Safety Deposit Boxes?

[placerman]

My parents grew up just after the Great Depression and told me all kinds of horror stories about the banks.

Even in the early 1960's my father worked for a man who did a sort of personal audit of the banks he dealt with and if he felt they were "sliding" he would withdraw all his money and start a new account at another bank. He would literally bring all his employees, all armed, and set them around a beat up pickup truck outside the bank while he went inside and withdrew all his money and drive the cash to another bank just down the road where he would deposit the money there. My dad told me stories of sitting in the bed of a beat up pick up truck, armed with a single shot shotgun, guarding three or four army duffel bags full of cash while they drove the cash 1.2 miles down the street to another bank.

Anyway, THIS is MY perspective on this whole safe deposit box thing. Safe deposit boxes are NOT safe.

In 1933, Roosevelt declared almost all gold illegal to own and set about confiscating all privately held gold coins. Yes that's right, they took your 20 dollar gold piece and gave you 20 pieces of paper for it, and over the next 6 months they devalued the dollar by 70%.

Are you willing to bet your life savings, all your hard work and sweat on the belief that it wont happen again?

Think they will only go after precious metals? Think again.

Up until very recently, the state of California was arbitrarily breaking into safe deposit boxes and claiming the contents to be "unclaimed property", selling it and using the money to pay their salaries, etc. They would walk into a bank, present the bank manager with an order and literally drill open 30% to 50% of the safe deposit boxes at random, take the contents and walk away and there was nothing the owners or banks could do about it.


http://abcnews.go.com/GMA/story?id=4832471&page=1

http://moneycentral.msn.com/content/banking/betterbanking/p109173.asp

http://www.the-privateer.com/1933-gold-confiscation.html



Im not a real "conspiracy theorist" but it doesnt take a genius to figure out that it is extremely risky to put anything of value in a safe deposit box.

 

[mts]

I'm not saying that bank errors don't happen. But in your first article it never says that the safe deposit boxes were paid up. Although I haven't read every single article you posted the common theme is that they specifically don't address this issue. If these boxes were paid up you would know it because that's the first thing they would point out. Yet they rarely do. In one story it even goes so far as to say something like "she is the kind of person to pay bills on time" but doesn't actually say that the box was paid up. I'll leave you to decide whether or not you think the box was paid up. My money will go on her not having kept it current.

As for the gold confiscation of safe deposit boxes that is also a myth. The executive order proclaimed that you had to turn in your gold. But the government did not put a lock on everyone's safe deposit box as is often claimed. And the very few safe deposit boxes that were confiscated were supposedly done so for other reasons (like tax evasion).

Keep your box paid up and it will not be confiscated. I'm not saying that it doesn't occasionally happen. But it happens only because of bank clerical errors and such. The state of California is not going to great lengths to steal the contents of your SDB. Please don't believe everything you read/hear on the Internet.

 

[placerman]

I'm not saying that bank errors don't happen. But in your first article it never says that the safe deposit boxes were paid up. Although I haven't read every single article you posted the common theme is that they specifically don't address this issue. If these boxes were paid up you would know it because that's the first thing they would point out. Yet they rarely do. In one story it even goes so far as to say something like "she is the kind of person to pay bills on time" but doesn't actually say that the box was paid up. I'll leave you to decide whether or not you think the box was paid up. My money will go on her not having kept it current.

As for the gold confiscation of safe deposit boxes that is also a myth. The executive order proclaimed that you had to turn in your gold. But the government did not put a lock on everyone's safe deposit box as is often claimed. And the very few safe deposit boxes that were confiscated were supposedly done so for other reasons (like tax evasion).

Keep your box paid up and it will not be confiscated. I'm not saying that it doesn't occasionally happen. But it happens only because of bank clerical errors and such. The state of California is not going to great lengths to steal the contents of your SDB. Please don't believe everything you read/hear on the Internet.

This is amazing....

So...what you are saying is, that 6.1 MILLION people in California just had to be late on their box payments?

Talk about having your head in the sand.....

