Do you know that the Reserve Bank of India (RBI) has asked all banks to renew their agreements with their locker customers before January 1, 2023? If you are an existing locker customer, you must furnish fresh proof of eligibility for a locker (agreement) with the bank and sign the agreement paper again. Here is an explanation of what you must do and the new rules that banks must follow:
Agreement you need to sign
According to RBI rules, banks can use the model locker agreement drafted by the Indian Banks’ Association (IBA). It should comply with the updated RBI instructions and the Supreme Court’s directives.
As a part of that, a bank and the customer enter into an agreement on stamp paper. It delineates the terms and conditions governing to use the locker facility, the customer’s particulars, such as name, address, and contact number, the locker rent, the period of the licence etc.
The RBI has mandated the banks to ensure that no “unfair terms or conditions” are covered in their locker agreements. The revised guidelines enunciate that the terms of the agreement shall not be more “onerous than required in the ordinary course of business” to secure the interests of the bank.
Security of your valuables
According to the RBI revised guidelines, that came into effect on January 1, 2022, it is the banks’ onerous responsibility to ensure the security of the contents of the safe deposit vaults.
The RBI has also made it mandatory for banks to install CCTV cameras to monitor their locker rooms. Banks must keep the CCTV data stored for at least 180 days to help with the investigation in the case of any discrepancy.
In another safety measure, the RBI has directed all banks to send SMS and emails to the customer every time she accesses the locker. This alert will help customers know if a fraudster is trying to access their locker.
What if your valuables are lost or damaged?
If any loss of locker content results from the bank’s negligence, it will be liable to refund/pay the customer, the new RBI guidelines say. Customers are eligible to get up to 100 times the bank charges if their valuables are stolen or destroyed in a fire or building collapse.
However, banks will not be liable for any damage or loss from natural calamities or what are called “acts of God.” These would include earthquakes, floods, lightning, and thunderstorms.
In the case of any loss resulting from the customer’s sole fault or negligence, a bank won’t be liable to pay damages.
What about rent?
Banks can now ask you to pay a term deposit when it allocates a locker to you. That deposit will be taken as three years’ rent. However, that is only for new customers. Banks cannot ask for such term deposits from existing locker holders or those who regularly have operative accounts.
Other locker rules banks must follow
The RBI has asked all banks to let customers know about locker availability by putting it up on a display board within the bank. Customers must know about the number of empty lockers, the waiting list, if any, and their number on the waiting list.
Supposing any government authority approaches a bank for the attachment, recovery, or seizure of the locker or valuables deposited. In that case, banks must inform the customer by letter, email, or SMS, say of the RBI revised guidelines.
