Lost gold from the Bank Locker?

Question

We have opened a locker sometimes back in Kalyan branch. But there are some gold missing from the locker. We have been trying to get the bank authorities to look into the issues. But they have been dodging the issues, and now they are saying that they don't have any video recordings of that month. 
Initially they have suggested that we don't go to Police, as they would investigate the issue internally and get back to us on the next steps. But after lot of follow ups, after a month and half they are saying that they only keep video recording of 1 month and nothing before that. This is the response that we receive from the supposedly reputable bank 

Answer 1

Hello Chitra,

At the outset, let me clarify that this site is designed by a group of senior Banking Professionals to assist Bank Customers at large to provide guidance for resolution of any complain/query/grievance in respect of financial services. This site does not belong to any Bank or a regulator, which may please be noted.

I may tell you that all banks have strong controls around locker operations. You must be aware that banks do not maintain inventory of the items/articles kept in lockers by customers. Banks rent out lockers and leave it to the customers to operate at their convenience conforming to the standard procedures of the bank. The bank only holds the master key which is common for all lockers in the chest. There are no duplicate keys for locker and hence there is no scope of any operation without the knowledge of the hirer. 

Mostly lockers are kept in strong rooms not only for safety but also for maintaining secrecy of operations. These areas are generally not covered under CCTV.The bank need not have gone on the defensive if they have followed the laid down procedures for locker operations.  In this context, in my view, your bank has not handled your complaint appropriately. 

If you have any specific reason to believe or supporting evidence to prove that your locker was tampered with, there is a case for case for escalation. You may write to the Nodal Officer of your bank narrating the sequence of events. If you do not get satisfactory response, you may take up with the Banking Ombudsman for intervention and resolution.

Contact details of Nodal Officer can be found on the bank's website. For address of the Office of the Banking Ombudsman, Area of Operation (jurisdiction) and the procedure for lodging complaint, you may access the website https://bankingombudsman.rbi.org.in/

 

Regards

 

J R Mohandas