John I.

Warning

In 2015 a friend of mine rented a storage unit at the Storage Mart location in Elgin IL located on Rt 59. He lives in Asia. He returned in July of 2022 to do two things: First, he had a buyer from Ohio who was going to purchase about 50K worth of antiques he had stored there and Second, he intended to move the rest of his items to another location as the rental costs had skyrocketed there.

He was picked up at the Chicago airport by a friend and immediately proceeded to the storage unit to pick up the items and take them to his hotel. His buyer was due in the next afternoon. The items were wrapped in bubble wrap and in plastic containers. He had two lists of the agreed upon items for purchase and as he began to unwrap them and check off the list, he discovered about two dozen items were not in the containers.

He was totally freaked out and went back to the storage unit the next morning only to discover that he had been robbed. Someone had broken in to the unit. Close to 10K of the items on the lists were stolen and about another 10K-15K of antiques that he might have sold to the customer were also stolen.

The customer came in the next afternoon and was quite upset that the items she agreed to purchase had been stolen. It can be easily verified that this took place.

In addition to those items he estimates that another 10K-15K worth of camera equipment. Paintings. Indian pottery, golf clubs and a 3 piece stereo system plus other misc items were stolen.

He immediately contacted the manager of the storage mart and was told someone would contact him. Someone called him two days later and was told to fill out a loss form which he did. He was told someone would contact him again. No one did for ten days. A week later after no one had contacted him he reached out again and finally was able to speak with a rep of the company and was told they would get back to him.

In speaking with the person named Beka Doll he suggested that it had to be an inside job. She stated with no proof that that was not possible. Here is why in my view it is more than probably someone inside broke in to his unit.

First of all, in order to get inside the gate you need a code to punch in. No one except my friend had the code. The Storage Mart verified that no one used the code between 2015 when he rented the unit and July of 2022 when he returned from Asia where he lives. One would also have to believe that this person or persons who were on cameras walked thru the gate behind another car, then entered the building and took the second floor elevator, walk down four different aisles again all the while with cameras taping him and randomly chose to break in to the farthest unit from the elevator without having any idea what was in it. And with all the items taken he would have needed a flat bed to use which there are at least two on the main floor. Then he would have to take the elevator back down to the first floor, exit thru the garage door and he then would need the code number to exit the gate and then put all the stolen goods in his truck or car all the while again while cameras are taping him.

Does anyone believe this scenario? Of course not. My friend asked Ms Doll how many break ins there have been between 2015 and 2022 and she refused to answer. He asked how many employees left or were fired and again she refused to answer.

There is only one other possible scenario which on its face is also ridiculous. And that would be that the renters either side of the unit took 2 ten foot ladders (one to climb up and another to put in the other unit to climb down) and steal the items. The units are not covered so it is possible and renters need to know that the units are not totally protected. But again they would be on cameras and tape.

But here is the problem with the cameras. According to the manager the camera tapes are erased after two days. Wow. There are only two people who knew I lived in Asia. The manager he rented the unit from in 2015 and the current manager.

And you have to ask why bother to have camera's if you don't look at the tapes?

I think it is pretty obvious what happened here. But it gets worse. My friend left the US after one week but before he left he, along with his friend went to the office and told the manager that he was leaving for Asia the next day and that someone would be looking at some items that were left in the unit to maybe purchase but that all items would be removed by the end of the month. The unit was paid in full up to the end of the month because the manager refused to pro rate a daily rate. So the guy knew my friend was leaving the next day.

A few days later the movers he hired could not get in the unit because the manager had locked him out. They illegally put another lock on the unit. They were not asked to do so nor were they authorized to do so. They broke the law.

So the movers had to come back a second time. My friend left on July 12th and he thinks they put a lock on July 12th.

But it gets worse. My friend received a letter from the manager on September 15th in Asia. The letter was written on July 20th and sent on July 26th.

Here is what the letter says:

Dear Tenant,

"You are hereby given notice that on July 20th, 2022 your unit has been overlocked with out disc lock. In order to provide additional security. Stop in the office to pick up the keys.

Sincerely

Emil Goldowski

So, this guy knew my friend left on July 12th for Asia, waits another week to put a lock on the unit for no reason, locking the movers out, writes a letter to my friend on July 20th but waits until July 26th to mail it and tells him to pick up the keys at the office. My friend gets the letter on Sept 15th almost two months after the end of his contract. How stupid are these people? Clearly, not very professional.

