https://www.zerohedge.com/news...sit-box-has-vanished

And Wells Fargo didn't know if their bullshit going on either...

BofA - Bunch of ...crooks

How?
What gets me is that her key seems to have worked when the loss was discovered.
Had the lock been drilled,that would have destroyed it. Then a new lock would have been installed. Her key wouldn’t have worked.
At my BofA branch, I have two keys and, to get to the box, I have to enter my identity and my box number. How can there be no record of a visit?
Does she have both of her keys? Does the bank have any record of the box being visited?
Last, how does one of those long boxes walk out of the bank?

Don't ever use bank safety deposit boxes. You have a key and the bank has a key. The box contents are not on record. My father lost $40,000 cash back in the 80's from his with BOA up in Wa State and could not prove it because of non discloser of inventory.

Depending on manufacturer there are surprising few keys. And if it is a "single access" that is bad.

quote:

Originally posted by SFCUSARET:
Don't ever use bank safety deposit boxes. You have a key and the bank has a key. The box contents are not on record. My father lost $40,000 cash back in the 80's from his with BOA up in Wa State and could not prove it because of non discloser of inventory.

WTF?

There are thieves everywhere.

quote:

What gets me is that her key seems to have worked when the loss was discovered.
Had the lock been drilled,that would have destroyed it. Then a new lock would have been installed. Her key wouldn’t have worked.

That is correct. There are a few locks where picks are made to open them in a non-destructive fashion, but somebody doing that would be noticeable.

Around here every safe deposit box is a forced opening. We do not pick locks for this exact reason. New lock, new keys.

quote:

I have to enter my identity and my box number. How can there be no record of a visit?

Customers are typically not permitted to remain in the vault alone. In addition to signing in a representative of the bank should also be present. When I go in to open a box I also sign in on that box holder's card.

This way if there is a question, they can pull the card and see who was inside. I am also supervised by a bank representative and the customer when it's a lost key. Two bank representatives if we are opening abandoned boxes.

quote:

Last, how does one of those long boxes walk out of the bank?

A bank wouldn't let you leave with one of those. Unless it was concealed well it didn't.

quote:

There are thieves everywhere.

True, but safe deposit boxes wouldn't be very attractive to a thief. Not only for the reasons mentioned above, but for many others:

How do you know the box you're breaking into is occupied? I deal with several branches that have about half of their boxes available for rent. 50-50 shot of finding a box with something in it.

If you do find a rented box, will there even be anything inside? You would be surprised at the number of rented boxes that remain empty.

If there was something inside, will it even be valuable? Lots of people keep paperwork, photos, and other non-valuables in their boxes.

quote:

True, but safe deposit boxes wouldn't be very attractive to a thief. Not only for the reasons mentioned above, but for many others:How do you know the box you're breaking into is occupied? I deal with several branches that have about half of their boxes available for rent. 50-50 shot of finding a box with something in it.If you do find a rented box, will there even be anything inside? You would be surprised at the number of rented boxes that remain empty.If there was something inside, will it even be valuable? Lots of people keep paperwork, photos, and other non-valuables in their boxes.

I think you might have missed my point; the thieves work at the bank. No one walked out of the bank with a safety deposit box during work hours.

quote:

Originally posted by dsiets:

quote:

Originally posted by SFCUSARET:
Don't ever use bank safety deposit boxes. You have a key and the bank has a key. The box contents are not on record. My father lost $40,000 cash back in the 80's from his with BOA up in Wa State and could not prove it because of non discloser of inventory.

WTF?

Not that there should be thievery, but not having to tell anyone what is in the box is about half the point. And that means it is hard to prove what is in it.

The bank probably sent it to the unclaimed property department of the state. It is required to do so after some nunber of years of no contact.

You say, “well, the bank knew where I was.”

For some inexplicable reason, bank info systems don’t show these things in one place.

Remember the unclaimed property thread awhile back? I was perusing the California website a few years ago and uncovered property supposedly belonging to one of the corporations I was involved with. I made inquiry, provided my new contact info, and soon thereafter got a notice from a big old bank which happened to be the successor to the smaller community bank we did business with until they were swallowed up by big old bank.

It turned out to be the contents of a safe deposit box, mostly original documents, having mostly historical value but conceivably critical to have in some situations.

The box was in my name. The bank was our tenant in the office building the company owned. Over the years, with the bank changing management, with us changing banks and having sold the property, nobody at big old bank made a connection. I was vaguely aware that some documents weren’t where I thought they should be, but had forgotten about the box, which was one of half a dozen I maintained for different purposes, different businesses.

These things can happen.

quote:

Originally posted by jhe888:

quote:

Originally posted by dsiets:

quote:

Originally posted by SFCUSARET:
Don't ever use bank safety deposit boxes. You have a key and the bank has a key. The box contents are not on record. My father lost $40,000 cash back in the 80's from his with BOA up in Wa State and could not prove it because of non discloser of inventory.

WTF?

Not that there should be thievery, but not having to tell anyone what is in the box is about half the point. And that means it is hard to prove what is in it.

Yup.

There are safe deposit boxes and safe deposit boxes.

Where my ex-employer used to bank (Comerica, if memory serves) they did it correctly: Two keys for each box, one of which was in your possession, the other in the bank's. You had to sign-in and note which box or boxes you wanted to access. You were never left unattended in the vault.

The new bank (don't recall who it is) was not very safe. A single key, in possession of the box renter. No sign-in. Unaccompanied access to the room where the boxes were. I felt it was not safe. Told the company so. Fell on deaf ears.

The boxes and their storage were more substantial at the Comerica site, too.

I worked for a Midwest bank in the maintenance department for many years. I dealt with safe deposit box issues. My observations:

- Our bank made no money on them at all. They were completely just a customer goodwill thing. Since that was the case minimal effort was given to them.

- The older banks have very secure vaults that are very hard to get into. The vault doors were pieces of industrial art that were made to last forever. If you bank in a newer building they are typically just in Diebold vaults and much smaller.

-Record keeping was abysmal because of employee turn over. The bank was VERY reluctant to open up a box that had been overdue for many years. The regulations and requirements to document everything in the box could take days. No fun.

-Breaking into one is not very easy...I know that for a fact! Certain brands were easier than others.

You are better off with a locker at the city bus station.

Otherwise - invest in a good safe.

I’ve drilled at least a couple thousand boxes over 30+ years. I’d like to know if it was a single-nose or dual, and an attended or self service safe deposit area.

Her key worked, so the lock was not replaced (odds of getting the exact same keying after a lock swap is highly unlikely).

Odd story.