SDB Fiasco
GuzziSport
Posts: 361 ✭✭✭✭✭
My bank allowed my bank box to be drilled by “the attorneys”, apparently representing another customer, without validating or providing oversight that the box(s) being drilled was authorized to be drilled.
Mine was drilled by mistake.
The inside removable box was gone, as were the contents.
Luckily, the core of my coin collection was not in the box at the time, only some of my late wife’s jewelry.
The attorneys claim to have the contents, I’ll meet with them early next week to have my property returned. Or so they say.
The bank tries to blame “the attorneys”, I called bs on them on lack of controls. They fumbled a response agreeing with me. Idiots.
Luckily, LUCKILY, my coins were not in the box at the time it was invaded.
I’m left stunned by the incompetency.
Be careful out there!!!! I never, ever thought this possible.
Comments
Scary
Mr_Spud
Way scary, its not good 😐
If you do an internet search, you'll find this sort of thing isn't as uncommon as it should be.
It’s amazing the amount of incompetence out there from supposedly experienced professionals (not just banks)! I see it all the time! They don’t give a damn!! They just say ‘sorry about that’. Sorry doesn’t cut it after the damage is done….Then they talk down to you like they’re doing you some sort of favor by providing inadequate,damage control. Total BS!! it’s really hard to trust anyone anymore. They’ll gladly take your money, but no accountability or responsibility. I’m sorry this happened to you and I hope you get this straightened out!!
Sometimes, it’s better to be LUCKY than good. 🍀 🍺👍
My Full Walker Registry Set (1916-1947):
https://www.ngccoin.com/registry/competitive-sets/16292/
I will never store my coins/collection in a Bank SDB.
Just me.
Incompetence is the in-thing now. Everybody's on their phones or AI. Get your property back and then investigate.
You're not wrong...but a huge percentage of people have ALWAYS been incompetent at their jobs. The cause is just more obvious now.
chopmarkedtradedollars.com
Hopefully the 20 rolls of AGE's will still be in the box.
Worry is the interest you pay on a debt you may not owe.
"Paper money eventually returns to its intrinsic value---zero."----Voltaire
"Everything you say should be true, but not everything true should be said."----Voltaire
I’m truly stunned by this, I thought/assumed that safe deposit boxes were about as safe as it gets. I have to rethink this.
I hope they missed the 5 33 double eagles 😢
how did they mix this up? digit transposition? typo? etc?
This is the 3rd party risk they keep talking about on the PM forum.
Transposition, box numbers were very similar. Apparently nobody checked box holder name and address.
I wonder what the bank's take on all of this would be?
Most banks are getting out of the SD box aspect of their business. This is the primary reason. There’s very little money for them to make to assume what might become a huge risk. As @MasonG asserted above, this type of thing happens much more often than one would think. @GuzziSport: I hope everything turns out right for you!
“The thrill of the hunt never gets old”
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@GuzziSport We will all be curious to hear the update. In my opinion if you are not completely whole and there are not sincere apologies i would be calling law enforcement.
Wow!
Good luck.
Still the best place to keep a collection. But damn
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I might suggest you contact your local TV News station (consumer hotline or similar). They often have a way of "convincing" companies to set things right.
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Surprising? When many US corporations main question for potential employees is "How cheap do you work?" it shouldn't be.
You are lucky they did not send it to your state for auction.
I'm also curious what was in the other box that the lawyers intended to take.
Were they estate attorneys trying to settle someone's estate? Was it something related to a nasty divorce? 🤔
Hopefully the lawyers still have everything. At some point they would have liquidated or distributed it.
Is it? I don’t know…. This now fills me with angst and dread.
It’s by dumb luck of random timing that I’m not being peeled off the ceiling because my collection is missing and in someone else’s hands tonight.
I’ll let y’all know what comes of it.
BTW, my box is 3544, the box they should have emptied was 3554.
At least they didnt destroy your house....
https://www.google.com/amp/s/abcnews.go.com/amp/Business/story?id=7823594&page=1
@humanssuck
"Certainly, we're not happy about it and feel bad for Mr. Byrd," Nines said.
Just… wow.
And sadly this isnt anywhere near the only case of this happening, just like if you google issues with SDB's you'll find a lot more cases like yours.
And in all of them....the common theme is stupid humans.
IMHO, once the idiots realized they f'd up, the contents should have been immediately inventoried and moved in their entirety to another secure box. Not allowed to be put in further insecurity in some lawyers office for you to inconveniently spend your time having to retrieve. They have absolutely NO right to be in possession of YOUR property!
I tend to agree with you. Maybe the learning here is that individuals with bank safe deposit boxes need to check them regularly. And possibly insure the contents.
As unfortunate as this story is, IMHO it doesn’t warrant a “I’ll never trust banks” response. After all, If a house is burgled, no one says “I’ll never own a house.”
As we all know, nothing is perfectly safe. It’s always about minimizing risk, not eliminating it.
