We like to surround ourselves with nice things, we like to collect valuable items, we enjoy buying things and we often try to accumulate savings. However, storing cash and more valuable items becomes a hassle. Find out how to store your valuables so that they are protected against damage, loss or theft.
The easiest and completely free way to do this is to hide trinkets and savings in various types of home lockers. Many people put valuables behind pictures, under mattresses, in bedding boxes, in cookie tins, in drawers, in freezers, behind air vents, behind heavy furniture etc. These methods, although often ingenious, have a basic drawback – they are well known to burglars. They are also of no use in case of fire. Therefore, instead of creating "clever" hiding places, it is much better to bet on other, much safer and more reliable methods of storing valuables.
One alternative solution is to hide valuables in a bank safe deposit box. Using this service is not expensive, as the cost of renting a safe deposit box for a year is from 250 PLN. However, the price of such a service depends on many variables - the bank, the size of the safe deposit box, the declared period of storing the deposit and sometimes also the approximate value of the items which are deposited. The service is available to adults, including foreigners, legal persons and organisational units without legal personality. A safe deposit box may have two owners, as well as an attorney. How does the use of a bank deposit box look like? There is a specific procedure - first the safe is opened with a key by a bank employee, and then the depositor uses his own key. When locking the box, the reverse order applies. However, when depositing valuables in a rented safe deposit box, the client stays alone in a separate room. What can be deposited in a safe deposit box? Anything that can fit into a safe deposit box, with the exception of weapons, drugs, radioactive and explosive materials, perishable goods and criminal items.
Safe deposit boxes have solid security features (resulting from the security systems of the entire banking establishment), but using them entails certain inconveniences. First of all, they are only available in a few banks and only in some branches. This makes it often difficult to find accessible safe boxes close to home, without having to make inconvenient journeys. Moreover, they can be used only during bank opening hours. It is worth knowing that if the tenant loses the key, the locker is opened in an emergency, because the bank does not have a duplicate key. In such a case, the locker is usually destroyed and the tenant is charged with the cost of repairing the locker. However, the biggest disadvantage is probably the risk that in exceptional situations quite a few institutions and state services may have access to the deposit box. These include officers of the Police, Customs Service, Border Guard, Central Anticorruption Bureau, Internal Security Agency, prosecutors and even bailiffs. Thus, if criminal or enforcement proceedings are initiated against the tenant of a safe deposit box, he can expect that the bank deposit box will be opened, checked and emptied. Of course, the bank itself can also open the safe deposit box if the rental period has expired and the customer does not come forward to claim the contents.
You also may be interested in: Burglary – how to protect yourself?
Without a doubt, the most convenient way to store valuables is to use a home safe. With Hartmann Tresore's extensive range, you can find the perfect model for everyone. And although buying your own safe is not the cheapest solution, it has numerous advantages. First of all, you can safely store your valuables in your own home and therefore always have unrestricted access to the contents. In addition, you can adjust the safe to your individual needs and expectations, both in terms of size, equipment configuration and security class. In addition, you can store everything in your own safe, including weapons and ammunition, in accordance with the applicable regulations, of course. There are no contracts involved and the purchase of a safe is an investment that lasts for years.
See our other publications: Home safe – a fad or a real need?
