Bank locker facilities offered by banks come with fee depending on the size of locker and location of the bank. The bank has been mandated to recover the rent and any other cost incurred by it and debit the customer account.
According to the PNB website, “The Bank shall have a right to: (a) Recover the Rent and any other cost incurred by the Bank in relation to the Locker to the debit of the Customer’s account, in the event the same is not paid by the Customer, when due; and (b) Refuse access to the Locker- (i) In case the rent due on the Locker remains unpaid; and (ii) Customer fails to provide proof of identity when demanded by the Bank, at the time of seeking access to the Locker.”
Breaking open of the locker and dealing with its contents
The Bank shall have a right to break open the Locker and deal with its contents in accordance with the provisions under this Agreement, in case of any one or more of the following events-
(a) In the event termination notice is served to the customer and the customer does not surrender and vacate the locker after the end of the notice period stipulated under the termination notice;
(b) The rent remains unpaid for 3 (three) consecutive years; and
(c) The locker remains inoperative (irrespective of whether Rent is paid or not) for a period of 7 (seven) years or more; and the customer cannot be located by the bank.Prior to exercising the right to break open the locker, the bank will send to the customer a notice (in addition to the Termination Notice in writing of not less than 3 months by registered post or speed post (as well as by email where the customer’s email id is available; and SMS and/or WhatsApp where the customer’s mobile phone number is available) of the bank’s proposed action of breaking open of the locker (“Break Open Notice”).
Also read: Latest bank locker charges of HDFC Bank, ICICI Bank, SBI, Yes Bank, Canara Bank
When customer is not traceable
The Bank shall, before breaking open the Locker, issue a public notice of not less than 3 (three) months about the Bank’s intention to break open the Locker, in a minimum of 2 (two) newspapers (one in English), if the Termination Notice and the Breaking Open Notice as aforesaid sent by the Bank are returned undeliverable or the Customer is not found to be traceable despite the Bank making reasonable efforts.
The bank will prepare an inventory of the contents and have the contents valued by a valuer approved by the Bank. The contents of the locker will then be kept in a sealed envelope with a detailed inventory inside a fireproof safe in a tamper-proof manner.
According to PNB bank locker agreement, “Disposal of the articles of the Locker as recorded in the inventory prepared in the manner as stated in the paragraphs above, shall be done either by sale in public auction and the sale proceeds shall be applied first towards the Customer’s dues to the Bank (including outstanding Rent, breaking open charges and any other dues) and balance be refunded to the Customer or held for the disposal at the order of the Customer.”
