All of us are keen
to earn more ! ~ most likely you have a
‘safe deposit locker’ with a bank … depending on the valuables that you have –
as one’s riches increase, one is forced to
chose renting a bigger sized one
(may be some require a room and not a box !) ~ and ever wondered : how safe is a safe ?
A safe deposit box, (not
a safety deposit box) - is an
individually secured container, usually held within a larger safe or bank
vault. Safe deposit boxes are generally located in banks, post offices or other
institutions. Safe deposit boxes are used to store valuable possessions, (Gold, silver, diamond ornaments ….) precious
metals, currency, marketable securities, important documents such as wills,
property deeds, - things that need
protection from theft, fire, flood, tampering, or other perils.
Typically, upon applying,
Bank allots a locker and charges rent for the same. The box which is either affixed to a wall or
is a row of such boxes made of strong iron – can be opened only with combination
keys. The Official first opens with a key – and then – in the two keyholes, one
key held by the person and the other in the possession of official are used to
open ….the official would leave the room – ensuring total privacy – the box can
be locked by the owner – but reopening
can be done only by combined use of both the keys. You may find slightly differential
arrangement in Star hotels, resorts and cruise ships …. (the locker inside the
room can be opened by a combination of numbers which the guest can select)
Though the banks collect
‘rent’ – ‘safe deposit charges’ (earlier they used to insist on Fixed deposits
being kept) – RBI circular clarifies that the relationship between the bank and
the locker hirer is in the nature of a 'bailor and bailee' and not 'landlord
and tenant'. The bank at all point of
time, has no knowledge of the contents of the locker and the bank is required
to exercise due care and necessary precaution for the protection of the lockers
provided to the customer. More importantly, the bank (or any other Company) is not
liable for the contents kept in the Safe [some Insurers do cover material in
the lockers upon proper declaration]
A fire in a PSU Bank exposed
the vulnerability as those who had kept their valuables learnt from the Bank
that they would not pay anything as they had taken sufficient care. Then Chennai rains taught the fact that most bank lockers in the city
are either located on the ground floor or the basement. After
the torrential rains, many parts of the
city were under water for more than a couple of days – in some places there was
inundation and water seepage into the lockers as well. Though the lockers are
strong and fire-proof, they are not
water-proof … the water brought along filth and slush ~ damaging the contents,
especially the documents kept inside the cupboards. Even the Gold, Silver and other bullion kept
inside would have required some cleaning
!
Now read
this news item of Indian Express & Times of India - A consumer court slapped a fine of Rs 1 lakh
on a bank after a customer’s property deed documents stored in the bank’s
locker were damaged by termites.
The
complainants, a couple from Anna Nagar
have been joint account-holders of a locker in Chennai Bank since July 2000. A
Memorandum of Lease Agreement for the locker was executed for this. In 2013,
they kept two original title deeds, of their landed properties. After a few
years, they in trying for a loan for construction, applied for a loan, and went
to the bank for retrieving the documents from their locker – only to find documents inside were eaten up by white
ants.
When
the couple complained to the bank, they were assured that appropriate action
would be taken. However, a month later, an employee at the bank rang them up,
asking them to remove their documents from the locker. Defending its side, the
bank claimed it had no knowledge of the damage to the documents, adding that the lockers are made of steel and painted
with anti-corrosives, making it impossible for ants to enter.
The
District Consumer Redressal Forum, Chennai (North), presided over by K
Jayabalan, found that the bank had initially accepted responsibility, but
failed to respond. The bank later denied
responsibility. Forum pointed out that
there was no record of pest maintenance measures taken by the bank. The
consumer body directed the bank to pay Rs 1 lakh as compensation for
negligence, Rs 10,000 towards charges for obtaining certified copy of the
original deed and Rs 5,000 towards litigation expenses.
Some could
keep hard currency [some could hoard wads of currency and finding it difficult
after demonetisation also] – another report in Indian Express mentions of a
woman in Surat having trouble after termites feasting on her Rs 1 lakh kept in
a locker.
Rushing to
your locker today itself ! – there is no way, of an official documentation on
what is kept in your locker – there are ways of insuring all your property
against the risks of ‘Fire & allied perils; Burglary and the like’ – safely
kept at home and at locker too … do contact your friendly Insurer.
With regards – S.
Sampathkumar
5th Dec
2016.
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