I worked for this joker Michael Montrief and I share the same heartaches Jeff and Sunshine also experienced. I was hired by Michael via a telephone interview and he hired me without physical meeting me in person. He eventually flew to Rockford and we met in person.
Working for Michael the first few weeks was an odd experience as he would try to train me via phone conversations but challenging to understand where he was coming from. His explanation of things was not very clear, despite my numerous requests to explain in layman’s terms, which tended to anger him more. He would also use words rarely spoken by average Joe. Luckily I did have access to a training manual. He does seem to have anger issues as was manifested by his constant yelling at me and his tendency of being woke at anything said to him that he feels he did not like hearing.
I noticed others had the consistent issue of not being paid on time. This was also a major issue I had to deal with. When I began working for him I provided him with my bank information for supposed direct deposit. I was lucky to be a customer at the same bank. If I was paid, my payroll was rarely on time. I had to hassle him to get paid. At some point I did not get paid for a week, which is the point I finally gave my two week notice. He then told me I was fired but wouldn’t send it to me in writing to my email despite my demands for it.
In addition to the lack of payroll, Michael also has outstanding bills with multiple vendors and contractors. Several vendors (or their collection agencies) would often call. A month prior to my resignation, I told a couple of collection agencies the truth about Michael, which is that he will secure needed services with a false promise to pay later. If he is required to pay a portion of the estimate (1/2, 1/3 down, etc) he will work out a so-called deal to lower any down payment just to get the job started. Once the job is complete, he will flake on his financial obligations. If he is threatened with legal action, he will make false arrangements or arrange a payment plan and send in a payment to delay such action. He will send one payment and flake afterwards and the collection process will resurface a few months later.
For anyone trying to investigate the storage company or Michael Montrief himself, I had my wife do some digging since her job requires such and she has the tools at her job to do such. Here is the research:
**The facility, located at 1034 Elm St Rockford, IL (also listed as 1034 Short Elm St) is owned by Michael Montrief himself. He has registered the property under various names to conceal his identity. He had previously listed the property on the real estate market to change names and make it appear to have been sold. The listing is merely a paper trail. Michael always has and still currently owns the property.
**The storage business always has and still is currently owned by Michael Montrief. He has used various names to make it appear that management has been changing. These are several names he has used over the years:
-EZ Lockup
-Free Storage
-Rockford Storage
-815 Storage
If you find any LLC associated with Michael Montrief or his business, I can tell you they are fake as most of them are unregistered and the ones he does register will show as revoked.
**Michael also sells classic cars, mainly corvettes. The online information regarding this is very limited as the research is mostly complaints from disgruntled buyers. I do know that he sells classic cars that tend to be less than desirable condition and possibly mismatched parts but sells them as containing original parts. He does sell his cars under various business names. I have heard through the grapevine that he sends his cars to Mexico for restoration but doesn’t pay any taxes, fees or whatever declaration fees are required at the border. This is pure speculation and I cannot confirm this at the present moment.
Michael lives in Southern California but tends to move around so his addresses can never be adequately connected to him. He also owns rental homes in Southern California and in Rockford, IL .The rentals in Rockford are in horrific condition. The storage facility is also in poor condition, including (but not limited to) a leaky roof, an unreliable freight elevator, flaky paint, weak structural integrity of the floors and ceiling, inadequate fire exits, a fire sprinkler system that will fail periodically, and the list goes on!!!! The floor plan is set up in a way that is confusing to customers. They have raised concerns to me of not being able to find their way to the exit.
**Online Reviews: Michael strives to obtain 5 star reviews on Goole in two ways: bribing customers for excellent reviews and creating false accounts. Anytime an upset customer would leave a negative review he would have fake accounts in place as an attempt to drown the negative review. He would also make me figure out who the disgruntled customer is and bribe them to retract the review. He also wanted me to leave a positive review using my account. I quietly refused on the basis that I did not want my Google account restricted or suspended.
**Websites Regarding Michael: A web search on Michael Montrief will result in numerous websites describing Michael in a positive third person narrative. Do NOT be fooled by these websites. They have been written by Michael himself. Michael is a charlatan who knows how to flatter himself while flying under the radar. These sites also flaunts his life accomplishments, his so-called prestigious education (such as his boasting early high school graduation at age 15 and displaying his law degree). In the past all of his self-centered websites would be ranked at the top of a web search (now a child support court case is ranked number 1).
I will definitely give this warning and counsel to anyone reading this: Do NOT Ever rent a storage unit at this place!!!!!! Do NOT Ever work here!!!!!! If you are a vendor or an independent contractor, Do NOT offer any services to this place because you will not see full payment!!!I cannot stress this enough because many who rent here eventually move out with buyers remorse. Every former employee who has previously worked here either resigned because of harrassment and payroll issues or they have been terminated by Michael illegitimate. Additionally, former employees will have a hard time with employment verification. I have recently ran into this issue trying to start job training through the unemployment office as a dislocated worker and my past three jobs required verification. I lost my previous job due to the COVID lockdown causing the company to file for bankruptcy. Verifying that job and the third job back was no problem but the 2nd job back was the storage facility and that was an issue and I almost lost out on training opportunity. I was supposed to begin training 2 months ago but lost out until last week after a chat with a case worker who was willing to look into the matter and was able to work with the appropriate people to utilize alternative verification. She told me that I am her 2nd client to have been hosed by Michael Montrief.
