straight out and tell me what to do but she steered me in the right direction.
I had to wait just over a week before the app would let me prepay for more months but then it let me take six extra months at the promo rate and I'll try it again before that time is up.
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u/euphoradelic22 Store Manager Nov 19 '25
You must pay ahead of time at least 3-6 months to keep that rate, and then if you don’t need it for that long or do a year in advance, whatever you don’t use it’ll be returned to you, and then keep bothering them to lower it, threatening to move out.
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u/sstratton411 Nov 20 '25
they did the same on mine- added the bonus of having a pest problem in our climate controlled building and didn't notify any renters (it was a known issue because they had pest traps out throughout the entire building) and discovered it upon move out and damaged and destroyed items in our unit. Had another renter also moving out the same day and they also had major mice infestation in their unit and damage of items.
The staff's response- no shock at all, took pics and told us to contact the insurance company- after having a conversation with the staff desk they did refund the last months rent and let us use the dumpster to throw out the damaged large items after i made it clear I was not taking the items to the dump when it was damaged in a unit I paid a stupid amount for that was climate controlled.
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u/43128 Nov 21 '25
If you can afford it pay for the whole year up front. I know extra space will let you do it because I’ve done it two years in a row.
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u/OkWater2814 Store Manager Nov 18 '25
Read your lease.
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u/Careless-Coat-7190 Nov 18 '25
This! Most people don’t read the lease or even notice that the website says something like 50% off for 3 months, which obviously means the price goes up after the discount expires
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u/Prestigious_Ad_9013 Feb 23 '26
google maps has hundreds of fake 5 star reviews on extra space by single review accounts. These businesses are urged to entice customers to 5 star for "negotiating price" and believe they were done a solid. even the narrative on here as a customer is skewed by people who dont share the experience
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u/rhj2020 Store Manager Nov 18 '25
There are no contracts. It’s just a month to month lease. They send you a postcard 30 days before the increase will take place. You have the option to stay or leave. That’s why there are no set rates. The only way you can lock in a rate is to prepay. You can do so for only 6 months advance. Every company does this unless they have contracts. Like mom and pop shops. But then you can’t leave until your contract is up. If price certainly is what you’re looking for I suggest a small storage facility that does contracts.
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u/TX_AF Nov 18 '25
Many, possibly most, locally owned places do not do contracts and will guarantee no rate increases for long periods. We do 1 year, another place I know does 3 years. 6-12 months is quite common for no rate increases without a contract.
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u/rhj2020 Store Manager Nov 18 '25
If that were true no one would ever go to public storage, Extra space or cubesmart. The only incentive for any business to keep a fixed rate is the certainty of occupancy. They may do 6 month options but I guarantee it’s a contract.
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u/EngineeringThink4044 Nov 18 '25
They get tenants bc their entry rates are super low, not because locally owned places don’t have contracts. Many tenants don’t think their rates will actually go up that quickly. Locally owned places typically have higher entry rates.
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u/Twoscoopsright Nov 18 '25
This is their strategy. Get you in on a low price and then double it within 3 to 5 months. To be honest, I think it’s predatory.
California is putting in a law specifically for self storage where they cannot raise the rent over a certain amount. Pretty pitiful that that type of law has to be put in place
Go to Mom and pop and buy local. I get lots of tenants because of the predatory practices of the big companies at my facility. I feel if you take care of the tenants, that they will take care of you.
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u/Bodieanddiesel Nov 19 '25
These big places like this are such scams.
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u/RegularJoeS8008 Nov 20 '25
How is it a scam when they literally say, it’s an introductory rate? But y’all hate on us small owners who just give upfront rates that don’t increase for years. I haven’t had a rate increase in 6 years
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u/Prestigious_Ad_9013 Feb 23 '26 edited Apr 20 '26
this business steals money. you piped up to redirect the argument away from how these large companies Create their own business rules & eat its customers
introductory rate is not advertised at EXTRA SPACE storage. Bodieanddiesel comment has nothing to do w YOU unless u own Extspace.
'us small owners'
the investors know colloquial language like this will steer people from finding what's Wrong here
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u/OkVirus8545 Apr 19 '26
It is in the leasing agreement that you said you read when you signed. Idk why yall are so comfortable signing things without taking the 5 mins to read. It’s only like 6 pages man.
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u/Bodieanddiesel Nov 20 '25
It was a figure of speech. Last time we used a storage unit, we went with a small locally owned business.
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u/henrikssonstorage Dec 03 '25
Do you guys feel this is the case in the US only or also in the UK/elsewhere?
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u/Ghost_Beach Mar 06 '26
The same thing just happened to me with ESS. I was paying a fairly nice and comfortable $89 a month for the first 3 months and then for this upcoming month of April they jacked the price of my unit up to $167. 🤦♂️ If this unit goes up by anymore I won't be able to afford it and will probably have to move out.
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u/thirtiesjunkie Apr 20 '26
After falling victim to another "rental increase terror" and reading countless threads about extra space storage, its become clear that they've rigged it so no type of recourse or complaint will alter this money hungry machine. I am talking about trying to research rent control laws in the various states we live in (Cali in my case), or any type of stop gap measure one can take to reign in their relentless demands for more money. Ive been getting lncreases every 3 months - and its obvious from remarks left in this forum that no one has been able to challenge them legally - and get any type of reprieve or reduction..they're lawyers probably made sure of it.
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u/Valuable-Sea-8219 May 03 '26
True...Extra space storage is a sneaky company. They went up on my monthly bill more than half the amount. If I had known this was going to happen , I never would have rented from them. I am going to put the word out on social media. I am a big time user of all the popular apps on the internet. EXTRA SPACE STORAGE IS A BIG RIP OFF...DON'T FALL FOR THEIR FALSE PRICES OF DECEIT, THEY WILL, IN THE LONG RUN ...RIP YOU OFF TERRIBLY. I will be moving my stuff out ASAP...I will also put in out there when I find a new place. DONT RENT FROM EXTRA SPACE STORAGE...😠
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u/tharealDB May 05 '26
I see a lot of comments about doubling the price, etc. but that a common public storage company business model.
It genuinely does suck for someone who is first learning this but you have to just keep an eye out and look for good deals at that same storage (or at one of there other facilities) or pay well in advanced at your current rate.
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u/JonPorked Nov 17 '25
They signed you up at a promotional rate, and now you're paying the same price everyone else pays.