Frequently Asked Questions (FAQ)
• Why rent a Safe Deposit Box ?Safe Deposit Boxes are ideal for storing valuables. Take a quick inventory of your personal items and ask yourself these questions:-
Are these items important to me ?
Would it be difficult or impossible to replace these belongings ?
Are these items in danger of fire or theft ?
Is it possible that I could lose or misplace these items ?
Is there any risk that these could decay or deteriorate if I fall to protect them ?
If you’ve answered “yes” to any of these questions, a Safe Deposit Box may be of significant.
• What articles should I keep in a Safe Deposit Box ?
Whether your items are of purely sentimental importance or of great financial value, a Safe Deposit Box will keep them well-protected. Following is a list of personal, business and financial items that you may consider keeping in a Safe Deposit Box:-
Abstracts, Adoption Papers, Agreements, Articles of Partnership, Bank Records, Bills of Sale, Birth Certificates, Blueprints, By-laws, Certificates of Deposit, Charters, Citizenship Papers, Collectable Coins, Contracts, Court Decrees, Deeds, Diaries, Drawings, Family Records, Guarantees, Heirlooms, Historical Records, Important Cancelled Checks, Income Tax Records, Insurance Policies, Inventories (Household or Business), Leases, Legal Documents, Letters, Marriage License(s), Medals, Military Service & Discharge Records, Mortgages, Notes, Passbooks, Passport, Patent Papers, Pension and Profit Sharing Documents, Photographs, Receipts, Retirement Papers, Securities & Stocks, Souvenirs, Special Formulas, Stamp Collections, Surety Bonds, Tax Receipts, Tax Records, Trademark Papers, Trust Papers, Saving Bonds, Warranties & Wills, and many more.
Insurance can reimburse you for loss, but nothing can compensate you for the loss of irreplaceable items that have been destroyed by fire, flood or other disaster.
• Are the Safe Deposit Boxes fire resistant ?
Yes, all of the boxes and the strong room are fire resistant.
• How does a Safe Deposit Box open ?
A Safe Deposit Box cannot be opened (except by force) unless one of your keys and our guard key are both used. Your key opens set of tumblers: the guard key opens another set of tumblers to release the lock. Neither key by itself can unlock the Safe Deposit Box. This gives you additional assurance as to the privacy and safety of your Safe Deposit Box contents.
• Can others have access to my Safe Deposit Box ?
Only if to Royal Deposit Boxes satisfaction they are authorized by you or by law, or in certain circumstances on the termination of the Hire Agreement.
• If I lost my key, could the finder open my box ?
No, before anyone is allowed access to a box the identity of the person must be verified by Public Safe Sdn Bhd.
• Can anyone see what I have in my Safe Deposit Box ?
No, not unless authorized by law or by you. Your possessions are in closed containers in a box and you will be given the utmost privacy when you open the box and deal with your contents. You may even lock the inside container with a lock of your own choice and off course hold on to your key.
• Can a member of the staff open my Safe Deposit Box ?
No, this is not in normal circumstances. The key used by our staff controlling the Safe Deposit Box cannot open any Safe Deposit Box on its own. All it does is prepare the lock for your key.
• What are the requirements to open a Safe Deposit Box ?
You must be above 18 years of age and possess a valid MyKad or other valid identification.
• Are foreigners eligible to open Safe Deposit Boxes ?
Yes. All they need is a valid travel document.
• Is there a limit to how many Safe Deposit Boxes I can hold ?
No, there is no limit to the number of Safe Deposit Boxes you may have.
* Access by Others
• Can I arrange for someone to access my safe deposit box in an emergency?
Yes. You can jointly rent your safe deposit box with a spouse, or other person who would have unrestricted access to the box. (Warning: Merely giving someone else a key will not be enough to grant access. He or she also must sign the rental contact as a joint-renter or co-hirer.) An alternative is to appoint a “deputy” or “agent” (NOT a power of attorney) who will have access to your safe deposit box. A deputy / agent and a general power of attorney are similar in that you may grant or revoke the authority at any time, and the appointment ends if you become incompetent or die. The main difference is that a deputy or agent is appointed in the presence of the box renters and our employee, which gives us greater assurance about the validity of the authorization. Many people are surprised to find that a power of attorney does not allow access to a safe deposit box. We have no way of knowing if the power of attorney is still in effect or if the renter was competent when the power of attorney was signed.
