Before you send us something valuable.
The questions clients actually ask, answered plainly. If yours isn’t here, the custody desk will answer it before you commit to anything.
No. Every movement is surveyed and quoted first, because both the handling plan and the cover depend on knowing what the item is and what it’s worth. A booking taken blind is one nobody can insure properly.
There’s no minimum piece count. A single ring moving across London and a pallet of bullion crossing a border are both routine — the survey decides the handling, not the size.
Usually within one working day in cities where we hold offices, and same-day where a crew is already in the area. Cross-border movements depend on any export formalities, which we’ll flag at quotation rather than discover later.
Regularly. If we can’t survey the item, verify who we’re releasing to, or document the chain end to end, we say so rather than take the booking.
Cover is arranged against the value you declare at quotation and confirmed in writing before collection. A certificate naming the underwriter is issued on request. If the declared value changes before collection, tell us — cover follows the declaration, not the invoice.
Then you’re underinsured, and in the event of a loss you’d recover only the declared amount. It’s worth a moment’s thought at quotation — the premium difference is almost always smaller than people expect.
You get a named contact, a written incident report and a claim reference within one working day. Our custody documentation is designed to make a claim straightforward to evidence — that’s much of the reason it exists.
From the rate agreed in your storage contract, applied to elapsed time from receipt, less any grace period. Charges are billed in arrears against a numbered invoice. The balance in your portal is invoices issued less payments received — never an estimate, and never a figure typed in by hand.
Release what you need. Charges stop for the released items on the date they leave and continue for whatever stays, so you’re never billed for items you’ve already collected.
Only a signatory named on the account, in writing, and only against photographic identity checked at release. We won’t release against an email alone, and we won’t accept a change of recipient by phone. This is deliberately inflexible.
Yes, by appointment, in a private viewing room. Access is logged and the seal is reapplied and renumbered before the item returns to the vault.
Yes. The reference on your collection note is enough to view status, custody history and proof of delivery. Storage records use a separate reference from your storage agreement.
A numbered tamper-evident seal is applied at collection and recorded against your reference, then verified and logged at every handover. If a seal is found broken or replaced, the record shows where in the chain it happened and who signed for the item at that point.
Check the characters carefully first; references are easy to misread off a printed note. If it was issued within the last hour it may not be live yet. Beyond that, call the custody desk with your collection date and we’ll find it.
Already have a reference?
Both portals are open — no login, no account needed.
Still unanswered?
The custody desk answers questions about routes, cover and documentation before you commit to anything. No obligation, and no sales follow-up if the answer is that we’re not the right fit.