ATM Machine shorts customer $80. He was mad as hell!

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I was at the bank Friday and a very irate customer tells the Teller that he was shorted $80 by the ATM Machine. The Teller told him somebody else just before him had a similar problem. She told him they could do nothing about it and for him to call a number and tell them about the problem.

Then she said they do not take his word for it and would have to count the money first at the end of the day. We trust the banks, why can't they trust their customers? The guy said that he would never ever again use an ATM!!! I told him that this most likely was a Y2K problem and that "he ain't seen nothing yet!"

-- freddie (freddie@thefreeloader.com), December 05, 1999

Answers

I've been shorted by ATM's twice - once about 3 yrs ago (gave out one 10 amongst what should've been only 20's) and maybe 4 months ago when it dispensed 5 10's instead of 5 20's. I would guess both cases were due to human error - probably put 10's in the machine where 20's should go.

You have to contact your own bank (doesn't matter who runs the ATM) - it's your own bank's decision whether to trust you. In both cases, my bank at least temporarily credited my account, and then later sent statements to the effect that there was an error and the credit was permanent.

If you have a problem with your bank trusting you, switch. And with my two previous problems with ATM's (one was run by my bank, the other a competitor) I don't believe Y2K was involved - just incompetent humans. Both cases I received the correct number of bills, just not the right ones.

I'm not saying there won't be Y2K problems with ATM's(I certainly believe there will be) - just that it's possible it wasn't in this case.

-- Ford Prefect (rouge@anytown.com), December 05, 1999.


Freddie, what state?

Ford Prefect, great name dude! How 'bout those intergalactic gargleblasters! ZOOM!

-- Hokie (nn@va.com), December 05, 1999.


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