Safe Deposit Box (A conversation that made me start removing my items)

AdDicted2Ag

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While waiting in line to dump my dimes today I sparked up a conversation with an older woman (in her 70s-80s). This woman actually lived her entire life in a North Jersey shore town and was telling me about how her town was completely demolished by hurricane Sandy which forced her to move into my area with her daughter. This woman's house was one of many that were completely destroyed and since she had been through many hurricanes before, she only took one suitcase with her when she evacuated the area.. Long story short, she lost EVERYTHING.. The entire house was washed away and she was left with absolutely nothing.. As a back story, I have a lot of problems with FEMA that I will not go into, but as my conversation continued with this woman I was very pleased to hear about all the positive things they did for her. They not only gave her a $1000 dollars, but also offered to cover hotel charges for her for two weeks until she found a permanent residence. When she was telling me about what they did for her, I replied by saying how nice it is to know that FEMA is actually doing some good and truly helping people.. Needless to say, this made her upset and caused her to bring something up that truly astonished me.. She said, that FEMA did something that completely overrides any help they offered her. While she was grateful that they did give her some money and offered to pay for a hotel, FEMA may have taken all of her antique jewelry and collectables that had been accumulated for generations in her family. She told me that when FEMA took control over the town and surrounding areas, all banks and assets were taken as well.. When she went to the bank to remove her collectables from her safe deposit box before she moved, she was denied entry and told to give her phone number, but was also told that "there is no guarantee she will ever be able to get her items back." this was weeks ago and she still has not heard anything. She stated that she has went back to the bank to retrieve her items numerous times and continues to be told the same thing. I could see how upset this woman was and I was completely dumbfounded that this happened to her.. I have been storing some valuables in a safe deposit box for quite some time now and have never once for a second believed that my valuables would ever have the possibility of being taken by the government. After my conversation with this woman today, I made the decision to begin removing my items.. I am well aware, that people on this forum will begin calling this woman a liar and will not believe this story, but I promise you I am not making this up. This woman also did not strike me as some nutjob crazy old lady, but someone who was just demoralized and distraught over how she was treated.. I tried searching online to find some proof of this, but couldn't find anything.. I will say though, that I do believe her.. She had nothing to gain from telling me about this. We were simply having a conversation while waiting to use the coin machine.. She only brought it up after I told her how nice it was to hear that FEMA is doing good things for people.. Either way, I figured I would post this in the forum as a warning and perhaps a wake up call to people.. Obviously you should do as you wish with your valuables and I know most people will not change anything after hearing about this, but after today my mind has certainly been changed. I will no longer be trusting my valuables in a safe deposit box.. Just something for you all to think about.. Happy Hunting everyone...
 

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sagittarius98

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50cent

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and... Welcome to Crazy Town!

Better than being in Skunksville. Its not even that crazy, it is foolish to store valuables, in a place that you take-for-granted is safe, simply because 'its a bank'. If I was the OP, I would have found your post insulting.

MR.AG, homie, you need to realize that it was not FEMA that probably took her safe-deposit box, but probably the dang tellers.
 

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AdDicted2Ag

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50cent said:
Better than being in Skunksville. Its not even that crazy, it is foolish to store valuables, in a place that you take-for-granted is safe, simply because 'its a bank'. If I was the OP, I would have found your post insulting.

MR.AG, homie, you need to realize that it was not FEMA that probably took her safe-deposit box, but probably the dang tellers.

I appreciate it 50cent, but don't worry.. I will never be be offended by someone who doesn't question their actions.. Especially someone from jersey posting on an online treasure forum..
 

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jerseyben

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Better than being in Skunksville. Its not even that crazy, it is foolish to store valuables, in a place that you take-for-granted is safe, simply because 'its a bank'. If I was the OP, I would have found your post insulting.

MR.AG, homie, you need to realize that it was not FEMA that probably took her safe-deposit box, but probably the dang tellers.

I was calling the guy above my post crazy, not the OP. Obviously I wasnt the only one who found it "crazy" because it has since been removed by the moderators.
 

jerseyben

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I appreciate it 50cent, but don't worry.. I will never be be offended by someone who doesn't question their actions.. Especially someone from jersey posting on an online treasure forum..

Feel free to browse my past posts. You will find many of them criticize people for "not questioning their actions" and for not thinking for themselves.
 

silvershooter

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I was calling the guy above my post crazy, not the OP. Obviously I wasnt the only one who found it "crazy" because it has since been removed by the moderators.

No it was not removed by the moderators it was removed by me!! Because some people don't have the intellectual ability to comprehend the monetary system and what effect printing money has on it!! So you call the people who can understand crazy or nuts. This is the kind of third grade intellect that a lot of Americans seem to have now,living minute to minute and no worries about their future and are the first ones to stand around with their hands out and complain when some kind of disaster does happen. So welcome back to crazy town!!
 

Senor

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Complete Rubbish. I do have first hand knowledge as I lived through Hurricane Charley in Florida. While we did not have access to the banks until they had power, once the
generators were in we had complete access to the bank and ATM's. FEMA confiscated NOTHING!

The lady is confused.

Did you have a safe deposit box to access? The old lady made no mention of her account or atm.
 

Senor

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I have read and watched news articles about banks that had been taken over by the FDIC or closing having similar issues with their safe deposit boxes.
 

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If theyre after 401ks now do you really think that youre safety deposit box is safe.I dont think so:laughing9:
 

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AdDicted2Ag

AdDicted2Ag

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I can honestly say that I have been debating the removal of my valuables for quite some time now, mostly because of how quickly our personal liberties are diminishing.. Whether she was being completely honest or simply exaggerating the situation, it was enough to make me decide to no longer keep a safe deposit box.. Now I am purchasing an even bigger safe.. Maybe I can talk my woman into letting me buy even more weapons.. lol.. I doubt she will budge on that one considering how many I already own...
 

fistfulladirt

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Buy a safe, have it bolted down and have an alarm system along with firearms. Your items are now safer than at a bank.
You forget the fire factor. That's what scares me the most, and my stuff is safer at the bank.
 

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The_EE

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You forget the fire factor. That's what scares me the most, and my stuff is safer at the bank.

Have a fire safe container inside of a fire safe safe, double your chance of keeping important paperwork safe. As for your stash, I dont collect for collectors sake, I collect for silvers weight so if my stash melted, oh well, its still silver which is all I care about.
 

cooper36

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Were the items still in her SDB? She said that she was unable to gain entry. Does that mean that the items were removed? I thought i remember hearing something about the banks having the right to close a SDB if there is no account activity for a certain period of time. Any truth to this and could this possibly be the reason?
It might be true. However she was not able to get what she wanted when she wanted.
 

GlenDronach

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Her situation: Her entire house was washed away and she can't get to her safety deposit box.

Your response: Take silver out of safety deposit box and put it in house?
 

TheMcs

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You forget the fire factor. That's what scares me the most, and my stuff is safer at the bank.

If you place your safe near an exterior wall, it is unlikely that the temp will remain high enough, long enough, to compromise the integrity.
 

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