Artist Tina So moved from Hong Kong to Vancouver two years ago and needed a storage locker for some paintings and family heirlooms.
She signed up with Sentinel Storage in Richmond, B.C., comforted by the promise of a state-of-the-art security system.
That confidence was shaken when So opened her storage unit in August.
“I couldn’t believe my eyes,” she told Go Public. “I double-checked the door. I thought I entered some other person’s locker.”
Her major artwork from the past ten years, other paintings she had collected, family tableware and other heirlooms — all were gone.
“The first thing I did was run to the lobby and tell them that something’s gone wrong!”
It was the beginning of a mystery So says should not be hard to solve, given that Sentinel Storage advertises that it is a gated property with round-the-clock security, video surveillance and individually coded access to doors and gates.
“You give everything that is valuable to them and there is no guarantee that they will keep it well,” said So.
Thousands of people across the country have put their personal belongings in public storage, creating a $9-billion industry in Canada according to a January report by research company IBISWorld.
At the same time, the pandemic has led to business closures and job losses, driving an increase in theft from self-storage facilities, says security expert Alex Vourkoutiotis, chief technology officer at Caliber Communications in Hamilton, a company that provides various types of corporate security.
“Mass layoffs cause theft increase. It’s an unfortunate byproduct, but it’s a reality,” Vourkoutiotis said.
Thieves left behind a handful of items, including a crack pipe which the RCMP retrieved for possible DNA analysis. (Submitted by Tina So)
There are no national statistics, but Vourkoutiotis says he and colleagues in the industry have noticed a definite spike in storage crime.
Theft attempts at facilities his company monitors have almost tripled — from 135 in 2020 to 348 in the first ten months of 2021.
A spokesperson for Sentinel Storage said no one was available for an interview to discuss So’s case, but sent a statement, saying the company was “sincerely sorry about the loss,” that security is “fundamental” to its service and that it works closely with law enforcement when theft has occurred.
Sentinel Storage is owned by the biggest player in Canada’s self-storage industry, Toronto-based Storage Vault, which gave So confidence when she signed up to rent a locker for about $175 a month, including a mandatory insurance policy that’s common in the industry.
“The building looked very secure,” said So. “And they advertised 24-hour surveillance. So I thought, ‘This is the place.'”
So and her husband visited the locker in March 2020.
Inside the Sentinel Storage facility in Richmond, B.C., where So mysteriously lost the entire contents of her storage locker. (Submitted by Tina So)
Because of the pandemic, the next time they checked was in August 2021 — when they discovered the theft. Company records said no one else had entered the locker.
When So first signed up with Sentinel, she was instructed to use a code on a keypad to open a sliding door.
She was told that each customer gets their own access code and that her code was the last seven digits of her phone number.
“They did not tell us that we can change it,” said So.
Using a personal phone number for an access code can be a security issue, says Vourkoutiotis, because anyone who knows you or can see a customer’s number in the system will know the code.
“We recommend against that,” he said. Still, he says, storage companies often do it “because managing the code system becomes difficult.”
The RCMP constable who investigated says Sentinel Storage did not have video surveillance of the theft. (Submitted by Tina So)
The padlock on the locker appeared to be untampered and the door was not jimmied. The walls and ceiling of the storage unit were intact.
None of it makes sense to So.
“It’s not a Houdini box,” she said, referring to famous escape artist Harry Houdini.
Insurance policies switched
Even more perplexing, a Sentinel employee had erroneously cancelled her obligatory $5,000 insurance policy, and placed another customer’s $2-million policy under her account.
It was a “clerical error” Sentinel admits, but visible to anyone who had access to the internal system, prompting So to wonder if it may have piqued interest in the contents of her locker.
Adding to her frustration, So says Sentinel Storage refused to answer many of her questions — so she posted her experience on Facebook and other platforms, calling the company “totally unreliable, negligent and not trustworthy.”
