Following roof collapse at Aurora storage facility, some 1-800-PACK-RAT customers begin to receive containers

Many 1-800-PACK-RAT customers who have been waiting weeks or even more than a month are finally receiving their belongings.

CBS Colorado reporter Olivia Young recently learned about a roof collapse at an Aurora storage facility that made it so an unknown number of moving and storage customers were unable to access their belongings.

After that story, more than 20 people reached out to Young to share their experiences with 1-800-PACK-RAT, and customers have started a group to share information.

"I don't know Olivia, if you remember, but the kitchen cabinets last time had nothing in them, they were completely bare," Debbie Tecca said while leading CBS Colorado reporter Olivia Young around her basement apartment, now fully furnished.

Tecca's house finally looks like a home.

"It's amazing. It feels like home. Finally, sleeping on an air mattress in an empty room was not home," Tecca said.

When Young first spoke with her last month, the 1-800-PACK-RAT container holding everything she had hadn't been delivered to her new Castle Rock home as scheduled, after a roof collapse at their Aurora facility.

"That was my desperation call," Tecca said.

Since then, Debbie has connected with dozens of other customers in the same boat.

"It felt really lonely. You felt like you were the only person in the world who was going through this. So once the story came out, and once people started reaching out, it was amazing to just be able to connect with people and share stories, and hear people saying the same thing that I was saying," Tecca said.

On Sept. 13, the first of the customers CBS Colorado is in contact with were able to pick up or receive their containers.

Last week, after a month of waiting, on Tecca's birthday, her things finally arrived.

"Huge relief just to know it was here. I didn't actually believe it until I walked outside and checked the ID number," Tecca said. "There was a few tears as I stood there and watched him take the truck off."

Now her home is full, and she can finally start her next chapter living with her daughter and granddaughters.

"The girls, they feel more comfortable coming down here and chatting with grandma and doing whatever we do and that kind of stuff. So it feels home. It feels like it should have a month ago," said Tecca.

But at least two other customers tell CBS Colorado their containers arrived damaged, and at least four others are still waiting for their containers.

Some customers say PACK-RAT offered them compensation, but Tecca wasn't offered anything, other than a refund on a storage fee that she was wrongly charged while unable to access her belongings.

"It's the worst customer service I've ever experienced in my life," Tecca said. "I can't imagine, no matter if you're a CEO or a call center rep, that as a human being, you can't understand what the situation means to people who basically lost everything and don't know if they're ever going to get it back."

She's still frustrated by how 1-800-PACK-RAT handled the roof collapse, and says there was poor communication and organization from the company.

"Anything that I wanted to know I had to initiate. That meant sitting on hold on their 1-800 line, sometimes for over an hour to get through," Tecca said. "Not answering our phone calls, not answering our questions, just leaving us hanging."

But today she has her things, and a rat-pack of others, who share her experience.

"You have to be able to get in contact with other people that are going through the same thing. You can't do this alone. I just would have given up," Tecca said.

The 1-800-PACK-RAT facility's property manager, Cushman & Wakefield, provided CBS Colorado with this statement: 

On August 19, we were made aware of a forklift accident involving our tenant that occurred in 1-800 PACK-RAT's space at 21250 E. 36th Drive, which resulted in structural damage and a partial rooftop collapse. Due to the extent of the damage, the municipality deemed the space unsafe to enter. It is our priority to ensure the space is secure and essential repairs are completed.

On September 11th, we have introduced an alternative entry point to allow contractors to retrieve containers. Approximately 250 containers have now been removed from the facility, with ongoing efforts to clear out those that remain. Our team continues to work closely with the tenant and City officials to identify and complete all necessary repairs, with the goal of restoring the property to a safe and occupiable condition as soon as possible.

But the city of Aurora tells CBS Colorado they have not received any permit applications for the site, other than the one for emergency shoring from a few weeks back that allowed the containers to be accessed. As of Monday, a large hole remained in the facility's roof.