Shortchanged by ATM? Here’s what to do.

An automatic teller machine is a man made contraption. It can malfunction sometimes. The first rule in such situations is – Don’t panic.

I had a bad experience at the friendly neighborhood ATM three weeks back. Around 7 PM I punched in the amount to be withdrawn and a request for a printout. Promptly the printout came showing debit for the amount to my account, but no money. Momentarily I was a bit confused about what to do. The worry was whether I would loose the money.

Then I called the guard who was outside ad explained to him what happened. Using the telephone inside the booth he tried to contact whoever was to be contacted in such an eventuality. But – I’m sure you guessed it – the telephone didn’t work. The guard was apologetic. He suggested that I go to the branch under which the ATM came and report the matter.

I did that. Fortunately the manager (a new one and not the same official mentioned in Personal Banking: Non-service without a smile) was still there and was very cooperative, with a warm smile on his face. He told me not to worry and that the debit would be corrected. He had an assist call the customer care department and explain the problem to them. Then ‘Complaints’ asked me to answer one verification question (in this instance, my birth date). I was given a complaint number and assured that the rectification would be done within seven days.

Yesterday I found that debit entry was reversed, but on the 9^th day. Good enough. At least I didn’t lose the money. I dropped in at the bank and thanked the manager. He was all smiles and said, “Any time, sir.”

I am sure that he didn’t mean another problem at the ATM.

Thank you Manager, and keep smiling. That makes a great difference to the customers.

Ends.

Also see: ATM Service