I think it is pretty clear the thief/thieves knew my friend was not around to catch them in the act and that the tapes would be erased immediately. When you add the fact that the manager put a lock on his unit he knows there is a thief from the inside (or he is covering up the obvious). Either way renters need to know that their units are not secure, that there have probably been multiple break ins they don't want people to know about and by putting another lock on his unit they know the thieves are still active at that location.

By the way, there are much cheaper units in both Algonquin and East Dundee.

Hello,
Your company, Aliexpress is a $#*!ing joke. I placed 5 orders on Nov 15th and when I went to track them the next day all the orders were missing on the website. I paid by credit card and my bank sent the money.

Postscript. After a week of trying I figured out how to reach a customer service rep online only after calling Alibaba's home office.They own Aliexpress. But the lady I spoke with lied to me. There is no "real person' to talk to. It is a robot. Here is the full online chat record. If the person I spoke with is a real person she is the dumbest person on earth.

The history is on Nov 15th I placed 5 orders with Aliexpress. I paid by Credit Card. The bank sent them my money. The next day all the orders were deleted from the website. I sent them dozens of emails and place two phone calls to Alibaba corporate.
This is how their chat with a "real person" went. First though I typed in what my issue was. The idiot I spoke with at Corporate told me to keep typing in my issue. My issue was not one of the options presented but I finally decided to click on one of them and as you will see I did get a "real person" online. Here is how it went.
I want to talk to a real person

You can click on the question below or describe the problem you are experiencing and send it to me. I will help you solve it:)
What if I have not received my goods?
When will I receive refund?
I want to cancel my order
The goods received are not as described
I want to talk to a real person

You can click on the question below or describe the problem you are experiencing and send it to me. I will help you solve it:)
What if I have not received my goods?
When will I receive refund?
I want to cancel my order
The goods received are not as described
I want to talk to a real person

You can click on the question below or describe the problem you are experiencing and send it to me. I will help you solve it:)
What if I have not received my goods?
When will I receive refund?
I want to cancel my order
The goods received are not as described
I want to talk to a real person

You can click on the question below or describe the problem you are experiencing and send it to me. I will help you solve it:)
What if I have not received my goods?
When will I receive refund?
I want to cancel my order
The goods received are not as described
I want to talk to a real person

You can click on the question below or describe the problem you are experiencing and send it to me. I will help you solve it:)
What if I have not received my goods?
When will I receive refund?
I want to cancel my order
The goods received are not as described
I want to talk to a real person

You can click on the question below or describe the problem you are experiencing and send it to me. I will help you solve it:)
What if I have not received my goods?
When will I receive refund?
I want to cancel my order
The goods received are not as described
I want to talk to a real person

You can click on the question below or describe the problem you are experiencing and send it to me. I will help you solve it:)
What if I have not received my goods?
When will I receive refund?
I want to cancel my order
The goods received are not as described
I must speak with an agent

You can click on the question below or describe the problem you are experiencing and send it to me. I will help you solve it:)
What if I have not received my goods?
When will I receive refund?
I want to cancel my order
The goods received are not as described
I need a real person to speak with

You can click on the question below or describe the problem you are experiencing and send it to me. I will help you solve it:)
What if I have not received my goods?
When will I receive refund?
I want to cancel my order
The goods received are not as described
What if I have not received my goods?
I can't find the order
Sign in all your accounts to search this order on order list.
Still can not find it. Try below steps:
Click here to locate right account with your order. You will get login ID and some information of right email.
Try to sign in with that login ID.
- If the result shows the relating email is *****@aliexpress.com, it means you may sign in this account is sign with GOOGLE, FACEBOOK or other SNS method.
- If the Email is invalid, search "change email" on Eva.
- If you have priblem with the password you can reset it via "forgot password".
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YUN*******
Customer Service Agent
Hello! Welcome to AliExpress, and thank you for visiting our site. This is your customer service support for today. How can I help?
12:21
Hello
Hi
I placed 5 orders on nov 15th and they are all deleted. I cannot track the orders. Money sent by Credit Card. Bank paid.
Hello?
May I know your order number, please? You may click on the order selector, please. So that I can assist you accordingly and give the best advice on this.
Please pay attention. All the orders were deleted from the website. I do not have the order numbers.
Anyone there? Why no response?
For your issue, I will transfer online to our related team for you now. Please wait online.is it ok?
Haha This is getting funny. Of course.
12:28
Thank you for that information. As checked, I need to forward you to the higher customer service department to assist you with your concern. Would that be okay?
Why are you asking me such a stupid question twice? Yes, I need to speak with someone.
You have over $100 of my money.
Wait
Agent YUN******* initiated a transfer and the system is connecting you to a new agent.

