Cash Not Issued from ATM in Morocco - Chargeback Claim with Revolut

tekton23

Hi,

I'm just back from a holiday in Morocco. Whilst there, I tried to withdraw around £150 in local currency using my Revolut Visa card. The transaction appeared to go through, my card was returned but no cash was issued. I stood at the machine for ages, afraid that if I left it the cash would come out and be stolen by a passerby. Eventually, I went into the bank housing the ATM, which was open. I could see the money had come out of my Revolut account, by checking on the app. The staff inside were fairly uninterested, told me off and then said it would be back in my account within 24-72 hours. 

It has not been returned. Within the hour I raised the iusse with Revolut and they opened a chargeback claim. They have told me this may take up to 50 days for a response, with little comfort that it will be a positive one.

Does anyone have any advice or suggestions? I took as many details as possible about the bank in Morocco. This is the first time I have been robbed by a cash machine and I do not know what to do. I had to borrow the money on my credit card, to cover the costs of the last few days of the trip and so am keen to pay it back before interest is applied.

I have never had this issue in my life before, despite over 25 years of travelling and withdrawing cash at ATMs. Oddly, the same thing happened again the next day, whilst using my Halifax Mastercard in a different city. That transaction though, has been returned. Be careful taking money out of ATM's in Morocco. No guarantee the cash will be issued!

T23

TheShape

tekton23 said:

Hi,

Does anyone have any advice or suggestions? I took as many details as possible about the bank in Morocco. This is the first time I have been robbed by a cash machine and I do not know what to do. I had to borrow the money on my credit card, to cover the costs of the last few days of the trip and so am keen to pay it back before interest is applied.

T23

Do you mean that you used your credit card to make purchases or to withdraw cash?  If the later, pay off the balance ASAP as you may be charged interest from the date you withdrew the money.  If the former, pay the balance as soon as it is due.

tekton23

Yes, I used the credit card to withdraw cash - so I'm keen to get this money back on Revolut, so I can pay it onto my credit card asap.

daveyjp

Unfortunately Revolut don't have a good reputation for resolving disputes, the downside of a using  company claiming to be a bank which isn't, you may not get all banking protections.

Regardless of the current dispute it would be wise to change to a different fully regulated bank that provides fee free Forex ATM withdrawals.

tekton23

daveyjp said:

Unfortunately Revolut don't have a good reputation for resolving disputes, the downside of a using  company claiming to be a bank which isn't, you may not get all banking protections.

Regardless of the current dispute it would be wise to change to a different fully regulated bank that provides fee free Forex ATM withdrawals.

Yes, good point - I believe this is true and I won't be using Revolut in future. I had an issue whilst I was away with my Halifax card and it was resolved same day.

Hoenir

tekton23 said:

 They have told me this may take up to 50 days for a response, with little comfort that it will be a positive one.

There'll be a reconciliation performed for the ATM. Any discrepancies will be apparent. 

tekton23

Hoenir said:

tekton23 said:

 They have told me this may take up to 50 days for a response, with little comfort that it will be a positive one.

There'll be a reconciliation performed for the ATM. Any discrepancies will be apparent. 

Thanks - Is there anything further I can do to try and speed this up?

saajan_12

tekton23 said:

Yes, I used the credit card to withdraw cash - so I'm keen to get this money back on Revolut, so I can pay it onto my credit card asap.

Tbh this is unikely to be refunded before your interest starts applying (which is often on the day of the transaction for cash withdrawals). If you have any other money in savings / main current account that can cover it for now, pending the Revolut refund that'll be your best bet. 

Voyager2002

I experienced the same issue with a cash withdrawal on my Curve card... Curve resolved it almost immediately.

tekton23

Voyager2002 said:

I experienced the same issue with a cash withdrawal on my Curve card... Curve resolved it almost immediately.

Interesting to hear! Is there any way do you think, to put more pressure on Revolut?

theATMguru

All card issuers and acquirers will participate in a Scheme which has rules. It sound like Morocco has an issue with cash trapping, however the acquiring bank must produce evidence to Revalut that there was no fault with the transaction, the one before and the one after plus the ATM balances.

If Revalut do not pay out then ask for your FOS rights as you are a UK customer of theirs. FOS can investigate on your behalf.