Your Safe Isn’t the Impenetrable Vault You Think It Is.
In movies, safes are magical: located in bank vaults, they are portrayed as the safest things in the universe. Thieves targeting safes must plan for decades and involve dozens of experts. If a character wants to keep something absolutely safe (be it jewelry or important documents ), they put it in a safe, and no force in the universe can disturb it.
Unfortunately, this is actually not the case. Safes are not very secure; banks increasingly feel they are more trouble than they’re worth , and they are not well regulated. There are exactly no federal laws regarding safe deposit boxes, and they mostly operate in the murky world of rental agreements. And if you actually read the (probably very brief) lease you sign with the bank, you’ll probably find that the bank has limited its liability to a ridiculous level.
Most surprisingly, according to the Office of the Comptroller of the Currency (OCC), your bank can “drill” your safe (removing the contents) under a variety of conditions, including court orders and search warrants, failure to pay fees, because a branch is closed – or because The bank messed up its records . So if you have a safe and it gets drilled, what can you do?
Insure yourself
The most important thing to do if you have a safe is to do before the bank opens it for some reason: insure it. The Federal Deposit Insurance Corporation (FDIC) does not insure the contents of safe deposit boxes . It doesn’t actually do anything with them at all, and your bank definitely doesn’t insure their contents. If a bank robs or drills into your box and its contents are lost, your bank will likely fight any attempts you make to hold it accountable, insisting that it bears only minimal responsibility for the loss.
Next steps
If your bank intends to close your safe deposit box due to a branch closing, or if they intend to open it due to non-payment of fees or because they believe they lack information about the safe deposit box holder (usually a social security number or other identifying information), they are usually required to notify you by certified or certified mail. If you’re surprised to find that your bank has opened and emptied your drawer, your first step is to double-check that you haven’t received this notice, which can sometimes be sent up to a year in advance.
If you find that holes have been drilled in your drawer, your next steps are clear:
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Ask for documentation. If you don’t receive the notice letter, ask your bank for proof that it was sent – if they followed the rules and sent the notice by certified or certified mail, they should have a receipt they can show you. If they provide this evidence, you won’t have any leverage here, but if they can’t, you may be able to get some help in court if any of your items are missing or damaged. This depends on the specifics of the lease you signed when you opened the box.
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Find your things. Next, find out where your things are. Banks are required to follow a certain procedure when opening a safe: at least two bank employees and a notary must be present, and an inventory must be taken when removing the contents of the safe. Request a copy of the inventory. At this point, the contents of your locker enter what is called a “quiet period” and your bank is required to hold your assets until the dormant period has passed. Depending on the state you live in, the dormancy period can range from one to five years . The bank has likely sent your property to a storage center (warehouse), where it will be stored until the waiting period ends or you pick up your property.
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Formally request your items. Your bank will send everything back to you as soon as you ask. Keep in mind that banks almost always ship these items via UPS or regular mail without any guarantee or insurance, even if you ask for it. When you receive your items, compare their contents with the inventory provided by the bank and your own knowledge of what was in your box. Please note anything missing or damaged for insurance or legal purposes.
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File a complaint. Finally, if your bank is a national bank (or federal savings association), file a complaint (in writing) with the Office of the Comptroller’s (OCC) Customer Services Unit . While there are few specific laws governing safe deposit boxes, there are some rules, and the OCC can help determine whether your bank has violated any of these terms. If your bank is local, you will have to do a little research to find out which government agency oversees the banks in your area and contact them.
Safes are not completely secure, and one of the biggest threats is the bank itself. If you have lost your items due to paperwork errors or any other reason, act quickly to claim your items before the waiting period ends.