The National Center for Missing Adults (NCMA) reached an agreement with Allstate Self Storage of Phoenix to avoid having 30,000 missing-person case files sold at auction.
Due to significant financial hardship, NCMA had failed to make the monthly payments on its two large storage units, owing Allstate $3,800. An auction was scheduled to sell the units’ contents today. In addition to office furniture and equipment, the units contain client records including personal information and Social Security numbers.
Representatives from Allstate contacted NCMA to say it is not company policy to sell personal information or confidential files, and they would comply with all state and federal privacy laws. They authorized NCMA to remove all of its property from the units by Nov. 27. In return, Let’s Bring Them Home, an Arkansas nonprofit organization and surviving corporation of a merger with NCMA, agreed to resolve the outstanding balance owed to Allstate.
“We have faced significant hardships these last several years due to over extending our financial resources during Hurricane Katrina and our country’s economic struggle. Losing the storage units would have compromised the security of our case files,” said NCMA Director Kym Pasqualini. “Our appreciation goes out to everyone at Allstate Self Storage for taking our extenuating circumstances into consideration.”
Over the past 16 years, NCMA has handled thousands of missing-person cases including more than 13,502 resolved cases from Hurricane Katrina.
Related Articles:
Allstate Self Storage to Auction Missing-Persons Case Files
Missing-Persons Case Files to Be Auctioned Off [Self-Storage Talk]
Abandoned Records in Self-Storage: Whose Responsibility Are They?
Determining How Long to Keep Tenant Files and Abandoned Records in Self-Storage
New CA Bill Addresses Disposal of Abandoned Records
