Bank Locker Update: Who will be responsible if goods go missing from the bank locker, know RBI guidelines..

Everyone has gold and silver jewelry. But people do not consider it safe to keep them at home, that is why they take bank lockers on rent and keep their jewelery and valuables in it. But if your valuables are stolen from the bank locker then who is responsible? If you think that the bank will take responsibility for this, then you are thinking wrong because the bank is not completely responsible for the goods kept in the locker, in some special situations the bank compensates for the loss of your goods. Know what are the rules of the bank regarding the goods kept in the locker?

Landlord and tenant relationship

When you take a locker from the bank, there is no relationship between you and the bank, or between the bank and the customer, this relationship becomes like that of a landlord and a tenant. Just as a landlord gives his house on rent, but has no responsibility for the tenant's belongings, in the same way a bank gives its locker on rent, but the bank is not responsible for the goods kept in it. This is the reason why the borrower of a bank locker is not under any obligation to inform the bank about the value of the money, jewelery, or valuables kept in the locker. When the bank does not know what goods and how much goods are kept in the locker, then the banks can easily get away with theft or loss of those goods.

There is an agreement between the bank and the locker taker.

Whenever a person takes a locker from a bank, there is an agreement between the bank and the person taking the locker. It is called the ‘Memorandum of Letting’. It is written in it - 'In case of rain, fire, earthquake, flood, lightning, civil rebellion, war, riots, etc., or any other reason which is beyond the control of the bank, the goods kept in your locker will be liable to be refunded. The bank will not be responsible for this. It is also written in this agreement that the bank will take full care and make better arrangements for the safety of your belongings, but the bank will not be responsible for the goods kept in the locker.

What do the new rules of RBI say?

Due to the continuously increasing complaints from customers taking lockers in the bank, RBI has issued new rules, which have come into effect from January 1, 2022. According to these new rules, now banks cannot say that they have no responsibility for the goods kept in the locker. In case of theft, fraud, fire, or building collapse, the liability of banks will be up to 100 times the annual rent of the locker. Apart from this, the bank will have to take all necessary steps for the security of the locker. Whenever the customer accesses his locker, he will be alerted through e-mail and SMS through the bank. Now it is necessary to monitor the people coming and going in the locker room through CCTV. Also, CCTV footage data will have to be stored for 180 days. If in any incident it is proved that the loss of locker contents has occurred due to the connivance of a bank employee or due to negligence in security arrangements, then the bank is held responsible for it.