How We Review Storage Facilities
Why we publish our methodology
A review is only worth trusting if you can see how it was made. This page sets out exactly what we score, how we score it, where our information comes from, and how facilities can correct or respond to anything we publish. Every facility is assessed against the same criteria, in the same way, whether it's a national chain or a single site behind a roller door.
The twelve criteria
Each facility is scored on the twelve criteria below. Every criterion matters on its own — a facility can be spotless and secure and still be somewhere we'd warn you about if its contract terms are opaque and its overdue-account letters are aggressive. So we show you every individual score, not just the total.
- 1. Price transparencyAdvertised rate vs the real all-in cost
- 2. Access & convenienceHours, lifts, loading, parking, changes
- 3. SecurityEntry control, CCTV, alarms, staffing
- 4. Cleanliness & conditionMaintenance, pests, damp, lighting
- 5. Customer serviceResponsiveness before and after signup
- 6. Contract clarityReadable terms, flagged not buried
- 7. Late payment processGrace periods, fees, proportionate steps
- 8. Communication toneFirm is fine; intimidating is not
- 9. Insurance clarityWhat's covered, what it costs, exclusions
- 10. Business suitabilityDeliveries, access, stock-friendly terms
- 11. Ease of move-outNotice, final fees, bond return
- 12. Customer sentimentPatterns across real experiences
What each criterion looks at
1. Price transparency. Is the real monthly cost knowable before you sign? We compare the advertised rate against the all-in cost including admin/establishment fees, mandatory insurance, padlocks and post-introductory pricing. Marked down for teaser rates that quietly jump, and fees that only appear in the agreement.
2. Access and convenience. Stated access hours and how they work in practice — after-hours arrangements, lifts and trolleys, loading bays, parking, and whether access conditions can change after signing.
3. Security. Visible, verifiable measures: perimeter control, individual unit alarms or locks, CCTV coverage, PIN or app entry, on-site staffing, and how the facility describes its own security (specific claims rate better than vague ones).
4. Cleanliness and condition. Maintenance, pest control, signs of damp or water entry, lighting, and general state of corridors and units.
5. Customer service. Responsiveness, clarity and helpfulness before and after you become a customer — including how easily you can reach a human when something is wrong.
6. Contract clarity. Whether the agreement is available to read before sign-up, how clearly it explains fee increases, default consequences, access restrictions and notice requirements, and whether key terms are flagged rather than buried.
7. Late payment process. What the agreement and facility communications say happens when a customer falls behind: grace periods, late fee amounts, when access is restricted, when goods can be sold or disposed of, and whether the escalation path is proportionate and clearly explained in advance.
8. Communication tone. How the facility communicates with customers — especially customers in difficulty. Firm and factual is fine. We mark down communication that, in our assessment or in documented customer accounts, reads as intimidating, or that escalates threats of disposal before clearly explaining options for resolution.
9. Insurance clarity. Whether customers are told plainly that facility insurance may not cover their goods, what cover is offered or required, what it costs, and what's excluded.
10. Business storage suitability. Suitability for stock and tools of trade: vehicle access, deliveries, power, shelving, ability to run frequent visits — and contract terms that don't strangle a business that hits a rough month.
11. Ease of move-out. Notice requirements and format, whether fees stop when they should, pro-rata treatment, bond/deposit return, and any "final month" friction reported by customers.
12. Overall customer sentiment. The pattern across customer-submitted experiences and public reviews — weighted toward detailed, verifiable accounts and recent information, not star-rating averages alone.
How scoring works
Each criterion is scored from 1 to 5. The overall rating is the average across all scored criteria, shown out of 5 with one decimal place.
Where we don't yet have enough reliable information to score a criterion, we mark it "Not yet rated" rather than guessing — and if fewer than eight criteria are rated, the overall score is labelled provisional. We'd rather show you an honest gap than a confident number we can't support.
All criteria are currently weighted equally. If that changes, the weighting will be published on this page.
Where our information comes from
Facilities are reviewed based on publicly available information (websites, published agreements and pricing, public records and reviews), customer-submitted experiences, direct experience where available, and editorial assessment. Customer submissions are treated as individual accounts of personal experience, and we present them as such — we look for patterns and documentation, and we don't state any single unverified account as established fact.
Scores and reviews are expressions of our honest opinion, formed on that basis, at the date shown on the review.
Fairness, corrections and right of reply
Facilities can contact us at any time to correct factual details — prices, hours, features, terms — or to provide a response to anything we've published. Corrections are made promptly and noted on the page. Responses are published alongside the relevant review. Contact: facilities@storagereviews.com.au.
Reviews are dated, and we update or re-assess when meaningful new information arrives — including improvements. A facility that fixes a problem should see that reflected.
What never affects a score
Payment, advertising, partnership offers, free units, or legal pressure. None of these have ever changed a score, and none ever will. If a facility we cover advertises with us in future, the ad will be labelled and the review team won't know or care.