Help!! Being robbed by Santander.

kHel

Hi all,

I really hope you guys can give me some advice, tips and ideas. On the 5th of November I tried to withdrew £300 from a Santander ATM (my account is at the same branch). The machine wasn't working properly so I cancelled the transaction, my card immediately popped out and no cash was dispensed.

After some further checking I found out that £300 had been debited from my account , the same I had previously been trying to withdrew from the ATM but hadn't received.

After opening a card transaction dispute on the 10th of November and being told it could take 22 working days, I received a reply today. In summary they have concluded that the ATM was working properly and that in there view the matter is closed.

I have spoken to the ATM dispute team and my branch and both have told me to submit a complaint to reopen the dispute with supporting 'evidence' I have never written a letter of complaint before and have contacted the FOS to help in this matter. The problem is that they are also asking me to provide some level of proof that I didn't receive any money from the ATM.

I haven't got anything whatsoever except my word. I am feeling absolutely gutted. I have had to take £300 from the Christmas fund to pay the bills and now have hardly anything left. I just hope my 3 year old understands. I would have felt a little better if I had been physically robbed in the street, at least I would have had a chance to fight back.

Any ideas, tips on what I could do, say or provide as evidence would be most appreciated.

Regards.

kHel.

Olipro

either the machine didn't balance and they're lying, or it did balance... which means after you walked off, the machine popped £300 out of the slot and someone noticed and grabbed it.

is there any CCTV in the area?

kHel

The person I spoke to at my branch confirmed that the ATM didn't have a camera but there may be a street CCTV camera the police use. I don't know if this is a police matter or not?

kHel

Also when I cancelled the transaction, my card popped out straight away. I didn't hear any cash being counted either as I left the ATM.

nikki1520

Well if someones walked off with £300 that's not theirs, I would say that was theft. However, if you find out that there is a camera, you may have trouble getting hold of the footage - "Data Protection" being the idiotic thing that it is. Hopefully, whoever controls the camera will be able to have a quick look at the five minutes or so around when you were at the cash point, but that probably doesn't help identify any toerag who's just picked up the £300 and walked off.

Am wishing you luck with this, and I hope I'm wrong in my pessimism!!

Olipro

indeed, I would recommend the CCTV avenue.

in slower procedures, I suggest you open a formal complaint with a view to taking it to the Ombudsman as soon as permissible.

kHel

Been on the phone calling the council, CCTV people (not very helpful) and have ended up calling the police and reporting a potential theft. They have made me an appointment, it's a start.

scott_lithgows

kHel wrote: »

Hi all,

. The problem is that they are also asking me to provide some level of proof that I didn't receive any money from the ATM.

.

Take along an Argos catalogue and show them what you would have bought with the £300 had you got it.

On your way pop into a decent bank and open an account which you can replace your santan-dire account with.

Cheeky.Monkey_3

When santander opens an ATM Dispute it can take upto 22 days yes. but it usually only takes 3 or 4. The process is simple. Santander contact the ATM provider, check what time in the day it was in credit compared to what time of the day you did the transaction you say you got nothing for. If it turns out the ATM was in credit. Caboom, you get your money back. If it wasn't in credit and the balance was equal to the amount requested, then you get a decline letter.

Theres absolutely no way Santander can make an error with that type of dispute, so i would suggest that you contact the police and consider theft. They can even contact santander if you bring a crime reference number to them, and the police can use that as evidence to prove that it wasn't an error of the ATM.

kHel

Where do you guys think I stand legally ie. liability for the loss. I am asuming that the ATM dispenced the money after I had cancelled the transaction and walked away. If the CCTV footage shows someone take the money, who is liabil for the loss?

adwat

If you cancelled the transaction the bank should be able to verify this from the ATM record so problem solved - I would pursue this line with them. As an aside, I had a similar problem with my bank and they refunded the money after a couple of weeks, they called it a "VISA dispute" I seem to remember, and my complaint wasn't questioned - they had to check the ATM's transactions log for that day after I had filled out a claim form. It was a weird one though - the ATM had said that no funds were available (there were but the phone line to the ATM was down due to building work at the supermarket I later found out) and just gave me my card back, but the money WAS debited from my account. To be fair, that was the first ever time I've had a problem with an ATM in over twenty years, so can't really complain that it's a common thing!