If you own a safety deposit box, you understand the stress you get when you realize that no one can access your box, even in distressing situations.
Consider the scenario where you are abroad while your family faces a distressing situation back home. They have your bank card details, including your PIN, and access to an available cash machine. But, they are unable to withdraw money because they are not the card owner.
In today’s banking system, such a scenario is unimaginable. With the correct PIN, you can authorize anyone to withdraw money from a cash machine using your bank card.
Despite the confidential nature of our valuables, we often have that one person we trust to experience a greater sense of relief and security.
When it comes to safety deposit boxes, granting someone you trust access can be a challenging process that involves formalities. However, it is possible and even encouraged to give someone you trust access to your box.
At Stonewall Vaults, we strive to make the process of adding someone to your box easy and seamless. Simply book an appointment and bring your beneficiaries, along with their relevant documents as highlighted in our Brochure, to our office.
Benefits of adding someone to your safety deposit box
Accessibility:
There will be times when you are not close to your safety deposit box centre.
People fall ill and even become incapacitated – all of which would raise the need for someone other than the primary renter to access the box.
If you had not put that in place, then such an arrangement becomes difficult when needed.
There are stories of invalidated Will and endless probate processes with proving the capacity of a safety deposit box rental.
Cost of rental:
The smallest size of a safety deposit box costs from £150/year.
With the cost-of-living crises, adding someone to your box as a joint owner or co-renter can help you both protect your valuables and save money.
As a couple, for example, you can sign up for a box as joint owners without having to individually pay for one, thereby saving 50% or £75 per year off your safety deposit box rental.
This option may, however, only be possible with couples than those in other forms of relationships due to obvious security reasons.
Continuous Access:
When you add someone to your box, access is not limited when you die or become incapacitated.
It also saves your box from being broken into, with your valuables used to settle accrued rental debt – assuming no claim was recorded over a period of time.
In the UK, safe deposit centres are only obliged to hold your box for a minimum of 6 to 7 years. Beyond that, your box can be declared ownerless.
Once a box is declared ownerless, it can be broken into and inventoried, and then its contents sent to the government coffers.
These processes differ from centre to centre but must meet specific requirements. See ‘What Happens to a Safety Deposit Box When the Owner Dies‘ for a detailed guide.
The main idea is that if you add someone to your box, the beneficiary will assume full ownership when you die, thus ensuring continuous access.
How do you add someone to your safety deposit box?
You need to be sure they’re the right person because anyone added to your box has unrestricted access to the vault as well as your box.
Once you’re clear about who you want to add, let them know the centre will run security and Anti-Money Laundering (AML) checks on them.
These checks are mandatory in the UK, and all security deposit service providers must comply with these laws according to the Financial Conduct Authority (FCA).
Then you can book an appointment with your safety deposit centre and take your beneficiary with you. Once the checks are completed, your beneficiary or now co-renter’s biometrics and other onboarding processes will be done using their personal data.
Doing so, for example, gives them unrestricted access into the vault – just like you – the primary renter.
The implication of having a joint owner is that they can come to the centre and have the same access as you to your box, and the centre cannot question how often or time they come, as much as it’s within opening hours.
Thus, it is important to think about who you add as a co-renter to your safety deposit box.
Risk of adding someone to your box:
As humans, we want to make things easy, but there is always a downside to every comfort we seek along the way.
When you add someone to your safety deposit box, they have similar access to you – at least they can get into the vault and the box without your notice.
Only that they cannot make administrative changes to the account without your knowledge (the primary renter).
The implication is that they can take possession of your box items. So, it’s important that you trust the person you add to your box.
And when there’s doubt, it’s always good to be the first to act. Unlike banks, freezing account access is easy with private providers.
At Stonewall Vaults, you only need to put a call through, and we can temporarily deactivate access to your box account – pending when you sort things out with your co-renter.
How much does it cost to add someone to your safety deposit box?
The main cost of adding someone to your safety deposit box is the registration fee, which costs between £25 and £50.
See how much does a safety deposit box costs for a comprehensive list of safety deposit box prices across independent providers in the UK.
At Stonewall Vaults you are given two keys when you signup for a box. It costs £25 per additional person you add to your box.
We make the process seamless and as the primary renter, you can control access of an additional user with only a call through to our centre.