Help with Capital One

daknockman

Hi guys looking for some much needed advice!

In October i used my capital one visa card to take out £50 cash. I have a £200 limit and this was my first transaction on the card. I then tried to use it about half an hour later at the same machine for another £50.

The machine said "unable to process request" and spat out my card with no money coming out. I then tried again this time for £20 and the same thing happened.

When my statement came through i say i had been charged for my £50 which i did get, and also the £50 and £20 i didn't get.

I sent away for the disputed transaction form and filled it in and sent it back. The money was refunded in December with a cover letter saying if they found no errors then they would contact me and re-debit my account.

As i knew i didn't receive the money i used my card to book a short break for the end of january in december. I have checked my account today and they have put the £70 back onto the account!

I phoned them up and some complete tos*** just told me there was nothing i could do as they had checked with the company (Abbey) machine and found no errors!

My friend was with me at the time i took out money and also saw that no money was given out! Is there anything i can do about this as i'm not too happy to be paying £70 for something i never got! >:(

Can I do anything about this??

Thanks for your help in advance

zcaprd7

Not sure if there is without any evidence - this happened to me once but luckily the bank (Barclays) was open and I could go in there and complain about the machine (which they checked had got blocked - though I was treated as a conman until then!).

The only other thing I would say (though not helpful) is never take cash out on a credit card - charges and silly interest rates...though I suppose if you were desperate and stranded?

EDIT: I guess you could try going direct to Abbey and asking them for evidence (they do get paid by you via charges after all) - you know the day and time?

MarkyMarkD

I don't think that Abbey will discuss it with you direct. The matter is betwee you and your card company as Abbey were processing the transaction on their behalf.

Your story doesn't sound credible - which doesn't help. You would have to be mad to take out 2 individual £50 cash withdrawals, given that there is a minimum charge and you would double it by taking the money out in this way, rather than in the form of £100. This won't help Capital One to believe you.

They will have asked Abbey to check whether the machine ended the day with £70 extra in it. Abbey have presumably said that it didn't (and I don't believe Abbey are going to lie about this). So, it boils down to your word (based on an irrational sequence of transactions) and your witness (in which they probably won't place any credence at all, with all respect) against the system records and end of day reconciliation which Abbey will have.

I don't think you're going to get this £70 back, to be honest.

Walletwatch

Agree with Marky's post above, I think it is kind of optimistic to expect the money back. Having worked in a bank and overseen the way ATM balances are reconciled, let me tell you that the cash balance in the ATM v/s the transaction log is reconciled under dual control (two authorised officers doing it to minimise the possibility of fraud) in an enclosed area, so if they haven't detected this as a reconciliation difference, it is hardly likely that there will be one.

Finally, forgive me being intrusive, but what do you think you are doing, making so many cash withdrawals on your credit card??? Don't you appreciate the fact that you pay through your nose for such transactions, and this site is precisely to put you on your guard against such transactions.

Robert_Sterling_3

Should we all take two witnesses with us when using an ATM?

Walletwatch

Should we all take two witnesses with us when using an ATM?

Sorry, was that query directed at me???

zcaprd7

It can't hurt to approach Abbey?

They did after all get paid for those spurious transactions - my concern was Capital One fobbing you off...

Robert_Sterling_3

Sorry, was that query directed at me???

No.

The original poster said he had a friend who witnessed the non withdrawal.
This did not seem to help.
I suggested that he might need two witnesses.

Walletwatch

No.

The original poster said he had a friend who witnessed the non withdrawal.
This did not seem to help.
I suggested that he might need two witnesses.

Ohhh.. ok, but Robert, in this case, I think any number of witnesses wouldn't matter... the whole reconciliation relies on the technology and the process that is followed to recon it, so I doubt any number of witnesses will make a diff.

deemy2004

Print some leaflets and stand out side the bank handing them out to customers, explaining that this cash machine took your money and that abbey did not return the money and that it could also happen to them, do it until they give your money back.

daknockman

Hi guys thanks for your comments.

I agree with you MarkyMark that my story doesn't sound credible, unfortunately it was my first credit card and i just treated it like an atm/bank card without really looking into the charges/rates for cash withdrawals. Which i know is very silly and i have learnt a hard and valuable lesson

To Walletwatch - Are you trying to suggest that i made up the fact i wasn't given my £70 cash? Clearly there is something not right somewhere, either with Abbey or Capital One. But i know for a fact I didn't receive that money.


Cheers