#FNBHeist: Robbers make off with gift given during World War II

A personal loss that can never be restored, an emotional loss that can never be healed and a material loss that can never be replaced - this is how another Fin24 user described the burglary at FNB in Randburg in which over 300 safety deposit boxes were stolen. 

“We regret to inform you that your safety deposit box has been stolen, please contact legal via email if you have any questions, goodbye” - And so the nightmare began. Except there is no way to escape this nightmare, because it is reality.

I have been a customer of FNB for 40 years and have held a safety deposit box with the bank for more than a decade. I entrusted every item of material value I had to them. Our life savings.

Every item of material value to me and my family was stolen. We had put everything away in our safety deposit box for safekeeping while we were away on holiday the week before.  Every item.

The first gift my father gave my mother during World War II, every gift he gave her over their 63 year marriage, my mother-in-law’s jewellery and all my jewellery which I collected over 35 years, was stolen.

Also read:

My father's most prized possessions stolen

My loss with FNB is irreplaceable

My kids' future was in that safety deposit box

250 FNB heist deposit boxes recovered

All our memories, our life stories, our gifts given and received were entrusted to the bank. All our personal documents, many of which are irreplaceable, including our parents’ birth certificates and their marriage certificates from the 1940’s.

We had taken every precaution to take care of our valuables by having them in a safety deposit box in our bank. We believed them when they promised to protect them and keep them safe. We even paid them to do it. Now we have lost it all.

It is such a huge personal loss that can never be restored, a huge emotional loss that can never be healed and a huge material loss that can never be replaced.

And there is the threat that we will not be compensated by FNB. So it has all gone. Just like that.

FNB issued the following statement regarding the incident:
 
FNB can confirm that a robbery of safety deposit boxes occurred at its Randburg Branch (Corner of Republic and Main Road)  on Sunday evening, 18th December 2016.
 
We deeply regret the impact that this has had on our customers affected by the robbery.
 
FNB could only notify customers once the police had completed their preliminary investigation as well as ascertain which customers were affected. As soon as the bank was able to start communicating to customers it began the process of notifying each customer individually.
 
We are working closely with the South African Police Services (SAPS) and the Organised Crime Unit with regard to the matter. In light of the police investigation currently underway, the Bank is unable to provide further commentary regarding the details of the actual robbery.

Disclaimer: All letters and comments published in Fin24 have been independently written by members of the Fin24 community. The views are therefore their own and do not necessarily represent those of Fin24.