Wisconsin's Weekend Morning News
DATCP - Winter Storage Rentals
Well you've got a boat. Maybe you've got one of those really nice collector cars and you don't want it to get all nasty during the winter. You're probably looking for a place to store it. But before you do, there are some things you need to check on. And joining us is our consumer expert, Michelle Ronin from DatCap. And tell us what people need to be aware of before they store their vehicles. Well we want to be sure that whether it's your vehicle, your boat, or some other seasonal item that you are aware that DatCap is responsible for enforcing a variety of consumer protection laws. And that includes the public warehouse keepers that are out there for hire. And that's storing for hire, which means accepting and maintaining custody of your property for payment. This isn't those self-storage garages that are out there. Those are when renters just go ahead and put the belongings in themselves. But storing for hire is when someone is assuming responsibility for the safekeeping of your property. And they usually put it in the storage garage or whatever facility they have during their normal business hours, not any time of day. And DatCap registers these individuals. So we want to be sure people are checking out who they are doing business with in advance of signing any contract. Are these licensed public warehouses required to carry insurance to cover whatever it is they're storing? Yes, they are. They have other requirements under the law as well, which you can find all those details on our website. But that includes having that contract and providing receipts and that insurance. So be sure that you do make sure that the individual you're going to work with is registered and licensed in our state. Okay, so if you want to get a list of licensed public warehouse keepers in Wisconsin, how can we get that? You can just go to datcp.wi.gov to download the list. You'll find it under our Trade Practices Bureau information.