Do You Trust a Safe Deposit Box?

[pat-tekker-cat]

I hope this is the right place to ask the question.
Just wondering and curious, do you feel you can trust a banks' safe deposit boxes?

I know they are not insured (you have to purchase your own insurance).
Considering that a bank has a good track record of never having had their boxes broken in to, what are your feelings as to them being a safe place to park your gold/silver/etc when you are away (say on vacation or out of town). Thanks

 

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[jeff of pa]

You can trust a safe deposit box from burglers.
Robberies of them only happen in the movies.
but IMO I would never consider the contents for your eyes only.
and under certain circumstance I can imagine certain factions locking you out.
all they need say is they expect explosives were placed in one,
and they own them till they decide different

 

[FreedomUIC]

You can trust a safe deposit box from burglers.
Robberies of them only happen in the movies.
but IMO I would never consider the contents for your eyes only.
and under certain circumstance I can imagine certain factions locking you out.
all they need say is they expect explosives were placed in one,
and they own them till they decide different

One of the biggest concerns that I have about SDB's is the weather. Consider Sandy, how many banks were damaged/washed away along with the contents of the SDB's?
You never hear about it but I am almost certain that it has happened before and will happen in the future.

 

[Marchas45]

I have safety deposit box sitting in my small town bank (EMPTY) it's costs me $60.00 a year but decided to remove all contents. If you Don't Hold It You Don't Own It. I'm pretty scared of banks right now and there is no way I'm letting them hold my Stash. There has been a few stories out lately and if I can find the link will post it. That deposit boxes where empty after a bank closed it's doors when the people got back in to claim their goodies. I Don't Tust A Bank. Period.

 

[usandthem]

About two weeks ago my wife got a call from the bank telling her that they had accidentally opened her SDB. It seems that someone had lost their SDB keys so a locksmith was called to open it. They opened ours by mistake. Luckily, there was nothing of monetary value in the safe. I don't trust SDBs any longer. My PMs are locked in a vault, under armed guard, and the premises are being patroled by two trained attack cats. Don't let the smiles fool you.

 

[worldtalker]

Bank of the back yard I always say! I don't trust ANYBODY!!!!,well,except my Wife. God Bless Chris

 

[0121stockpicker]

I bought a big safe to put in my basement (not on of the little ones a few people could carry away). Wasn't all that expensive and it's fireproof etc. as another poster mentioned - in an emergency when you really need your stuff out of a box, the bank is likely to be closed or worse. Always best to have it Onsite - just don't advertise the fact.

 

[FreedomUIC]

I don't trust ANYBODY!!!!,well,except my Wife. God Bless Chris

And even then not 100%.....

 

[FreedomUIC]

I bought a big safe to put in my basement (not on of the little ones a few people could carry away). Wasn't all that expensive and it's fireproof etc. as another poster mentioned - in an emergency when you really need your stuff out of a box, the bank is likely to be closed or worse. Always best to have it Onsite - just don't advertise the fact.

Where I live a basement is not an option, it would be called an "Indoor Swimming Pool".......

 

[worldtalker]

And even then not 100%.....

I sure do!!!!

 

[Jason in Enid]

I would never use a bank safety deposit box!

1. You can only access it during bank hours
2. If there is a power outage, the bank will be closed and you wont be able to access
3. If your die, or the bank THINKS you died, they will immediately sieze the contents of the box and hold it until someone can prove they are the rightful heir.

 

[stefen]

Note sure what is safe today...there's always some person or natural condition that can take or destroy what your trying to save and protect...

As a side story...years ago I was having a conference with a client and contractor in the back side of the clients house regarding a remodeling project...

The client excused himself and said he had to do an errand and would be back in minutes...then he drove off.

About 20 minutes later he returned and was in a panic...

Apparently in the elapsed 20 minutes somebody entered the house and boosted a large safe, probably using a dolly, and left by the front door...

The safe nor contents were never recovered...

 

[jim4silver]

Any storage method has drawbacks. Some people think that their home safe is "safe". It might be for a fire or such, but any experienced burglar whose pay grade is above "random crackhead" can get into pretty much any home safe given enough time. Professional jewelers and such buy safes that cost several thousand dollars and are only rated T-30 or T-45, etc, which means the safe is graded to withstand an attack by blow torch for that amount of time (in minutes). The gun safes people buy, even the expensive ones, are like toys for the really experienced burglars. I know a locksmith and he has been paid in the past by law enforcement agencies to open safes for them that they seized (I am assuming that about how the law enforement acquired said safes) and he said he has never found one yet that he cannot crack into.

