Question & Answer

Question: The newly appointed safe deposit box custodian called yesterday to tell me that she did a key inventory and found a key in file for a box that's been rented! She talked with the employee who rented the box and they can't figure out how this happened. That employee contacted the customer and she (the customer) swears she also has 2 keys scored with that box number. However, our employee says this customer is older and is easily confused. The safe deposit box custodian theorizes that somehow we ended up with an extra key when the box was re-keyed! The "extra" key is being stored under dual control Do you have any suggestions as to how I can best approach this situation?

Answer: Do you rotate locks between rentings? If so, you may not have a problem at all. Under dual control, try the key. If it doesn't work, you no longer have a problem. Just throw the key away.Assuming you did NOT change the locks - hindsight says you'd better do some training of your safe deposit people. They should not have called the box renter when they found the key. They should have called audit or security...but not the renter!

Now that they have called the renter, confused or not, she knows there is the possibility of another key being out there. Ask her if she will bring both keys and come in to the bank. Tell her there is a problem with the keys to her box, that somehow another key with her box number on it was found, and is locked up and held under dual control at the bank. Offer her a new box, collect the keys from her, and let her transfer to the new box at once. You may want to offer it to her rent free for a year to thank her for her inconvenience. Be sure you explain that the key that was found has been always under dual control and has been locked up.

Thanks again to David McGuinn, President of Safe Deposit Specialists for his ideas and suggestions on safe deposit questions.

Copyright © 1998 Bankers' Hotline. Originally appeared in Bankers' Hotline, Vol. 8, No. 7, 7/98