 

[mts]

You have your facts mixed up. The state of California did not confiscate 6.1 million safe deposit boxes. The news video you posted above states that the state of California is currently holding unclaimed funds for 6.1 million people (Ohio has similar numbers). Only a very small number of those accounts are from unclaimed safe deposit boxes. The rest are from missed payroll checks, insurance refunds, and other such unclaimed funds. There are literally hundreds of different ways that unclaimed funds can occur. Heck, the state of Ohio has unclaimed funds in my name for when I was a college kid and moved and didn't get back some of my security deposit for the appartment I was renting.

So you are wrong. The state of California did not confiscate 6.1 million safe deposit boxes. Heck, I doubt there are that many safe deposit boxes in the whole state. You should really get your facts straight before you start claiming that people have their head in the sand simply because they don't agree with you.

 

[ClonedSIM]

You have your facts mixed up. The state of California did not confiscate 6.1 million safe deposit boxes. The news video you posted above states that the state of California is currently holding unclaimed funds for 6.1 million people (Ohio has similar numbers). Only a very small number of those accounts are from unclaimed safe deposit boxes. The rest are from missed payroll checks, insurance refunds, and other such unclaimed funds. There are literally hundreds of different ways that unclaimed funds can occur. Heck, the state of Ohio has unclaimed funds in my name for when I was a college kid and moved and didn't get back some of my security deposit for the appartment I was renting.

So you are wrong. The state of California did not confiscate 6.1 million safe deposit boxes. Heck, I doubt there are that many safe deposit boxes in the whole state. You should really get your facts straight before you start claiming that people have their head in the sand simply because they don't agree with you.

You're absolutely right, mts. Every state that I know of has an unclaimed property office. Like you, I discovered an unclaimed insurance refund check in Texas that I never knew existed. It wasn't much money, but it was listed right in the local paper, along with tons of other folks.

It's helpful to actually read the articles, isn't it?

 

[mts]

You have your facts mixed up. The state of California did not confiscate 6.1 million safe deposit boxes. The news video you posted above states that the state of California is currently holding unclaimed funds for 6.1 million people (Ohio has similar numbers). Only a very small number of those accounts are from unclaimed safe deposit boxes. The rest are from missed payroll checks, insurance refunds, and other such unclaimed funds. There are literally hundreds of different ways that unclaimed funds can occur. Heck, the state of Ohio has unclaimed funds in my name for when I was a college kid and moved and didn't get back some of my security deposit for the appartment I was renting.

So you are wrong. The state of California did not confiscate 6.1 million safe deposit boxes. Heck, I doubt there are that many safe deposit boxes in the whole state. You should really get your facts straight before you start claiming that people have their head in the sand simply because they don't agree with you.

You're absolutely right, mts. Every state that I know of has an unclaimed property office. Like you, I discovered an unclaimed insurance refund check in Texas that I never knew existed. It wasn't much money, but it was listed right in the local paper, along with tons of other folks.

It's helpful to actually read the articles, isn't it?

Well, in all fairness placerman simply read what he wanted to read. Having preconceived notions about the government doesn't help you see things clearly. You are apt to overreact and listen to the skeptics without looking at the facts. So he read the articles but not with an open mind. It also doesn't help that all of these articles are sensationalized journalism. This must have hit during sweeps week or something because they were clearly looking to get people riled up over nothing. The sad thing is that so many people believe this stuff without actually even considering what is being put forward.

If what placerman was saying was true, then there would be hundreds of thousands of people in California whose SDB had been confiscated despite being paid up. If that was the case then you'd be seeing riots in the streets. Thousands of people would be on TV holding up cancelled checks and receipts saying that their boxes were paid up and that what the government was doing amounts to illegal search and seizure. The federal government would have to get involved and many heads would roll. It would be a national scandal of major proportions. It would NOT be something you only hear about from conspiracy theorists on the Internet. It's really common sense. But sometimes common sense goes out the window when people are stuck in a belief system that isn't backed up by facts. I've been reading some of the articles out on the LRL forum where I see you are very active. So I know that you understand what I'm talking about. There are an awful lot of people over there who have their "head in the sand" and are completely unwilling to believe logical arguments. Oh well, what can you do?

