Bank Locker Rule: Although a bank locker is a very safe place, but if someone gets harmed here, then what rights does the customer have? In case of loss of money kept in the bank, can you get compensation for it or can the bank deny it? Let us know about it in detail.
If you are thinking that by depositing money in a bank locker, you are relaxed, then this is a misunderstanding. An incident that happened in Moradabad district will open your eyes too. Here a woman had deposited jewelery and Rs 18 lakh in a bank locker for her daughter’s marriage.
After a year, when she went to collect the money, she found out that the jewelery was safe, but the bundles of money had been eaten away by termites. Now the question arises whether the bank will compensate for this.
This problem is not only faced by the female locker holder of Moradabad, but many people may have been affected by this problem. When such a problem arises, in most of the cases banks give up.
Same thing happened in the Moradabad incident and the bank management refused to pay any compensation to the woman locker holder. Citing the rules, the bank has refused to return the money or give compensation. What should a bank customer do in such a situation?
What is the locker rule?
Till the year 2022, there was a direct rule related to bank locker that if there is any damage to any property of the customer, then the bank will compensate it in full. This is the reason why in most of the cases banks withdraw their hands and refuse to compensate the customer in any way. A petition was filed in the Supreme Court against this arbitrariness of the banks and as per the order of the court, the Reserve Bank issued new guidelines.
What is the new guideline
In the new guidelines of the Reserve Bank, the rules related to loss in bank locker have been cleared. Now the agreement is made between the bank and the customer only under the new guidelines. It says that if the items kept in the locker are damaged or stolen, the bank will compensate the customer 100 times the annual fee charged for the locker.
For example, SBI charges Rs 3000 plus GST every month for a medium-sized bank locker in metro cities. This means that a fee of Rs 36 thousand is charged in a year. If the goods kept in this locker get damaged then the bank will compensate 100 times of it i.e. Rs 36 lakh. It does not matter whether you deposited Rs 1 lakh or Rs 1 crore.
When is compensation not received?
Gyan Dwivedi, Assistant Management, Bank of Baroda, says that if the locker gets damaged due to natural disaster then the bank is not responsible. Apart from this, even if the customer suffers loss due to his mistake, banks do not pay any compensation.
Actually, neither the customer gives information to the bank about what is kept in the locker nor does the bank ask for this information from the customer. It is completely confidential. In the Moradabad incident, although the bank has refused to pay any compensation citing the rules, but under the rules the customer has full right to take compensation from the bank.
