safe deposit boxes?

Yggr of Asgard

Does anybody know which bank is still offering safe deposit boxes?

PTSB does not offer them according to my branch.

unclebill98

Been covered here before, do a search of this forum.

Due to space in branches they are no longer done in most banks, however someone found an alternative cant remember what the company was called.

stevewales0

I have been doing a bit of research into this -- one of my Relatives got a bit of a fright after the Cyprus thing.

Banks here don't offer the service anymore (Their goal is to go completely on-line)

Private Companies --
The "Shouty-est" on the search engines are a company called Merrion private Vaults in Dublin.
This thing isnt even up and running yet - I emailed them to ask if I could see the facility -- Reply -- "we have a sales area in (I forget) were we can show you the various sizes of box that will be available"
they are registered under the name shavo limited

There is also Sentinel Vaults also in Dublin also not up and running (taking 'bookings' as is Merrion)
trading as Sentinel Vaults ltd

use this website to look-up Company history -it's free for limited info
http://www.solocheck.ie/

why not reply with your thoughts on what you find -- esp Sentinel

masterboy123

Have a look at this also:

https://www.sentinelvaults.com/

stevewales0

masterboy123 wrote: »

Have a look at this also:

https://www.sentinelvaults.com/

You're missing my point masterboy - It's not my style to randomly flame people/companies but the weblink I left will give you some stats about Irish companies.
if you go to that page and search the company you recomended, get back to this thread and let us know what you found --- how long the company has been trading --- how many previous companies the directors have.

you might think twice about recommending services -- {unless you are involved in them yourself)

for anybody looking for Service companies Esp off website -- do some research is my advice.

hfallada

I went to my local BOI and asked about them as there was a sign saying please phone 24 hours before you intend to access you safety deposit box. The women told not once in 15 years working in the bank has she heard of anyone accessing one and they dont offer them anymore.

Yggr of Asgard

stevewales0 wrote: »

You're missing my point masterboy - It's not my style to randomly flame people/companies but the weblink I left will give you some stats about Irish companies.
if you go to that page and search the company you recomended, get back to this thread and let us know what you found --- how long the company has been trading --- how many previous companies the directors have.

you might think twice about recommending services -- {unless you are involved in them yourself)

for anybody looking for Service companies Esp off website -- do some research is my advice.

I agree with you, for a safety deposit box it is essential to choose a provider that you can trust and hence checking their company record out it a good idea, especially if it's a new company and the directors are serial directors (i.e. are also front people for hundreds of other companies like in this case).

Unfortunately both providers mentioned in this thread are brand new and even are not fully up and running and have only demo boxes available.

As I travel frequently I got myself a box in a German bank near the Frankfurt airport and am very happy with it. I would have preferred an Irish location but banks don't do them anymore and new providers don't seam to be up and running.

uck51js9zml2yt

read about their new set up in the busines post recently. sounds ok.

Couture Online

Which one tatranska?

uck51js9zml2yt

Couture Online wrote: »

Which one tatranska?

I think it was sentinel.

gordongekko

dublin-texas wrote: »

As I travel frequently I got myself a box in a German bank near the Frankfurt airport and am very happy with it. I would have preferred an Irish location but banks don't do them anymore and new providers don't seam to be up and running.

can you tell us how this works, the costs, security etc.

cookie2012

I recently checked with AIB, did offer this service once but no longer do. Visited both these websites. Merrion seem to have alot of recent press and radio exposure, set up by two Irish guys. Looks like they are opening in Sept.

You can listen to radio interviews from their website.

http://merrionprivatevaults.ie/media/

stevewales0

Aubriella Obedient Stepladder wrote: »

read about their new set up in the busines post recently. sounds ok.

This one?-

http://www.solocheck.ie/Irish-Company/Sentinel-Vaults-Limited-529736

turbot

I called into the Sentinel Vaults sales office (?) a few days ago, where the old XtraVision used to be in Ballsbridge, opposite Millers Pizza / Tesco.

It looked like a very temporary office, with a table in the middle of the room with leaflets and some boxes on exhibit. I had a long chat with James, their sales person, who said they were just using the XtraVision space until they opened.

My 2c:

(1) The boxes themselves looked a bit flimsy / underwhelming, like gym lockers with plastic boxes inside. James assured me they were stronger than they looked and it didn't matter because they were inside a vault.

(2) I enquired how safe the facility was for data - and if the vaults were magnetically shielded / inside a faraday cage. He didn't seem to know (or understand what this meant) except to say he expected people to store usb keys / data in the boxes.

(3) He said that anything stored isn't insured, but you can take out cover from Lloyds for your own contents if you want.

