ATMs go through the motions, but money doesn’t come

Yesterday morning I left home planning to buy some odds and ends and then have lunch at my Club. I didn’t have much money on hand but that was no problem because I was carrying the ATM card – insert it in the dispenser and presto, you get money.

Well, it didn’t work out that way on May 2, 2012 at Cochin.

The first ATM I went to was closed. That was no bother because there are so many such outlets in the area. I went to the next one. It was a new machine I was not used to. But everything worked perfectly except for one snag – no money or printed receipt came out but there was a message thanking me for using the facility. I tried again and the result was the same.

The que behind me was getting restless. I quickly got out and went to another ATM. All the procedures were right at that one too, but still there was no money in spite of a repeat operation. I met the manager of the bank and he was kind enough to send a staff member with me presumably to show me how to operate an ATM. That didn’t work either – I mean that the money was not dispensed.

Now I was stuck with a major worry. All the five times that my card was used the Teller Machine had displayed the appropriate procedures. Did it mean that every time I tried and got the ‘Thank you’ message the amount entered was being debited in my account? The bank staff that was sent to help me had no answer. The crowd that had gathered by then – ATM users and others – had different views.

I rushed to my bank and met the Manager. In a minute he confirmed that no money had been drawn on my card that morning and that the balance in my account was safe. According to him the problem might have been caused by some Network malfunctioning. Can’t they have a foolproof system?

I find two morals to this incident: (1) May be, one rupee in hand is worth two in the ATM, and, (2) Money at ATM is better than lunch at the Club.

Please also see:

ATM Service

Personal Banking: Inefficient ATMs, vanishing ATMs

Shortchanged by ATM? Here’s what to do.

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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 Around 7 PM I punched in the amount to be withdrawn and a request for a printout.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

ATM Service

The ATMs make cash withdrawals so easy and avoids the risk of keeping much money at home. You walk in to an ATM facility, insert the card, punch in your personal code and the amount to be drawn, and presto, the money is in your hands. That is, if there money in the ATM machine.

There is an ATM booth about two hundred meters away from my house. So convenient. I normally draw money before or after my evening walk. A few weeks back when I went to that ATM, there was an out of order board hung at the door. The guard told me there was no cash. I thought it was one of those exceptional situations.

Well, it happened again yesterday (September 1). When I went to the ATM booth around 5 P.M. the ‘out order’ notice was there. The guard explained, politely of course, that the machine (not the bank) ran out of money and that it would be replenished within an hour. I went back after some time but funds hadn’t arrived yet. The guard was apologetic and assured me that by next morning the ATM surely would be operational again. The bank involved is the same as the one mentioned in my post, Personal Banking: Non-service without a smile

I decided to blog this as a warning to others. If you are going on a journey and plan to draw money from ATM en route to the airport or railway station, you could be taking a risk. It is safer to collect cash earlier and keep, to avoid the risk of traveling without enough money on hand. ATM card in the pocket is not always a substitute for hard cash.

Ends.