This 2013 painting by So, titled Into the Storm, is one of many artworks stolen from her locker. (Submitted by Tina So)
Others have shared similar stories, about storage companies big and small, including those owned by Sentinel. Dale Ladoon of Edmonton says his Sentinel locker was broken into last month, but the company didn’t let him know for three days.
“Basically, Sentinel did not help at all,” he writes in an online review on Trustpilot.
Rob McNeill writes on Google Reviews that his Lethbridge, Alta., locker was broken into in May and there were “items stolen, no follow up.”
Lily Love also posts on Google Reviews that her Sentinel locker in Coquitlam, B.C., was broken into in March and “they didn’t contact me about it ’til four months later!”
Sentinel said it couldn’t comment on unhappy customers “to maintain the integrity of ongoing investigations.”
The missing video
Most storage facilities have security cameras and advertise their surveillance as a selling point. Sentinel wouldn’t tell Go Public whether it has any video footage of So’s theft and said it couldn’t reveal how long footage is stored, so as not to compromise any security features.
But the RCMP constable investigating So’s case told her that Sentinel does not have any video of the theft.
WATCH | Cherished belongings disappear from storage locker:
Cherished belongings stolen from self-storage despite security claims | Go Public
11 hours ago
A Vancouver woman who kept cherished belongings in a self-storage facility is frustrated after her items were stolen despite promises of 24-hour security. Experts say storage theft has become a growing problem during the pandemic. 2:11
“It’s very disappointing,” said So. “The whole purpose of having 24-hour surveillance cameras is to use it when something happens. It’s not a prop.”
The strongest protection from theft comes when those cameras are monitored around the clock by a third-party surveillance company, says Vourkoutiotis — which is what his company does for industries ranging from self-storage to auto dealerships to utilities.
“If you don’t have an active, monitored system, then you run the risk of just going in after the fact and perusing video footage — that may or may not exist — to determine what happened or maybe who did it,” he said.
Go Public randomly called 20 public storage facilities, from Victoria to St. John’s, to ask about video surveillance. The locations are owned by the country’s 10 largest storage companies — including StorageVault, U-Haul, StorageMart, Public Storage and Apple Self Storage — to ask about video surveillance.
All the companies said they use security cameras. Some only use cameras at the entrance/exit to a facility, others had cameras inside, at the loading bays and down corridors.
Security expert Alex Vourkoutiotis says video surveillance footage is often only kept for four to six weeks. (Keith Burgess/CBC)
None of the employees could say how long the video footage from those cameras is stored — some guessing “a few months,” others suggesting it might be available “for years.”
None of the companies employed third-party monitoring of their premises and none said the cameras were watched 24/7, the employees said.
“If they don’t have a monitored system, but you are interested in using their services, I would find out what kind of procedures they put in place to ensure that the camera system stays operational,” said Vourkoutiotis.
“And at least understand how long they store footage.” Because most places he’s aware of don’t save video footage longer than four to six weeks, Vourkoutiotis recommends customers check in on their storage units once a month.
Sentinel said it will honour So’s original insurance policy and that she can file a claim — as long as she provides receipts for the stolen items.
“Which is kind of bizarre,” said So. “You don’t save your receipts on your family heirlooms.”
She’s patiently waiting for the results of the police investigation, but is losing hope that anything will come of it. In the meantime, So has contacted local art galleries and provided photos of some of her stolen artwork.
She’s offering a $5,000 reward for any information that will help solve the theft. “I want to find out the truth,” she said. “What happened is heartbreaking and devastating.”
So says she was told to use the last seven digits of her phone number to access the area with her storage locker. A security expert says that’s poor protection. (Erica Johnson/CBC)
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TORONTO – Roots Corp. may have built its brand on all things comfy and cosy, but its CEO says activewear is now “really becoming a core part” of the brand.
The category, which at Roots spans leggings, tracksuits, sports bras and bike shorts, has seen such sustained double-digit growth that Meghan Roach plans to make it a key part of the business’ future.