(4) I asked, how could I trust a new company to protect anything valuable and how could I do due dilligence if I'm to suggest to some of my clients they should have offsite backups of data in the most secure place possible. I didn't really get a good answer to this question, except that, its a vault, that I could look up the company on the CRO, and they were registered with the European Safe Deposit Box Association whom I should look up on Google. I tried to google this association but couldn't find anything at all. Can anyone else find them?

rockfist

Did anyone have anything further on this? I'm booked in to visit each of them tomorrow and know very little about either. Parents house was broken into so need something safe.

stevewales0

I also visited both sites-
One is very plush and "luxury" feeling and you walk straight in off the street.
The "Vault" seems to be the previous banks counting room.

the other is very hard to find and has a very functional feel
you have to enter a multi-use non descript building to gain access to the vault facility. Also there is a private car parking area in a gated compound behind(secure access to vault facility)
The vault itself is custom constructed from steel plate encased in concrete (I was told it is gold standard and Lloyds insurance standard for Vault construction).

I chose one above the other, because when I thought about the vulnerability of my valubles,both in the vault and especially in transit in and out, the obvious choice doesn't need Interior design to show it's mettle (Pun intended)

I'm not gonna give free advertising or endorsement, so visit both and do your own assessment of your personal safety in and out of each.
I recon you will also choose the correct company for your valuables.

DMcL1971

rockfist wrote: »

Did anyone have anything further on this? I'm booked in to visit each of them tomorrow and know very little about either. Parents house was broken into so need something safe.

rockfist, please post some feedback on them when you can. I would be interested in hearing what they are like.

turbot

rockfist wrote: »

Did anyone have anything further on this? I'm booked in to visit each of them tomorrow and know very little about either. Parents house was broken into so need something safe.

Update:

Re Sentinel Vaults: Last summer I called in a few times to their temporary shop space in the old XtraVision in Ballsbridge before they opened. At the time, their sales office seemed a bit messy, half sales office, half building site.

After I talked to them, I couldn't find any information about the European Safety Deposit Box Association they talked about. According to Google & Bing at least, it still doesn't seem to exist. Anyone else?

Sentinel said they were going to open in late September. But when they did, they left their sales office in a mess and I kept noticing because I'd walk past it every day. When people show lack of attention to detail like that for something that important, it makes me uneasy. I didn't follow up.


So then in December and friend of mine and I went for a tour of Merrion Private Vaults / Merrion Vaults. They are a completely different company to Sentinel.

I liked their facility and approach and so did my friend. The whole setup was re-assuring. I've never been anywhere quite like it. Observations:

1) It's in the basement of a big non-descript office building near the Gingerman pub.
2) They have secure parking (if you arrange it in advance). We just parked on the road outside.
3) You walk into the building, down into the basement, and then through 5 or 6 layers of security into a huge vault. The vault inside area is huge - it must be 1000+sq ft and it was about 1/3 full of safe deposit boxes which look like rows of very upmarket lockers.
4) Each safe deposit box has two keys and you need both to open a box. When you open a box, you slide out a metal tray and bring it into a private viewing room. There are two private viewing rooms inside the vault.
5) When I asked if the vault was magnetically shielded for data storage, they said that people were storing data there and Lloyds inspectors had said their place was one of the best built vaults in Europe.
6) We talked to Seamus and Dave at a big desk inside the vault itself. They set up the business and encouraged me to do background research on them and their company. (I haven't done this yet, but can find them straight away on the CRO)

Conclusion: Even though Sentinel is much closer to where I live, my plan is to get a box with Merrion. They seemed very legitimate and thorough. My friend who went on the tour with me said the same.

Also worth thinking about:
My friend said that for storing precious metals, it's worth thinking in terms of the % cost of storage. For example, if you're only storing €2500 of silver, a box might give you security but is not nearly as good value as if you're storing €30k+, where the cost per year is 1% of the value stored.

uck51js9zml2yt

what@ tbeir prices like?

mark8511

Hi, I will say Sentinel will be better option to choose from after a small research done by me ( advise is on my personal exp)

sentinelvaults.ie/safety-deposit-box-prices/

uck51js9zml2yt

mark8511 wrote: »

Hi, I will say Sentinel will be better option to choose from after a small research done by me ( advise is on my personal exp)

sentinelvaults.ie/safety-deposit-box-prices/

Please expand !!

stevewales0

Hi,
I have posted before giving my reasons for choosing Merrion Vaults - I thought it would be useful to recount my experience selling some 1oz Gold bars through Merrion Gold - A service run by Merrion Vaults to buy and sell bullion.
I have had a box in the vault since it opened and recently needed to generate some cash.
The best price I could get was from Kitco in Canada - Seamus of Merrion Gold was almost able to match this (In fact when I allowed for insured transport via courier, his offer was as good as kitco)
An obvious advantage is that the transaction was done within the vault itself - There is a certain value in having such a level of personal security.

I don't usually go out of my way to blog a service, but in the case of merrion, the praise is well deserved.