Which bank still provides safety deposit boxes?

nilrem_2

slinga wrote: »

I keep my House Deeds, and share certs etc in a brown envelope at LTSB.
Costs me 15 quid a year.

For how much longer though I wonder? For many years I had a brown envelope containing my will and deeds kept safely in Natwests vaults until a few years ago when they advised me they no longer offered the service unless I paid an enormous amount to them.

alanq

A topic in today's BBC Radio 4 Moneybox programme. (Starts 15 minutes in).
http://www.bbc.co.uk/iplayer/console/b01dc57k

My attempt at a summary:

Of the major banks some no longer offer the service, some are withdrawing the service and the others don't have spare capacity.

Lloyd's is going to offer the service but from a vault in Scotland. Not convenient, and risky, if boxes are having to be shipped across the country if access is required.

There are private companies providing the service but they are expensive and (although they have to register with the FSA for anti-money laundering) there is no regulation for customer benefit and no recourse to the Banking Ombudsman in the event of a dispute.

(As has been pointed out above) Metro Bank does provide this service for its customers but at present only has a few branches in the South East.

I did briefly consider arranging for a bank box for myself but it seems that, even in a bank vault, boxes are not all that safe and still need to be insured.
e.g. https://forums.moneysavingexpert.com/discussion/3842179