“It’s an area … you will see us continue to expand upon,” she told analysts on a Friday call.
The Toronto-based retailer’s push into activewear has taken shape over many years and included several turns as the official designer and supplier of Team Canada’s Olympic uniform.
But consumers have had plenty of choice when it comes to workout gear and other apparel suited to their sporting needs. On top of the slew of athletic brands like Nike and Adidas, shoppers have also gravitated toward Lululemon Athletica Inc., Alo and Vuori, ramping up competition in the activewear category.
Roach feels Roots’ toehold in the category stems from the fit, feel and following its merchandise has cultivated.
“Our product really resonates with (shoppers) because you can wear it through multiple different use cases and occasions,” she said.
“We’ve been seeing customers come back again and again for some of these core products in our activewear collection.”
Her remarks came the same day as Roots revealed it lost $5.2 million in its latest quarter compared with a loss of $5.3 million in the same quarter last year.
The company said the second-quarter loss amounted to 13 cents per diluted share for the quarter ended Aug. 3, the same as a year earlier.
In presenting the results, Roach reminded analysts that the first half of the year is usually “seasonally small,” representing just 30 per cent of the company’s annual sales.
Sales for the second quarter totalled $47.7 million, down from $49.4 million in the same quarter last year.
The move lower came as direct-to-consumer sales amounted to $36.4 million, down from $37.1 million a year earlier, as comparable sales edged down 0.2 per cent.
The numbers reflect the fact that Roots continued to grapple with inventory challenges in the company’s Cooper fleece line that first cropped up in its previous quarter.
Roots recently began to use artificial intelligence to assist with daily inventory replenishments and said more tools helping with allocation will go live in the next quarter.
Beyond that time period, the company intends to keep exploring AI and renovate more of its stores.
It will also re-evaluate its design ranks.
Roots announced Friday that chief product officer Karuna Scheinfeld has stepped down.
Rather than fill the role, the company plans to hire senior level design talent with international experience in the outdoor and activewear sectors who will take on tasks previously done by the chief product officer.
This report by The Canadian Press was first published Sept. 13, 2024.
VANCOUVER – Mediated talks between the union representing HandyDART workers in Metro Vancouver and its employer, Transdev, are set to resume today as a strike that has stopped most services drags into a second week.
No timeline has been set for the length of the negotiations, but Joe McCann, president of the Amalgamated Transit Union Local 1724, says they are willing to stay there as long as it takes, even if talks drag on all night.
About 600 employees of the door-to-door transit service for people unable to navigate the conventional transit system have been on strike since last Tuesday, pausing service for all but essential medical trips.
Hundreds of drivers rallied outside TransLink’s head office earlier this week, calling for the transportation provider to intervene in the dispute with Transdev, which was contracted to oversee HandyDART service.
Transdev said earlier this week that it will provide a reply to the union’s latest proposal on Thursday.
A statement from the company said it “strongly believes” that their employees deserve fair wages, and that a fair contract “must balance the needs of their employees, clients and taxpayers.”
This report by The Canadian Press was first published Sept. 12, 2024.
MONTREAL – Travel company Transat AT Inc. reported a loss in its latest quarter compared with a profit a year earlier as its revenue edged lower.
The parent company of Air Transat says it lost $39.9 million or $1.03 per diluted share in its quarter ended July 31.
The result compared with a profit of $57.3 million or $1.49 per diluted share a year earlier.
Revenue in what was the company’s third quarter totalled $736.2 million, down from $746.3 million in the same quarter last year.
On an adjusted basis, Transat says it lost $1.10 per share in its latest quarter compared with an adjusted profit of $1.10 per share a year earlier.
Transat chief executive Annick Guérard says demand for leisure travel remains healthy, as evidenced by higher traffic, but consumers are increasingly price conscious given the current economic uncertainty.
This report by The Canadian Press was first published Sept. 12, 2024.
