I was electronically robbed of $202 >:-(

Nikon AF-S NIKKOR 24-70mm f/2.8G ED

02/15/2008 08:26:06 AM · #1

Last night, out for dinner and I tried to take $200 out of a cash machine. The machine let me go through all the rigamarole, then thought for a while, then said it couldn't complete the transaction. I figure it didn't have enough cash left in it.

So I check my account online and bang, -$202 ($2 fee).

This has never happened to me before in 28 years of using cash machines. This wasn't a bank cash machine, it was one owned by a vending company, and allowed to be placed inside the restaurant I was in.

I phoned the restaurant manager and got the name and number of the vending company as well as the name of the guy, Tom, who looks after that machine. I phoned my bank and they said to give it 24 hours to reverse, and if it doesn't they will "investigate". I phoned the vending company and spoke to someone there who put me through to Tom's voicemail, so he can get back to me.

I don't foresee any problem getting my money back, but it pisses me off that the dumbass machine took it out of my account when it should've known full-well it couldn't cover it.

Dumbasses.

citymars

Nikon D700

02/15/2008 08:38:14 AM · #2

Argh, I don't like those machines. You'll undoubtedly get your $200 credited. I just hope you aren't charged further for overdraft fees or something (or the $2 machine fee)! That's the kind of stuff that makes me crazy.

Fisher Price Kid-Tough Digital

02/15/2008 10:01:39 AM · #3

The vending company called back and said it could be two weeks before my money is returned. I'm done dealing with them, I'm going to try to get the bank to deal with them. At least my bankers speak understandable English.

Bugzeye

02/15/2008 10:07:10 AM · #4

I try to avoid using cash machines that are not physically attached to a Bank. However I have used a few in major chain stores like Best Buy or Walmart, Local Gas Stations etc.

Hope you get fast results on this.

Samsung Galaxy S21, S21+, S21 Ultra

02/15/2008 10:24:41 AM · #5

It sounds to me like I'm being told, if the debit isn't automatically reversed within 24 hours, the money is lost and I'm shit outta luck.

Bear_Music

Sony 24-70mm F4 Vario-Tessar T* FE OSS

02/15/2008 10:35:44 AM · #6

Originally posted by Strikeslip:

It sounds to me like I'm being told, if the debit isn't automatically reversed within 24 hours, the money is lost and I'm shit outta luck.

No, you're being told by your bank that they give the cash machine company 24 hours to make it right before they wade into the fray. Your bank will take care of you, this is really no different than any other form of Credit Card fraud; someone took your money and didn't deliver the service/product.

R.

Nikon AF-S NIKKOR 24-70mm f/2.8G ED

02/16/2008 07:43:26 AM · #7

I hope so Bear.

I called the vending company a couple more times yesterday. The receptionist and a guy who is supposedly handling my 'account' now know me by voice. I also called the bank again last night, after the 24 hour period passed and the debit was not reversed. The bank says their 'investigation' will take two weeks! :-(

At this point, it's more about the principal than the money. I was robbed in a few seconds, and it'll take two weeks to fix, if it gets fixed at all. I feel a letter to the media coming on. My wife is pissed off like I've never seen before in 17 years of marriage and has offered to start a media campaign for me. I love her! :-)

Message edited by author 2008-02-16 08:13:03.

Dirt_Diver

Nikon D3s

02/16/2008 09:18:53 AM · #8

This has happened to me too but I was at a bank. I was pulling out $600 and the machine only gave me $520. After calling the number on the ATM they told me to go into the bank and they would handle it. After some debate the manager had to come out to the machine and count the rest of the money to see if the machine was over the amount it should have been. An hour later I got the rest of my money.

Canon EF 70-200mm f/4.0L USM

02/16/2008 09:49:58 AM · #9

Shady characters...

Noel_ZH

Canon EOS-40D

02/17/2008 10:48:58 AM · #10

They need to review the tape/file from the video camera, hence it'll take a bit but you'll get it.

Brad

Olympus OM-D E-M1

Olympus 40-150mm f/2.8 PRO M.Zuiko

02/17/2008 12:56:10 PM · #11

For those that use a debit card or similar at a gas station, beware that when you swipe your card, it automatically "freezes" a pre-set amount to secure what you may be purchasing. It is typically more than their average sale, and if I remember right, is (or was till the gas prices went up) about $40. SO you purchase $20 worth of gas and go about your merry way. Meanwhile, that extra $20 is no longer available until their transactions complete and it "un-freezes" that extra $20 you didn't use at the gas pump. For those that ride a checking acct tight, that can cause problems in the way of timing, say if a check came in and would have run the account into overdraft or non-sufficient funds.

02/22/2008 08:36:44 AM · #12

Finally got my $202 back yesterday, after four "business" days.

It turned out that the vending company was faster to resolve this for me than the bank, which was the bottleneck full of red tape. I had a couple of good emails back & forth with whoever handles this stuff at the vending company after I emailed to their 'info' address and CC'd to what I correctly guessed was the owner's address.

Still, I'm done with anything but my branch's ATMs if I can help it.

Apple iPhone 5

02/22/2008 08:41:16 AM · #13

Originally posted by Strikeslip:

Still, I'm done with anything but my branch's ATMs if I can help it.

You could always use your stash of gold nuggets to pay for things.

ApertureAshley

Nikon D40

Nikon AF Nikkor 50mm f/1.8

02/26/2008 03:01:40 PM · #14

I may be WAY off here, but it seems like I read somewhere that banks make between 2-3 BILLION dollars of Non-sufficient funds fees each year, BILLION not million!!! That's insane, how much more than a few billion does it take for a bank to make a profit!! I'm still shocked, and I have since vowed to do everything in my power to never go negative again, I WILL NOT contribute to that if I can help it!!!!

cynthiann

Nikon D810

02/26/2008 03:25:15 PM · #15

A few week ago, I deposited a paycheck and asked for my balance as usual. It was -$35 after the deposit. Well needless to say I parked my car and went in. It seems a week before that my loan people took out their monthly chunk, leaving me slightly overdrawn. This happens occasionally, but not for a long time. I had previously wrote 2 small checks totaling around $25.00, but they had not gone through yet. Well, used to be, they would bounce the check and I would settle up with the purchasee, but now, as a "courtesy" and without notice, they kindly cover them for me, with a daily $35 service charge per check. Not to mention the $75 insufficient fund charge for the loan payment. Needless to say, as a person living check to check, I am still recuperating.

The next day (8 days after the initial overdraw) I received a letter in the mail notifying me of my insufficient funds...

I don't do business with them anymore.

02/26/2008 03:29:08 PM · #16

Originally posted by cynthiann:

.... daily $35 service charge per check....

Whoa! That can add up fast! I imagine not many people check their accounts on a daily basis, so I could see 30 days going by pretty easily.

BeeCee

Nikon D40

Nikon AF Nikkor 50mm f/1.8

02/26/2008 03:36:11 PM · #17

$35 a DAY?? Is that even legal?

cynthiann

Nikon D810

02/26/2008 03:36:27 PM · #18

Originally posted by Strikeslip:

Originally posted by cynthiann:
.... daily $35 service charge per check....

Whoa! That can add up fast! I imagine not many people check their accounts on a daily basis, so I could see 30 days going by pretty easily.

I'm lucky I caught it when I did, and on top of that, since I was still in the negative after I deposited my check, so they took out another $70 for the day that it took me to get the $105 dollars just to break it even and stop the bleeding. I immediately closed the account, which was then about 50 cents on the plus side and ran as fast as I could. If not for my dad to give me a loan, I don't know what I would have done. Those bastards...

BeeCee

Nikon D40