• Can law enforcement authorities access my safe deposit box without my knowledge or permission ?
If a local, state or federal law enforcement agency persuades the appropriate court that there is “reasonable cause” to suspect you’re hiding something illegal in your safe deposit box (guns, drugs, explosives, stolen cash or money obtained illegally), it can obtain a court order, force the box open and seize the contents. Remember this can only happen with an “Order from the Court”. No one can simply walk in and ask us for access to you box.
• Can a safe deposit box be declared “abandoned” and the contents turned over to the government ?
Yes, but only if you do not pay your rental fee when it becomes due (as determined by the agreement to rent) and after attempts to notify and locate you prove unsuccessful. In that case, your safe deposit box will be reported as abandoned and the contents will be turned over to the Authorities’ unclaimed property office. Often this happens because the renter dies and the heirs have no knowledge of the box or its contents. The good news is that even if the State has sold your unclaimed property, you or your heirs still have the right to claim its value.
* How Safe ?
• Are safe deposit boxes protected from fire, flood or other disasters ?
Safe deposit boxes and the vault that house the boxes are highly resistant to fire, flood, heat, earthquakes, explosions or other disastrous conditions.
• Are there extra precautions I can take to minimize damage ?
Yes. Prevent water damage by sealing items in airtight, zip-lock bags or Tupperware-style containers. Also, put your name on each item, keep a list of the box’s contents, make copies of important documents and even take photos of your most prized items left in the safe deposit box. That way, if a disaster occurs, your chances of successfully identifying, claiming or recovering an item would be increased.
• Can thieves rob a safe deposit box ?
Yes, it happens, but fortunately very rarely. Public Safe are stored in reinforced concrete/steel vaults equipped with sophisticated alarms, locks, video cameras, motion sensors, and other security devices. We also have very strict access procedures, among them: verifying signatures, restricting access to the vault, limiting one’s time inside the vault, and requiring two different keys (one being our “guard key”) to open a safe deposit box. We have 24/7 security guards, armed for your security and protection.
• Is there a Condition Precedent for hiring a box ?
No. Unlike all banks which require need you to maintain an account with the bank, enroll as the banks credit card holder or use at least one of the bank’s products as a condition precedent for the hiring of a safe deposit box, at Public Safe no such condition is imposed. Some banks may even require a prospective renter to maintain a certain amount in Fixed Deposit Boxes before one can even be eligible to rent a safe deposit box. In Singapore it is mandatory to have a minimum of S$5K as Fixed Deposit in the bank before you could even be on the wait list.
• Are you valuables in the bank’s safe deposit boxes insured ?
No, they are not! But many people mistakenly believe that even if the worst happens, their property has the extra protection of the bank’s insurance. The Federal Deposit Insurance Corp.’s RM60, 000 guarantees, however, does not extend to safe deposit boxes. And, to many homeowners’ chagrin, their personal policies may not cut it, either.
• What about Public Safe, are your valuables kept in Public Safe insured ?
Yes. We insure all your items up to a maximum limit of RM100, 000.00 per box. For any amount in excess RM100K then an additional premium will apply.
• Why do Public Safe uses boxes inside the safety deposit boxes ?
All our safety deposit boxes use an inside box. This is for three reasons:-
i. To protect the client privacy, as he can take the inside box out of the locked safety box and bring it to a private room where only he can see what goes inside.
ii. To take full advantage of the safe deposit box’s size. It is much easier to take out the box that occupies the full volume of the space rented by the hirer and easily access its content.
iii. In case of death or technical repairs, Public Safe can ask its own locksmith to drill a box and have a Lawyer or Notary be present to put a sealed security chain / ribbon around the box to guarantee that the box contents will be untouched and kept private from all but the client.
Finally, if you do decide a safe deposit box is your best security move, don’t skip common-sense protection steps. You may store documents within airtight, zip-lock or Tupperware-style containers inside the box. Stash copies of important documents in a separate location and photograph the vault’s contents. Anything you do to increase chances of successfully identifying, claiming or recovering an item is worth the effort.
No comments:
Post a Comment