Maui
Customer Service Agent
Hi! This is Maui from AliExpress Customer Service Team. Please give us 1-2 mins to check the relevant information from our system. Thank you!
Hi
What a joke of a company
I'm Sorry for that.
I have spent a week trying to reach someone. The system is a joke.
I noticed that your chat has been transferred on me. May I ask for the 1-2 mins to recall it for you? Thank you.
Why do you ask a stupid question? I repeat. Your company has not sent the orders. They have disappeared from the website and your company has my money and you ask me a stupid question like that? Of course I have to wait.
I can totally understand your feelings, but please pay attention to use the civilized language. I do believe that you have a very urgent question. Could you tell me the detail concern directly? Then I can help you faster.
12:33
Did you read what I wrote? I placed 5 orders on Nov 15th. I cannot track them because they all disappeared from the website. I paid by Credit card. The bank sent the money.
Thank you for letting me know that. May I ask if you already contact the seller about this?
How do you propose I do that if all my orders have been deleted from your website? Really I mean no disrespect but how stupid a question is that? I cannot contact any sellers without knowing the order number4.
I really want to help you solve your problem, but it is not convenient for us to get your concern right now. Then to help you solve it faster, let's know your situation first, ok?
You need to pay attention here. You are insulting me. I am going to send this chat to Jack Ma.
I have explained now four times. What part of I cannot find the orders do you not understand? Are you a robot?
I'm sorry for this kind of hassle.
Please give me a chance to help you.
May I ask for the order number? Thank you
12:38
I already told you I cannot give you the order number because the orders have been deleted from the website. This is now becoming a joke. Are you a total idiot?
I am willing to help you solve the problem, but we really can't communicate with you like this, I am sorry that I will end the service first, hope you can tell us your questions next time, so that we can better serve you, thank you.
I got it Let me guide you on that thank you.
You are a complete moron.
Hi kindly check the orders above? Thank you.
These are not the orders I placed. I repeat all the orders I placed HAVE BEEN DELETED FROM YOUR SITE.
You cannot be a real person and be that stupid. I need to talk to someone who is a real person.
I am willing to help you solve the problem, but we really can't communicate with you like this, I am sorry that I will end the service first, hope you can tell us your questions next time, so that we can better serve you, thank you.
Agent Maui ended the current service.
Thank you! Your feedback is important to us. Please tell us more of what you think in below.
I tried to reach Jack Ma the owner of Alibaba (which owns Aliexpress) and this is what I got even though the email is posted on their Corporate website:
Address not found
Your message wasn't delivered to *******@alibabagroup.com because the address couldn't be found, or is unable to receive mail.
The response from the remote server was:
554 RCPT (*******@alibabagroup.com) dosn't exist

I tried a dozen times to reach someone with no help. Your online 'chat' is a $#*!ing robot. When it asked what was the problem I repeatedly typed in "my orders have disappeared on the website or I cannot find my orders". The "chat" robot kept asking me what was the problem. Totally $#*!ing useless system.

I then found a way to find my order using the first 6 digits and last 4 of my Credit card plus the amount. Then you must click on the date. I tried it a dozen times and it does not work.

I called my bank and it will take 4 weeks they say to get my money back in to my account. This has happened now 3 times with your company.

I posted messages on the Facebook site and I sent an email to customer service with my contact info but no one has reached out.

I only found this site by typing in "aliexpress complaints" online. Why you do not have the contact info on your website. Why you do not have an operator to speak with for a situation the $#*!ing robot cannot answer? This is unprofessional. By now whoever runs this sham company should have figured it out by now.

I am going online (website builder) and warning everyone DO NOT DO BUSINESS WITH THIS COMPANY.

PS: I found an email address for corporate. I sent an email and the server returned my email as "mail not received. "
Mail Delivery Subsystem
11:00 AM (32 minutes ago)
To me

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Recipient inbox full
Your message couldn't be delivered to *******@aliexpress.com. Their inbox is full, or it's getting too much mail right now.
A flucking joke of a company. Chinese of course. And now my useless bank says it will take 4 weeks to get my money back. Asia is a $#*!hole.