You’ve already decided you need storage. What’s missing isn’t motivation, it’s knowing what actually happens between deciding that and having a unit, the size, the deposit, whether you’ll get locked into something you don’t need. This guide replaces the guesswork with the real answer at every stage, using one real operator’s actual terms rather than the generic version most guides give. For quick answers to the questions people ask most, see our top five self storage questions answered.
Need to move in this week? Jump to Access and Booking below. Not sure what size you need? Jump to Choosing a Size. Worried about getting locked in? Jump to Contract and Leaving Early. Wondering if your stuff is covered? Jump to Insurance.
The Real Rental Process, Stage by Stage
Renting with Wigwam follows nine concrete stages, each with a real, checkable answer, not the generic “choose, book, move in” most guides give.
| Stage | What most guides say | Wigwam’s real answer |
|---|---|---|
| Pick a size | Use an online size estimator | Sizes vary by site, with item-fit examples below |
| Pick a location | Find one nearby | 15 real UK market towns, named below, not just a postcode search |
| Book and verify ID | Vague “bring ID” | Two forms of ID, photo ID plus a recent utility bill, verified through Stripe Identity |
| Pay and sign | Pay online, sign a contract | Card-only payment, first 4 weeks upfront, then every 4 weeks, a rolling agreement |
| Minimum term and leaving | Check the small print | 2-week minimum, 14 days’ notice to leave, unused paid days refunded |
| Insurance | May be mandatory | Genuinely mandatory unless you prove your own equivalent cover within 14 days |
| Access | Extended hours | 6am to 10pm, seven days a week, smart entry, PIN at Chipping Norton |
| What you can and can’t store | No hazardous materials | A real, specific list, see below |
| Moving in and deliveries | Rarely addressed | We can’t sign for deliveries, so someone from your own side needs to be there to meet the driver |
Choosing the Right Size Unit
Wigwam units run from around 10 sq ft up to 150+ sq ft.
What actually fits in a small vs large unit
Around 25 sq ft holds a bed frame, a desk, a chair and some boxes. Around 50 sq ft holds a sofa, a queen bed and a couple of appliances. Around 100 sq ft holds a full bedroom set plus a collection or two. Our personal storage page explains how units work for household belongings.
Still not sure?
Our online space calculator is temporarily unavailable, our team can talk you through sizing when you get a quote, and our dedicated size guides walk through specific room counts in more depth. If you’re packing rather than just storing, our Box Shop covers boxes and packing materials, so you’re not sourcing those separately.
Choosing Your Nearest Wigwam Location
There are 15 Wigwam sites across UK market towns.
The 15 Wigwam locations
Wigwam Self Storage Alton, Bath, Bromsgrove, Burton on Trent, Cheltenham, Chipping Norton, Dorking, Leatherhead, Lincoln, March, Marlow, Reading, Shipston-on-Stour, Tewkesbury and Warminster, as of 2026, see the full locations hub for current details.
Choosing between local options
If more than one option is nearby, our guide on choosing a local unit you can trust walks through what to check.
Booking and Verifying Your Identity
Booking requires two forms of ID, a photo ID and a recent utility bill, verified through a system called Stripe Identity.
The two documents you need
A photo ID and a recent utility bill, checked before your booking completes.
Why the extra verification step
It’s a genuine fraud-protection step, not a formality, it protects everyone storing on site, including you. Because you let yourself in with smart entry rather than being checked in at a desk, the identity check at booking does that job instead, once, properly, rather than never.
Booking for a business? The process is the same, our business storage guides cover what’s different about business accounts.
Payment, Your Contract, and Leaving Early
The contract is rolling, not a fixed lock-in.
How payment works
Card only, no cash or cheques. The first 4 weeks are paid upfront, then charges are collected every 4 weeks by card or Direct Debit.
The minimum term
Two weeks.
Leaving early: notice and refund
You give 14 days’ notice to end the agreement. Separately, once that notice period ends, any days you’ve already paid for beyond your leaving date are refunded. Those are two different moments, not one, the notice starts the clock, the refund happens after it runs out, and mixing them up is exactly how a reader ends up thinking either “there’s no way out” or “I’ll get nothing back,” when neither is true.
Short student let? Same booking, same terms, our student storage guides cover the specifics.
Now you know the terms, get a real quote for your move.
Insurance: What’s Mandatory and What It Covers
Contents protection is mandatory unless you prove you have equivalent cover of your own, within 14 days of moving in.
Is insurance actually compulsory?
Yes, unless you supply proof of your own equivalent cover within that 14-day window.
What Wigwam’s own cover includes
Wigwam’s own cover is New-for-Old, and theft is covered only after forced entry. You need to declare the full replacement value of what you’re storing, under-declaring reduces any payout proportionally. An excess applies, check current terms on the contents protection page or when you get a quote. This is general information about Wigwam’s own process, not insurance advice, our storage access, insurance and sizing guide covers a worked example in more depth.
Access: Hours and How You Get In
Access is 6am to 10pm, seven days a week, not 24 hours.
The real access hours
6am to 10pm, every day. Hours may vary slightly by location, so check your specific site.
How you get in
You get in with smart entry on your phone: book your unit and the entry details follow, with no separate key collection or reception visit needed first. Chipping Norton is the exception, using a PIN code instead. If you don’t carry a smartphone, ask us before you book what will work for you. Our smart entry guide covers the full mechanism.
What You Can’t Store
An honest operator tells you what it doesn’t do, not just what it sells.
Prohibited items
Food, perishables and plants aren’t allowed, along with combustibles, firearms, chemicals and illegal goods. Certain battery and e-scooter items are capped, not open-ended, check with the team if you’re unsure about a specific item.
Vehicles and climate control
No caravans, motorhomes, campervans or trailers. Vehicles aren’t stored in ordinary units; car and motorbike storage is a separate service at Chipping Norton, explained on our vehicle storage page. Units are clean, dry and secure, not temperature-controlled.
Moving In: What to Expect on the Day
You don’t need anyone there to reach your things: smart entry lets you in from 6am to 10pm, seven days a week.
Deliveries
We can’t sign for or take in deliveries on your behalf. If you’re expecting a courier, someone from your own household or business needs to be there to receive it, and that’s worth knowing before you arrange a delivery straight to the facility rather than assuming it’ll just be waiting for you.
Office hours and support
Office hours vary from site to site. At Chipping Norton, for example, reception is open Monday to Friday 9am to 6pm and Saturday 9am to 2pm for in-person support. Each location page lists its own hours, and you can always call us on 0800 2545585.
Now you have the whole real process, not an outline of one. Every stage above is Wigwam’s own current practice, not a legal requirement common to every provider, and it can change, so reconfirm current terms when you get a quote or speak to the team before booking.
Get a quote, it’s the formality now that nothing is left unknown. Want the longer, transactional version of all of this, deposit process, notice mechanics and more? See our full FAQ.
Frequently Asked Questions
Two forms of ID, a photo ID and a recent utility bill, verified through Stripe Identity.
At Wigwam, yes, unless you prove your own equivalent cover within 14 days of moving in.
No, access runs 6am to 10pm, seven days a week.
We’re not currently taking deposits from new customers, so there is nothing to come back. If you joined some time ago and paid one, it’s refunded when your storage ends, less anything owed. Notice is normally 14 days, and any days already paid for beyond your leaving date are refunded.
Our team is on hand to help Monday to Saturday, on the phone and, at some sites, in person at the office. Office hours vary from site to site. You don’t need anyone there to reach your things: smart entry lets you in from 6am to 10pm, seven days a week. You can call us on 0800 2545585.
