Woman learns alarming lien texts stemmed from storage payment mistake

COLORADO SPRINGS, Colo. — A woman who recently moved from Colorado Springs to the East Coast was alarmed by text messages warning her storage unit was in lien status. She feared someone was targeting her, but the alerts were legitimate and triggered by a simple payment error that put years of belongings at risk.

Ronda Iliffe describes herself as a "sentimental hoarder" who left several U-Haul storage containers in Colorado Springs when she moved to the East Coast. The containers held precious memories, including items from her parents and from her marriage.

"It's hard for me to let go of things," Iliffe said. "There are certain things that have no value money wise but they have sentimental value."

In November, Iliffe thought her payments were covering the right containers. Instead, she accidentally paid twice for two boxes while two others went unpaid.

That's when she started getting text messages warning that her account was in lien status. But when she called the company, she got conflicting information.

"I was confused because the manager at the Woodmen location kept telling me 'they're not on lien status,'" Iliffe said. "He sent me an email, he sent me a message, [saying] 'they're not on lien status,' but then I talked with someone in their marketing department. They said they were."

Iliffe thought she was being swindled because she kept getting texts from an unknown number urging her to make payments to a U-Haul account.

But she wasn't involved in a fraud attempt.

U-Haul representative Jeff Lockridge tells News5 the texts came from a third-party company used to notify U-haul customers about delinquent accounts.

According to U-Haul, there was a misunderstanding about how Iliffe's payments were applied. After consumer reporter Kierra Sam reached out to U-Haul, a representative reviewed her account, explained the payment mix-up, and helped Iliffe get her lien status cleared.

"I feel relieved that we're back on track," Iliffe said. "You just have to really make sure you are on top of things and not just assume things are taken care of."

Customers can verify any alerts through their official account portal or by calling the company number listed on its website, according to Lockridge. The company will only contact customers about transactions related to their account, or if a person reaches out to the company first.

This article was written by KOAA News5 Consumer Reporter Kierra Sam. Have a story? Send an email to Kierra.sam@koaa.com

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