HELP - money taken from a/c wrongly

movilogo

Yesterday on an M1 Welcome Break cash machine (near Leicester), I wanted to withdraw £100 but since it says it would charge me £1.85 fee, I declined the transaction. But today I see on my bank a/c that £101.85 has been deducted from my account!!!

I have complaint it to the bank [HSBC] and they said they will launch an investigation. But could not say when I shall get the money back. They said it could even take 3 months for a refund!!!

Do you have any suggestion? Why do I suffer for no fault of mine???

Incidentally, I checked another cash machine in Yorkshire and wanted to withdraw £60. But since it said £1.85 transactional charge, I declined it also. The bank advisor says that she could see that I declined that transaction on their system (though it is not appearing in my net banking statement as I didn't withdraw the money) but this wrong transaction shown as money taken from machine!!!

Bank says that they will need to investigate it with the company which operates the machine.

I am 100% sure I declined and no money came out of the box. My wife was also with me at the time of transaction. The cash machine also churned out a receipt saying declined transaction but unfortunately I throwed it into bin because I never thought this can happen!!!

dunstonh

Has it actually been debited or is it just an earmark against the account?

movilogo

Bank has actually deducted £101.85 from my current account! They say the system works as below.

When someone wants to withdraw money from cash machine, the agency who operates the machine "tells" the bank that "this" account holder with withdrawing £ x amount of money. So, bank then "deducts" the amount from that particular account.

One thing I don't understand that why bank can't pay me off first and then settle their claim with the agency???

I am a customer of HSBC for 5 years with several accounts with them totalling over £10k. And how the hell investigation can take from 6 weeks to 3 months??? In fact, they give no guarantee of time frame. It can even be more than 3 months!!!

anticlaus105

Hi,

Sorry to hear your woes.

A similar thing happened to me while abroad. Got as far as the screen that shows exchange rate and declined the transaction. When I came home money had been taken. the cash machine was tha spanish Abbey. I bank with Natwest and after a year of filling in various forms and nothing happening they just gave me my money back due thier own incompetence.

Good luck!

PBA

It shouldn't get anywhere near 3 months! Your bank will put in a claim to the bank owning the machine. The next time it is topped up by their security carrier the contents will be checked to see if the money is still there. If it is your money is refunded.

movilogo

The bank has now refunded my money.

Twopints

Because they did not have proper controls in place to prevent the money being taken without authorisation in the first place.

thumshie

As PBA has said, they've probably check the contents of the ATM and found the discrepency, or the 'reversal' has finally came through. I know when i declined a withdrawal because of a fee my online statement showed the withdrawl, and then a re-credit on the same day.

Paul_Herring

Al wrote:

Interesting, so what would the proper controls on an ATM be?

A blood sample, and the first born son I suspect. And a signature.

tom188

Yes definitely a signature. Then we'd have another opportunity to "bin the pin"...

Twopints

Al_Mac wrote: »

Interesting, so what would the proper controls on an ATM be?

I would suspect that the proper process has been followed, the money has only been reserved and that the ATM hasn't sent the cancellation transaction or it has got lost. It happens.

No, not a control on the ATM, a control on the process to ensure that it works (i.e.that money is not taken from the customer's account when they have not actually had the money) and that when it doesn't the customer is not disadvantaged. Why should the customer suffer any loss because either the technology, which the customer has no control over, or the organisations involved fail?

Perhaps the bank should be charged, they seem to think it is lawful.