Have you consulted with a lawyer? Sounds like you have a case worth a lot of money especially if any of your proof double eagles are missing.
Worry is the interest you pay on a debt you may not owe.
"Paper money eventually returns to its intrinsic value---zero."----Voltaire
"Everything you say should be true, but not everything true should be said."----Voltaire
I only came to learn of this several hours ago. But I hear you! Perhaps my 1792 half disme has gone missing too.
I agree with all of that, but the problem is that they likely didn't know (and never would have) that they had the wrong box. The lost key and lawyer involvement suggests that the owner was no longer in the picture so they would not have known what to expect.
Agree with that. In part, that is what is so scary about this entire episode. The lack of controls and oversight is incredible.
Every so often I check on mine. I see where others have signed in just once or twice over years of storage. I don’t trust them that much.
Sadly, bank staff these days are no more professional than retail store employees. They even call their branches stores now. Some of the lowest paid employees work the front lines.
Are you talking about the one that was passed down over several generations so there is no receipt proving what it originally cost so you'll have to use current price guides to prove its value?
Worry is the interest you pay on a debt you may not owe.
"Paper money eventually returns to its intrinsic value---zero."----Voltaire
"Everything you say should be true, but not everything true should be said."----Voltaire
The staff isn't very knowledgeable either !
I stopped at my main bank to order checks yesterday. The clerk kept touching his computer screen and making small talk. I'm standing there for five minutes. Finally, he says, "Would you mind if I called the check printing company and ask them what we should do ?"......I just told him I didn't have the time.
Went online when I got home and ordered the checks.
The problem I see here is if you dont have an inventory of what was in there you have a good chance of getting screwed.
Student of numismatics and collector of Morgan dollars
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Even if you have an inventory, I’d imagine it would be a legal battle to get a bank (and/or “the attorneys” in my case) to make me whole on significant losses due to their negligence.
I normally have 80-90 really nice and pricey (to me) certified coins in that box. If those went missing (thankfully they were with me when my box was invaded) I’d imagine it would be a long, costly drawn out legal battle, at best.
I have to go back and review my contract to see what protections I have - I’d imagine those protections are scant.
Do you have insurance?
Probably not. Not to many people do when it comes to that stuff.
What a bummer sorry man.
Student of numismatics and collector of Morgan dollars
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Knowing your bankers and being on friendly terms with them was my methodology. Maybe if they're going to drill one of them would know you well enough up to call you? I think I lost the sdb key once and they may have had to drill.
To be clear, as I described in the original post, they drilled the wrong box due to simple misidentification of the box number.
This was a simple screw up, and luckily my coins were not in the box at the time of the screw up.
And no, I don’t insure my coins.
What REALLY frosts me is the apparent total lack of controls and verification of what was being drilled at the time. Yesterday, the bank manager attempted to blame the service/firm/whatever that did the drilling, I called BS on him and he apologized and agreed the blame was on his staff.
How did you found out their driiling of your SDB? Did they contact you or just by chance encounter when you happen to stop by to review your SDB contents?
I know I will be documenting everything TWICE and insert my SDB # & account holder names in bold letters inside it today.
@Sweetpie I stopped in to put my coins back in the box. I had taken them out to do some “culling” of coins I want to sell/thin the herd and redeploy the proceeds. The coins are almost always in my box.
It’s both lucky and unsettling to say the least.
A good idea. Maybe on the outside of the metal box inside the SDB and also inside with the contents.
Even if you do have an inventory, the terms and conditions often sharply limit what can be stored in the box and/or the bank has no liability for it.
https://www.bankofamerica.com/content/documents/deposits/safedepositbox_disclosures.pdf
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How hard is it to create an inventory of all your classic proof gold coins and then just backdate it?
Worry is the interest you pay on a debt you may not owe.
"Paper money eventually returns to its intrinsic value---zero."----Voltaire
"Everything you say should be true, but not everything true should be said."----Voltaire
I understand the need for law enforcement to enter an SDB, but a 3rd party member of the court authorizing the entry should be present and itemize each and every item as the box is opened, just for these type of errors or to prevent loss after entry. Just sayin'. Also, I had a neighbor pass away and the bank kept the contents held until a court authorized release due to inheritance issues. So If you are ailing badly, remove your SDB items to your home. Again, just sayin'.
Jim
When a man who is honestly mistaken hears the truth, he will either quit being mistaken or cease to be honest....Abraham Lincoln
Patriotism is supporting your country all the time, and your government when it deserves it.....Mark Twain
Wow! That's nuts! I was seriously considering getting a SDB, but I'm still a bit reluctant... thanks for sharing and I hope you're made whole after this fiasco settled...
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They are more obvious now. There are countless ways in which incompetence is caused and even more in the ways it is expressed. Every systemic problem that can be addressed through intention can be defined as a result of incompetence.
My point was even people who had to usually tend to business seem to be distracted.