Just days after the July 26, 2005, deluge in Mumbai, Shalini Kamath’s belief in safety of bank lockers was shattered. The cash and important documents she had kept in the locker were damaged beyond redemption as the locker was in the basement and submerged for days. “My jewellery was restored but what about notes and documents?” she asks. Worse, the bank brushed aside her plea for compensation.
Banks, however, say Kamath’s anger is misplaced; they only offer lockers on hire. The rental can be Rs 1,000-2,000 annually, depending on the bank and the lock size. They cover themselves with this clause –‘The bank shall not be responsible or liable for any loss, deterioration or damage to the contents of the locker, whether caused by rain, fire, flood, earthquake, lightning, civil commotion, war, riot or any other cause/s not in the control of the bank, and shall also not be liable or responsible for any loss, sustained by the hirer/s by leaving any articles outside the locker.’
Consumer advocate Uday Wavikar counters, “The bank cannot shirk its responsibility as a custodian of your contents, since it charges you a consideration. The contract is one-sided and arbitrary and the customer can always approach consumer courts if his goods are damaged or missing.”
Ironically, a bank’s strongest defence in such disputes is the privilege of privacy its customers have – of using lockers without informing the bank of its contents or its value. “Since we are unaware of what’s stored in the locker, if a dispute arises regarding the contents, it would be just your word against the bank’s,” says a representative of Axis Bank.
Anindya Mitra, senior vice-president, retail liabilities, HDFC Bank, adds, “Lockers are rented out under an arrangement where the customer is the licensee and the bank a licensor. It is not a relationship between a customer and a service provider like in normal banking operations, where the bank is aware of what and how much the customer holds in his accounts.”
Banks usually rent out lockers to customers who hold an account with them. This helps them debit the rent from the account in case of non-payment. In case the user is untraceable for too long, the locker is opened in the presence of witnesses. Here, again, there is no way the bank will pay compensation for breaking open the locker. The best option for a customer is to keep the bank informed of his whereabouts and appoint a nominee who can be contacted in his absence.
While banks themselves provide no guarantee for your goods, they advise their customers to insure the goods kept in the locker. So, in case of damage or loss, the customer can get compensation from the insurance company.
More From This Section
Just in case you need to head to the courts, it would make sense to keep purchase bills for all the contents in the locker as proof. In the past, consumer courts have given judgments in favour of consumers with bills.
To sum up, go legal. File a complaint with the police, give a written complaint to the bank and approach courts with the correct documents.
