CSTA Member Code of Conduct and Accredited Member Scheme

1. Introduction

1. Every member of the Container Self-Storage & Traders Association (CSTA) agrees to follow this Code. Membership is the CSTA Accredited Member Scheme: a company that does not meet the Code cannot join, and a member that stops meeting it can lose its membership.
2. The Code commits members to high standards of integrity, operation, safety and security. It is designed to protect container self-storage operators, container traders and their customers, and to show customers, suppliers and the wider industry that members work professionally.
3. Members may display the CSTA Accredited Member mark while their membership is current (section 7).
4. The Code applies to the member company, its staff and anyone acting on its behalf, in every country where it trades.
5. The CSTA is run by Oakhill Media Ltd. The CSTA does not provide, supervise or guarantee its members’ services; customers contract with members directly.

2. Professional standards

Members undertake to:

1. keep high professional standards of integrity, operation, safety and security;
2. fulfil the agreements and obligations in their contracts;
3. use only lawful means in all their business;
4. treat employers, employees, associates, competitors, customers, consumers and everyone they do business with fairly and with respect;
5. be honest in their advertising and in everything they say about their services, containers and prices;
6. have traded for at least 12 months when they join, unless the CSTA agrees otherwise, and show their trading history if the CSTA asks.

3. Customers, contracts and prices

Members undertake to:

1. provide containers, equipment and services as their contracts and agreements say;
2. give customers written terms before they commit, in plain language, including the price, what it includes, notice periods and what happens if the customer does not pay;
3. show prices clearly, including VAT and any compulsory extras, and never advertise a price a customer cannot actually get;
4. follow the consumer protection law of the countries where they trade, and use only contract terms that are fair to the customer;
5. follow the law and their own contract when a self-storage customer falls behind with payment, including before any sale or disposal of the customer’s goods;
6. answer customer complaints promptly and fairly (section 8).

4. Safety, security and container standards

All members undertake to comply with applicable statutory regulations and standards, and with health and safety law and best practice.

Self-storage operators also undertake to:

1. operate each site with the planning permission and other consents it needs;
2. carry out and keep up to date the fire risk assessment the law requires, and act on it;
3. tell customers in writing what may not be stored (such as flammable, hazardous, illegal or perishable goods);
4. keep sites and containers secure, with security suited to the site, following CSTA guidance such as Self Storage Security Best Practice (DSOC);
5. where they offer insurance for customers’ goods, sell it in line with the financial services rules that apply;
6. take account of the CSTA Code of Practice and Guidance for Operators of Container Self-Storage Facilities.

Container traders also undertake to:

1. describe each container’s age, condition and grade honestly, following the CSTA guidelines for grading traded containers (TD 03);
2. state whether a container carries a valid CSC safety approval plate and is fit for international transport, following CSTA guidance TD 04 and TD 05;
3. neutralise and re-mark traded containers as CSTA guidelines TD 01 and TD 02 describe.

5. Financial standing and insurance

Members undertake to:

1. meet their contractual and financial commitments;
2. stop trading if their finances are not enough to meet their obligations;
3. hold public liability insurance suited to their business, and any insurance the law requires, such as employers’ liability, and show evidence of it if the CSTA asks;
4. tell the CSTA within 30 days of a change of ownership, a change of name, or entering insolvency or administration.

6. Legal compliance

Members undertake to:

1. comply with competition law. At CSTA meetings, events and online groups, members do not share or agree prices, margins, customers or other commercially sensitive information;
2. look after personal data as the law requires (in the UK, UK GDPR and the Data Protection Act 2018);
3. not offer, pay or accept bribes, and comply with trade sanctions and export controls when buying, selling or shipping containers.

7. The member directory and the Accredited Member mark

Members undertake to:

1. keep their listing in the CSTA member directory accurate, and correct it within 30 days of a change;
2. put on the member map only sites they operate themselves, at addresses customers can visit;
3. use the Accredited Member mark only while their membership is current, only in the current year’s version, and as the CSTA supplies it;
4. never suggest that the CSTA provides, inspects or guarantees their services;
5. remove the mark from their website, vehicles, sites and documents within 30 days of their membership ending or being suspended.

The right to use CSTA branding or the Accredited Member mark ends, and membership may be suspended, if a member does not comply with this Code.

8. Complaints about a member

A customer who is unhappy with a member goes through these steps:

1. The customer raises the complaint with the member first. The member replies in writing within 14 days, and tries in good faith to put things right.
2. If it is not resolved, the customer can tell the CSTA through the contact page on containa.org, saying which part of this Code they think was broken.
3. The CSTA sends the complaint to the member, who replies to the CSTA within 14 days.
4. The CSTA decides whether the member has broken the Code and tells both sides. The CSTA does not judge contract disputes or award compensation; those are for the courts or an independent scheme.
5. A serious breach, or repeated breaches, can lead to suspension or removal (section 9).

9. Membership, suspension and appeals

1. Membership depends on the member keeping to this Code and paying the annual membership fee on time, within the terms on its invoice.
2. The CSTA may suspend a member, taking its listing and mark off the website, if the fee is more than 60 days overdue or the member has broken this Code.
3. Before suspending a member for a breach, the CSTA tells it in writing what the breach is and gives it 21 days to respond or put it right, unless customers are at immediate risk.
4. A suspended member can appeal in writing within 21 days. The appeal is decided by someone at the CSTA who was not involved in the first decision.
5. A member that stays suspended for 90 days, or commits a serious breach, may be removed from membership.
6. Members confirm this declaration each year when they renew, and again whenever the CSTA publishes a new edition of this Code.

10. Declaration

I am authorised to act for the company, and I declare that it fulfils the requirements of this Code of Conduct.

Members make this declaration online, by ticking it when they join or renew on containa.org, or in the members’ area. The website records the company, the name and job title of the person who agreed, the date, and the edition of the Code. Members can print their signed copy from the members’ area.

Previous edition (February 2020, PDF)