ATM problem

velocet

Dear Forum users
I'm after a bit of advice for my mother..hope someone can help.

Yesterday she attempted to withdraw £150 from a Natwest atm at her local supermarket. During the transaction the screen said there was a fault and popped her card back out. She then received an advice slip stating that her account HAD NOT been deducted.

She then used the next machine along (HSBC atm) and took the £150 out. She checked online banking last night and the £150 has been deducted twice as two seperate transactions minutes apart.

She went into the Natwest today to report the issue and the woman in the bank said that as it was a Natwest atm not at a bank location it was operated by a third party company who were closed for the weekend they would take it up with them next week. She also said that it could take up to three weeks and they couldn't guarantee that she would get the £150 back. This I don't understand as surely the Natwest atm data will confirm that £150 was NOT taken out of that machine at that particular time.

Lastly it needs stating that my mother threw away the advice slip from the first machine after the fault appeared.

Sorry to ramble but has anybody experienced anything like this or has some idea what she should do (if anything) at this stage.

Thanks for any help.

agrinnall

The most important thing that we need to know is who your mother banks with, as it is them that the problem needs to be reported to not the ATM owner. If she banks with NatWest then that's who she should be taking it up with, if not then I suggest she rings her own bank asap to report it.

If she does bank with NatWest I would suggest calling them as some branch staff have little idea about ATM processing, and I think you may have got one in this case. I think there may be a small number of NatWest ATMs operated by a third party but the majority of them, including many at non-bank sites, are operated by NatWest. It's a great pity the advice slip was thrown away as that would have given you absolute proof that the money wasn't dispensed but the telephone banking staff should be able to locate it and check the details. I would try 0800 200 400 to start with. They may not be able to resolve it today but they should certainly be able to reassure your mother that she will get her money back and give her a better idea of how long it will take.

Twister84

What you've been told is correct - depending on the situation.

You've not stated whether your mother is a Natwest customer - if she is, did the Natwest staff member take any details of the transaction? They should have taken the details there and then and they would be able to see the debits. ATM disputes can be processed over the phone as well, so you don't have to be there in person.

If your mother isn't a Natwest customer then she has to go into her own bank and fill out an ATM Dispute form. This is then sent off to the relevant bank who then investigate it. They will check the cash machines when they have been balanced to see if they were balanced correctly. This is more or less the reason why it can take long as it depends on their balancing schedule.

They then get back in touch with your bank to let them know the outcome.

All in all it can take a few weeks to get it sorted.


Customers have to understand that just because an ATM is bank branded, they cannot just walk into any branch of that bank to sort out issues with ATMs. Especially with wrong money given by ATMs - how does the bank know that the funds retained are definately your mothers? How do they know it's her account?

There are set processes and procedures for ATM Disputes - these have to be followed.

Degenerate

velocet wrote: »

During the transaction the screen said there was a fault and popped her card back out. She then received an advice slip stating that her account HAD NOT been deducted.

Because the machine logged a fault she is likely to find the money automatically credited back to her account within 2-3 days. It's much more straightforward when it happens like this, as opposed to when the machine thinks it dispensed, but didn't or was short.

Lastly it needs stating that my mother threw away the advice slip from the first machine after the fault appeared.

That wasn't very clever. Fortunately, it will probably make no difference in this case.

velocet

Many thanks for your responses...in answer to your questions, yes she is a Natwest customer and she initially reported the matter via telephone banking last night and they told her to report the matter in person at a branch today.

She has now done this and she had to fill out a form (which she has a copy of) containing all of the details of her case/issue.

I'm presuming it cannot be hard for the powers that be to check and see that £150 was not dispensed from that Natwest atm at that time. I would presume that every single solitary penny is accounted for.

Once again thanks for taking the time to respond to this, it is appreciated.

Twister84

velocet wrote: »

I'm presuming it cannot be hard for the powers that be to check and see that £150 was not dispensed from that Natwest atm at that time. I would presume that every single solitary penny is accounted for.

Correctamundo.

It is now a waiting game - give it 2 weeks at least, although it should be quicker seeing as though it's the same bank.

jonesMUFCforever

She should be refunded pending an investigation - I would remind her bank of this.

Viper_7

If the ATM indicated that the cardholders account was not debited - and then subsequently checking statement it has, some independent ATM's are dial up devices, and only REVERSE when they next transact. If it is a dial up device and it takes a day or to too fix the ATM, then that's when it will REVERSE or depending on the nature of the fault, the Reversal may have failed as well.


These things do happen from time to time, but after raising a dispute with the card issuer, they will investigate. It is all tracked end to end, and down to the hopper totals and contents if need be.


Vipes

Twister84

jonesMUFCforever wrote: »

She should be refunded pending an investigation - I would remind her bank of this.

I've known that to happen with Unauthorised Transactions, ie POS transactions - the bank will credit the customer, then send out forms for the customer to fill in and return.


I'm not so sure if this falls under it.

jonesMUFCforever

Twister84 wrote: »

I've known that to happen with Unauthorised Transactions, ie POS transactions - the bank will credit the customer, then send out forms for the customer to fill in and return.


I'm not so sure if this falls under it.

It is not my opinion but in the new Banking code.