Cash machine didn't dispense cash but money taken from bank

MrA2012

I hope I've chosen the correct forum to post this in, if not let me know which would be more appropriate.

What happens when a cash machine crashes before dispensing money, but the transaction completes anyway?

I was recently asked to help my parents withdraw £250 from a Sainsburys cashpoint.  Everything progressed normally to the point where their bank card was returned, then the display changed to show "this machine is not currently available, please try again later", without dispensing any cash or receipt.  That continued for ages, after which the machine went into a reboot loop, alternating between booting up Windows and a "no connection" icon a few times, then the screen went blank and the machine was apparently dead.

We assumed no transaction had taken place and left at that point.  However, on checking online banking the following day, £250 had been deducted from their account.  This shows as a completed transaction, not a pending amount.

This has now been reported to Barclays and they have said an investigation will take place, but there is no guarantee the money will be refunded.  What are the chances of my parents getting their money back?  Is there anything else we can do, or should have done, to increase those chances?

I would assume that there is camera footage available (there appeared to be a security camera there), logs from the machine would show it malfunctioning at the time, and the available cash in the machine would be £250 more than it should be, which gives me hope.  Or am I being too optimistic?

WillPS

You've done the right thing raising the issue with your card issuer. The machine operator will now confirm the money was not dispensed, and it should be returned to you.

Unfortunately we've some recent experience, with a Sainsburys machine no less, that it doesn't always happen like that - but hopefully your parents case will be settled swiftly.

Deal with what happens next if and when you receive confirmation the money won't be returned.

stinky_daddy

Similar to WillPS above, I also went to get some money out of a cashpoint.

I contacted my bank, who remotely changed the cashpoint to out of service and they dispatched whoever loads the cash machine with money to confirm that my money had indeed fallen down inside the machine (so I had no cash despite the transaction appearing on my statement).

Once confirmed (think it was about 2 days), the account was credited back with the amount, so, assuming Barclays can confirm the details, the amount should be credited back.

TIA

s_d

eskbanker

WillPS said:

Unfortunately we've some recent experience, with a Sainsburys machine no less, that it doesn't always happen like that - but hopefully your parents case will be settled swiftly.

stinky_daddy said:

Similar to WillPS above, I also went to get some money out of a cashpoint.

I could be wrong but suspect that the reference was actually to this recent thread on here rather than personal experience:

https://forums.moneysavingexpert.com/discussion/6489302/sainsburys-bank-atm-faulty-or-cash-trapping-scam

swingaloo

We had the same issue a few weeks ago. Hubby used a ATM in the main street to withdraw £500. He got a receipt showing he had taken out the money but the machine did not dispatch the money despite the fact that we could hear it counting the notes.
This was a Nat West machine and we went straight to the nearest branch in the next town. They said that when a machine does not pay out it goes into a 'dump-bin' and the cash is held there. He said that the money would automatically be credited to hubby's account but it may take 2 days. The following morning we checked and it was back in.

I think a lot depends on the bank and the sum you were taking out. My son tried to take £50 from a Halifax ATM. It failed to pay out so he took his receipt into the local branch and they gave him the £50 cash but told him that if after investigation it showed that the cash had actually been dispensed they would reclaim the money.

MrA2012

Thanks all.

I've had a read through the linked thread, which I missed in my original forum search before I posted.  The ATM in the photo on page 12 looks identical to the one we used, but the problem seems to be different.  That poster had their cash dispensed but then drawn back in before they could take it.  In our case the machine appeared to simply crash after returning the bank card (and apparently finalising the transaction) but before dispensing any cash.  It seems like a simple malfunction and I'm hoping some internal log or other will show what happened and make it clear no cash was dispensed.

The incident was yesterday and we reported it to the bank this morning after discovering the money had been taken from the account.  We were told to wait 12 days for a resolution one way or the other.  I'll report back if and when anything happens.

Since we didn't report anything to Sainsburys at the time (as we didn't realise the money had been taken) is it worth contacting them now, or is it best to just leave it up to Barclays to investigate?

eskbanker

MrA2012 said:

Since we didn't report anything to Sainsburys at the time (as we didn't realise the money had been taken) is it worth contacting them now, or is it best to just leave it up to Barclays to investigate?

Leave it up to Barclays to investigate.

MrA2012

Reporting back with a happy ending to this saga.  It took Barclays 12 working days to conclude their investigation.  The day after that, a £250 ATM refund appeared in my parents bank account.

Thanks for the advice.

retiredbanker1

I hope you did not let on that your parents had given you their card and PIN (without a registered PoA).

That could have ended differently.

sheramber

retiredbanker1 said:

I hope you did not let on that your parents had given you their card and PIN (without a registered PoA).

That could have ended differently.

I read it that the OP accompanied his parent.

I was recently asked to help my parents withdraw £250 from a Sainsburys cashpoint. 

We assumed no transaction had taken place and left at that point.

Bigwheels1111

I only use the post office now for cash withdrawals.
£500 from HSBC cash point, did not dispense.
Went inside the bank, they were very unhelpful.
Called first direct my bank, they called the branch directly.
Next thing I know the machine was being opened, someone looked inside found a pile of cash that had not been paid out.
They were very apologetic then.
Still took 3 days to get my money back.
I think they were looking at its camera to identify who did not gat paid cash.