How overlock works

If you've been told your unit is "overlocked", this article explains what that means, why it happens, and how access comes back.

What overlock means

Overlock is a temporary suspension of access to your unit. It's applied when a licence fee has been unpaid for a period without resolution, after earlier reminders — it's never the first thing that happens when a payment is missed. It doesn't affect ownership of your goods, and it isn't the same as your agreement ending.

Why it happens

Your agreement gives your operator the contractual right to suspend access if payment falls into arrears. Overlock protects the operator's position while giving you a clear, fixable path back to normal access — it's a pause, not an escalation to losing your goods. By default, reminders about the overdue balance go out before an overlock is applied, and overlock is what happens if those go unresolved. If you've switched off Payment reminders in your portal you won't get them, but an overdue balance can still lead to an overlock.

How access is restored

Once the overdue balance is paid, StoreBay tells your operator to restore your access at its next hourly check. After that, depending on your site's access system, it can take a short time to take effect — with a padlock, a member of staff has to take it off. If you're paying by Direct Debit, that means waiting until the money has been collected and your invoice says Paid (see When a Direct Debit counts as paid), not just until it has been requested. Paying by card is typically faster to reflect.

If a Direct Debit payment that cleared your balance is later reversed by the bank, overlock can be reapplied, but not straight away: the reminders start again from the day of the reversal; see What a late Direct Debit reversal means.

What overlock doesn't mean

Overlock is not the start of your goods being sold. That's a separate, much later step with its own strict legal process and notice periods, used only for long-standing arrears — overlock on its own never leads there without a great deal of further notice first.

Who to contact

If your unit is overlocked and you've already paid, or you think it's been applied in error, contact your operator straight away, with your payment reference, so they can check it. Their phone number and email address are on Help & contact in your portal, where they've added them.