Hull candlemaker loses $30,000 in products after storage unit floods

A candlemaker in Hull, Massachusetts, is out tens of thousands of dollars after their storage unit was flooded. The company's owner said the storage facility didn't tell her what really happened for months. WBZ-TV set out to find answers.

Minot Candle ships out 80% of its product to retailers with the rest being sent directly to customers. Owner Kerry Kip kept all of her custom packaging materials in an Extra Space Storage unit in Cohasset. In August, she went to check out the packaging.

"There was a red lock on my storage unit, and I didn't understand why. I was like, I know I paid rent, so I am not locked out," said Kip.

Eventually, she was brought into the unit to assess the damage, saying there was roughly $30,000 in soggy, moldy products. 

"If this was the business year one or year two for me, this would have absolutely taken us out without a doubt," said Kip. "I called the store, whoever is working tells me a manager will call me back and it never happens. Emails, no response. I have even gone as far as to email the CEO, the head of marketing, the head of customer service. I get no response."

It turns out, her unit flooded. Reps for Extra Space Storage told WBZ-TV that it was only her unit that was impacted by a damaged sprinkler head. The company refutes Kip's claim, saying they did contact her.

"The sprinkler system is right above it," Kip said, pointing to a photo of a damaged box. "There were boxes on top of this as well, but this was like the last one and it still went all the way through, that is how hard the water was coming down."

In part of their statement to WBZ-TV, Extra Space Storage encouraged people to properly insure their valuables, adding that their insurance offering does cover water damage.

"I have business insurance, but I did decline the insurance through Extra Storage because their coverage was very minimal to what I was having stored in there. It didn't make sense to accept their insurance," explained Kip, saying the maximum financial coverage offered by Extra Space Storage did not fully cover the cost of what she had there. "To me, there was clear maintenance neglect, and they are not responding because they know what is going on."

Even if she were to get paid out by her insurance, there isn't enough time to get their custom packaging ready for the holiday season, which is their biggest moneymaker.

"Some of the candles may not have packaging, and maybe customers will understand that," Kip said.

At least now, she has some answers.