 

[GPURS]

If you think a having a safe at home is going to keep the gubment from confiscating anything they want, you are sadly mistaken. The gubment can take anything they want from you at anytime, and you sitting on the front porch with a 30-06 is NOT going to stop them if they want your stuff.
The fact of the matter on this whole issue is whether you are more comfy with your stuff in your safe or in the SDB at the bank. Both options serve the same general purpose, and both options can and will be accessed by the gov. if they want to.... Good luck, Gpurs..

 

[Tattooguy67]

After reading more on this thread and watching some of the videos I can see where it could be infer ed that some of these, heck maybe a lot of these were unpaid boxes, and to that I say so bloody what! to those who are taking that line of thought think on this, what if it had been your grandparents box and they had both been in ill health for some time and things had slipped through the cracks so to speak and been forgotten, they die, then some years or maybe only months later some crew shows up and grabs the stuff out of the box, stuff that should have gone to their heirs, IE you, now tell me that this is all okey dokey and just fine with you! also it looked like to me that some of these folks were easy to find, the gal with the missing pearl necklace had her address in her box and said it was paid up, it looks to me like their idea of finding people is looking out the window and saying"nope not here, it's ours now!" Makes me want to leave a stinky surprise in a box out there, I am sure that would be frowned upon and all but would be funny to see them bust that one open!

Chuck

 

[mts]

After reading more on this thread and watching some of the videos I can see where it could be infer ed that some of these, heck maybe a lot of these were unpaid boxes, and to that I say so bloody what! to those who are taking that line of thought think on this, what if it had been your grandparents box and they had both been in ill health for some time and things had slipped through the cracks so to speak and been forgotten, they die, then some years or maybe only months later some crew shows up and grabs the stuff out of the box, stuff that should have gone to their heirs, IE you, now tell me that this is all okey dokey and just fine with you! also it looked like to me that some of these folks were easy to find, the gal with the missing pearl necklace had her address in her box and said it was paid up, it looks to me like their idea of finding people is looking out the window and saying"nope not here, it's ours now!" Makes me want to leave a stinky surprise in a box out there, I am sure that would be frowned upon and all but would be funny to see them bust that one open!

Chuck

Chuck, I don't necessarily disagree with you. But there is a big difference between "I didn't claim my parent's box until after the three year deadline because I didn't know about it" and the claim that "the California government is walking into banks and demanding that 20-40% of the boxes be drilled and the contents handed over to them". There is no doubt that banks and the California department of unclaimed funds could do a better job of finding these people. And THAT'S what these stories are really about. It's agravating. But the government needs to have some time limit on how long they hold this stuff. Keep in mind that unclaimed funds can be anything from a small amount of money to something the size of a boat! The government can't hold physical property forever and 90% of this stuff is never claimed. If California is in such dire straights doesn't it make sense that they should be able to tap into some of the $6.1B that is sitting there doing nothing? Well, maybe. As long as they use their heads about it. The problem is that they haven't been trying to hard to find people and are now trying to shorten the amount of time they have to wait before selling off physical goods to change them into money that can be invested.

No one ever said that there aren't risks to using safe deposit boxes. Quite the contrary. They need to be paid up and you need to check on them every six months in case there is a clerical error at the bank. And if you don't pay your taxes you can rest assured that the government can and will confiscate what's in your box. But if you keep it paid up and check on it often then it is likely just as safe as keeping stuff at home. The government is NOT confiscating boxes willy nilly. It never has and it likely never will. If it ever does then your possessions at home aren't safe either. But the all out lies being spread by some people in this thread are just ridiculous at best and it amazes me that people don't use just a little common sense to see that what they believe is completely wrong. Unfortunetly, people have their belief systems and cannot and will not allow logic to influence them at all. Keep in mind I'm NOT talking about you in any way. What you've said is completely logical. I too would be upset if they auctioned off my stuff when my name and address was on documents inside the box or if I had an account at that very same bank and they didn't take the time to look it up.

As some of us said before, a safe deposit box is a way to diversify your holdings. Have some at home and some in one or more SDB's. And if you are so inclined, bury some in the ground as well.

