Many victims of the safe deposit box heists at three First National Bank branches are outraged at the bank’s settlement offers for their losses.
The bank began emailing the heist victims this week.
Most offers appeared to be below 20% - many less than 10% - of the full value of their claim‚ with no information as to how their percentage was arrived at.
One was offered just 14% of his claim‚ despite providing proof of his Krugerrand purchases.
Several had entrusted their most precious belongings to a safety deposit box at the Fourways branch in Johannesburg‚ only to discover after the Randburg heist that their boxes had been moved to that branch before the heist.
The victims - who were organised into a group by Kelly Fraser - lost their precious family heirlooms‚ cash‚ coin collections and other valuables in one of three heists: on December 18 last year 360 boxes were stolen in a brazen overnight break-in at the Randburg branch and two weeks later‚ on New Year’s Eve‚ thieves penetrated a vault at FNB Parktown and made off with R1.7-million in cash and valuables from about 30 safety deposit boxes.
Only when the victims organised into a group did it come to light that in September 2015‚ what FNB calls “a small number” of safety deposit boxes‚ were stolen from FNB in Sunnyside.
The settlement offers include a confidentiality clause‚ but Henning Springer of Randburg has nothing to lose by speaking about his offer because it’s zero.
His email from FNB read: “We note that your version states that you had various items of value in your safety deposit box. However‚ you have not provided sufficient proof…we will not be compensating.”
He had submitted a claim totalling R186 000 for his losses‚ including several Krugerrands‚ coin collections‚ his children’s Christening gifts‚ collections of old SA banknotes and R40 000 in cash.
“I had taken no photos of any of it in the box‚ but would I have been paying the bank R220 a month for 20 years for an empty box?”
Initially the bank pointed victims to the small-print terms and conditions of their safety deposit box rental contract‚ which state that the bank takes no responsibility for any losses and urges customers to take out insurance on their valuables.
But when allegations of the bank’s failure to adequately secure the vaults surfaced‚ the bank softened its stance‚ reimbursing heist victims for the cost of replacing personal documents such as passports‚ paying the excess amounts for those who were insured‚ and enlisting a team of external assessors to evaluate the claims of those who were not insured.
That gave many of them hope‚ but the offers they’ve now got from the bank have left them shocked and disappointed‚ Fraser said.
FNB spokesman Lee-Anne van Zyl said the bank had made individual settlement offers‚ “despite not being legally obliged to do so”.
“Each claim was considered individually on its own facts‚” she said.
“The bank is committed to expediting the process as we recognise that this has been a difficult time for impacted customers.”
But Fraser accused FNB of being “a law unto itself”.
“Firstly by failing to bring these antiquated clauses to the victims’ attention as required by the Consumer Protection Act‚ then failing to inform victims that boxes were being moved‚ only for the victims to find they had been stolen.
“And now making the victims jump through numerous hoops over a settlement‚ for what turned out to be complete slap in the face. We are prepared to take it all the way to the Constitutional Court.”
Shortly after the Parktown incident‚ FNB announced that it would no longer provide a safety deposit box facility to its clients.
- Wendy Knowler is TimesLIVE's consumer champion. You can contact her on email: consumer@knowler.co.za or via Twitter: @wendyknowler
Source: TMG Digital.
'FNB a law unto itself‚' say victims of safe deposit box heists
The bank began emailing the heist victims this week.
Most offers appeared to be below 20% - many less than 10% - of the full value of their claim‚ with no information as to how their percentage was arrived at.
One was offered just 14% of his claim‚ despite providing proof of his Krugerrand purchases.
Several had entrusted their most precious belongings to a safety deposit box at the Fourways branch in Johannesburg‚ only to discover after the Randburg heist that their boxes had been moved to that branch before the heist.
The victims - who were organised into a group by Kelly Fraser - lost their precious family heirlooms‚ cash‚ coin collections and other valuables in one of three heists: on December 18 last year 360 boxes were stolen in a brazen overnight break-in at the Randburg branch and two weeks later‚ on New Year’s Eve‚ thieves penetrated a vault at FNB Parktown and made off with R1.7-million in cash and valuables from about 30 safety deposit boxes.
Only when the victims organised into a group did it come to light that in September 2015‚ what FNB calls “a small number” of safety deposit boxes‚ were stolen from FNB in Sunnyside.
The settlement offers include a confidentiality clause‚ but Henning Springer of Randburg has nothing to lose by speaking about his offer because it’s zero.
His email from FNB read: “We note that your version states that you had various items of value in your safety deposit box. However‚ you have not provided sufficient proof…we will not be compensating.”
He had submitted a claim totalling R186 000 for his losses‚ including several Krugerrands‚ coin collections‚ his children’s Christening gifts‚ collections of old SA banknotes and R40 000 in cash.
“I had taken no photos of any of it in the box‚ but would I have been paying the bank R220 a month for 20 years for an empty box?”
Initially the bank pointed victims to the small-print terms and conditions of their safety deposit box rental contract‚ which state that the bank takes no responsibility for any losses and urges customers to take out insurance on their valuables.
But when allegations of the bank’s failure to adequately secure the vaults surfaced‚ the bank softened its stance‚ reimbursing heist victims for the cost of replacing personal documents such as passports‚ paying the excess amounts for those who were insured‚ and enlisting a team of external assessors to evaluate the claims of those who were not insured.
That gave many of them hope‚ but the offers they’ve now got from the bank have left them shocked and disappointed‚ Fraser said.
FNB spokesman Lee-Anne van Zyl said the bank had made individual settlement offers‚ “despite not being legally obliged to do so”.
“Each claim was considered individually on its own facts‚” she said.
“The bank is committed to expediting the process as we recognise that this has been a difficult time for impacted customers.”
But Fraser accused FNB of being “a law unto itself”.
“Firstly by failing to bring these antiquated clauses to the victims’ attention as required by the Consumer Protection Act‚ then failing to inform victims that boxes were being moved‚ only for the victims to find they had been stolen.
“And now making the victims jump through numerous hoops over a settlement‚ for what turned out to be complete slap in the face. We are prepared to take it all the way to the Constitutional Court.”
Shortly after the Parktown incident‚ FNB announced that it would no longer provide a safety deposit box facility to its clients.
- Wendy Knowler is TimesLIVE's consumer champion. You can contact her on email: consumer@knowler.co.za or via Twitter: @wendyknowler
Source: TMG Digital.
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