For the random crackhead burglar most home safes are OK. But if a person has enough PMs and somehow that fact becomes known by less than honest folks, it is very possible that said PM owner's house might get a visit from a more experienced thief. A score of just $10K or more from hitting one house is a great score for even an experienced burglar (assuming he is in and out of there quick without a hitch).

At least with a safe deposit box you don't have to worry about a home invasion where the thieves put a gun to your kid's head while they ask you for the combination. But of course in today's financial world your bank could go under and close its doors then good luck accessing your box anytime soon.

Best bet for PM storage is a "hidden" home safe, a burglar alarm for your house, and keeping your mouth closed about your great PM collection.

Jim

 

[Native Floridian]

I always loved those scenes in the Sopranos where Tony is putting money in the Pool Box in the back yard. He had a good point! Nothing beats the back yard or a wardrobe account!!! i think Doomsdayers call it a bug out fund.

Personally, i don't trust a bank box holding anything more than documents which will lead readers no further than to accounts with fed id numbers. In the ya gotta trust someone department, my adult children know where to look.

 

[pat-tekker-cat]

Thank you all for your responses, gives one much to think about.
My dilema is, there is no way I can physically tote stuff with me all over the world! LOL!
If I keep it all at home to guard dog, well, that's putting all my eggs in one basket, so to say.
I can't bury nothing in coral rock! LOL! My bank vault is pretty secure, I like to beleive.
Always leaves me to think, how secure is my/our security? Yeah, who you gonna trust nowadays?

I figured, a little here, a little there, some with me, some hidden away........ diversify my diversifications of diversity.

Oh eta, a friend uses white gold chains, for ceiling fan pull-chains. Over time, they get dusty and a little tarnished, they look like cheap metal chains. What burglar, would ever think, to look at the pull chain on a fan?! LOL!

 

[Kaynos]

No ! You need to own your stuff. The day this economy will crash, who knows what will happen to these vaults.

 

[jim4silver]

No ! You need to own your stuff. The day this economy will crash, who knows what will happen to these vaults.

There are risks to all forms of PM storage. Everyone's living situation is different. If a bank goes under that in no way gives them the right to keep what is in their customers' safe deposit boxes, however it could result in a period of time where people cannot just walk in and get their stuff. In all the instances where banks have gone under in the past few years, the bank closes on Friday under the old name and reopens Monday under the name of whatever bank agreed to take over the defunct one. If things get so bad that the banks close and never reopen and don't allow people to get their stuff out of the SDB we will be living in a time that we have not yet seen in the US in modern times. Not saying it couldn't happen, but it has yet to happen at least in modern times. Now compare that risk to the risk of your home being burglarized. Even more common than a home burglary is a loved one or friend who has access to your house steals your stuff and takes off. Happens a lot in divorce situations or when older kids get into drugs and steal dad's stash of PMs to help pay for their "meds".

Jim

 

[Marchas45]

Won't happen to me in a divorce situation Jim as my stash is to heavy for her. LMAO Plus she's to old to be digging. Lol

 

[Red James Cash]

I hate to say it but your valuables are only as safe as you think they are in a bank.

Warning: Get Your Money Out: ‘All Legal Bank Deposit Protections Are Now Officially Gone’

Federal Courts explicitly rule banks can steal your deposits to pay down their debt and you have no legal recourse if the bank fails.

Former money manager Ann Barnhardt, who in November of 2011 made the decision to cease operations of her brokerage firm and return funds to her customers citing “systemic” problems within the entire financial industry, has issued a new warning about the stability of US banks and the safety of individual deposit accounts.

The warning, stemming from a recent federal appeals court ruling surrounding customer funds lost during the 2007 collapse of Chicago futures broker Sentinel, indicates that individuals who lose deposited funds because a financial institution improperly manages that money, even if those funds are supposed to be “segregated” from other operations of the firm, are essentially left with no recourse if the firm goes belly-up. According to the court, a misallocation of those customer funds, “is not, on its own, sufficient to rule as a matter of law that Sentinel acted ‘with actual intent to hinder, delay, or defraud’ its customers.”

The implications of the ruling, according to Barnhardt, will affect the monies of all private individuals who have seen their deposit accounts wiped out in the collapse of firms like John Corzine’s MF Global and put all deposit account holders in the country at risk should their bank be faced with a financial windstorm:

 

[maipenrai]

I really dont think "deposits" and "safty deposits boxes" are the same. The bank does not manage your safty deposit box. If its not saft in a bank, then it sure is not safe in my home!