 

[Tattooguy67]

" If California is in such dire straights doesn't it make sense that they should be able to tap into some of the $6.1B that is sitting there doing nothing? Well, maybe. As long as they use their heads about it. The problem is that they haven't been trying to hard to find people and are now trying to shorten the amount of time they have to wait before selling off physical goods to change them into money that can be invested. "

To answer your ? here MTS I would say absolutely no! not! never! nope! the government should not be involved in any aspect of this what so ever! other than maybe some kind of over site function, if most of these cases involve unpaid boxes the banks involved ought to be able to recoup any fees owed, and then only after an exhaustive effort to find either the owners or their heirs, and I mean you had better have done everything possible to find said owners! and then if not able to find them the procedes should IMHO be given to charity, either by blind draw or a rotating basis, the government should not be in this type of thing at all! you say that most of these cases are unpaid boxes and you are most likely right, but what of the lady with the pearl necklace? looked to me like she had done all you suggested, there were things in the box with her address on them for gosh sakes! what was she to do, camp out at here bank? and again this is more then likely the acception but to me that is one to many times when you are talking about folks stuff! she has lost something that can never be replaced, and not only that but it was sold to help prop up a fiscally irresponsible state! to me that is just wrong on all levels.

Chuck.

 

[mts]

" If California is in such dire straights doesn't it make sense that they should be able to tap into some of the $6.1B that is sitting there doing nothing? Well, maybe. As long as they use their heads about it. The problem is that they haven't been trying to hard to find people and are now trying to shorten the amount of time they have to wait before selling off physical goods to change them into money that can be invested. "

To answer your ? here MTS I would say absolutely no! not! never! nope! the government should not be involved in any aspect of this what so ever! other than maybe some kind of over site function, if most of these cases involve unpaid boxes the banks involved ought to be able to recoup any fees owed, and then only after an exhaustive effort to find either the owners or their heirs, and I mean you had better have done everything possible to find said owners! and then if not able to find them the procedes should IMHO be given to charity, either by blind draw or a rotating basis, the government should not be in this type of thing at all! you say that most of these cases are unpaid boxes and you are most likely right, but what of the lady with the pearl necklace? looked to me like she had done all you suggested, there were things in the box with her address on them for gosh sakes! what was she to do, camp out at here bank? and again this is more then likely the acception but to me that is one to many times when you are talking about folks stuff! she has lost something that can never be replaced, and not only that but it was sold to help prop up a fiscally irresponsible state! to me that is just wrong on all levels.

Chuck.

Chuck, I think we agree more than we disagree. But you can't take individual data points like the lady with the pearl necklace and condemn the whole system because of it. In that one particular case the bank screwed up. And then the government screwed up. But if every case was like that or even most of them you'd hear people screaming bloody murder instead of the occasional Internet scandal post. So we need to discuss this in terms of the general workings of the system. And in general it works pretty well. The bank ultimately settled with that lady for some equitable sum of money. So hopefully she got what she deserved out of it.

Now I can agree that it would be nice if they tried harder to find people. And they really should. But even after trying to find as many people as you can you are still going to end up with billions of dollars that will never be claimed. It would be nice to give it to charity. But there are a lot of crooked charities out there and how do you pick which ones are going to benefit from it? Unfortunately, the government is pretty much the world's biggest charity so you could argue that having the government use the money is better than giving it to a charity that might misuse it. By having the government use it you are giving it back to the taxpayers in a way so even you and I get to benefit from it to a certain extent. But it's a tough call because government is so wasteful. If I could be assured that it would go to education or something worthwhile then I'd be more inclined to let the government spend some of it.

There is no easy answer. I think that California has gotten themselves in a real mess by being overzealous with it and spending more than they can pay back. A lot of states simply invest the money and just use the interest. That way the money is always there for those that claim it.

It's been an interesting dicussion. Thanks!

 

[quiksilver]

lol besides diversifying where you put it diversify what you own and put the stuff they didnt take in the SDB.

Also on the interesting note of the members using facts and statistics --even including CA, how much gold has been taken by the govt in any of your lifetimes compared to how much has been stolen or lost in a fire ,flood, earthquake etc. Unless your about 77 you will have to admit statisticly that SDB's are a pretty safe place to diversify your holdings especially if you use it to store the numismatic gold which i believe was safe from consfication.