HELP! ATM Dispute problem **SORTED**

[rh83]

Hi there.

 

I recently (5th Feb 08) attempted to make a cash withdrawal of £150 at a local Link cash point but was shocked to see that the cash dispenser never opened when it was suppose to and I recieved my card back like the transaction was complete. I then inserted my card again to check my balance and was shocked to see that account had been debited for the £150.

 

I rung the number on the cash point. It was Bank Machine Ltd, who informed me that they would have to send an engineer out to investigate the machine, and i needed to contact my bank to raise a dispute against the cash point. I immediately did this and went to my issuer (Lloyds TSB) who got me to fill out the relevant ATM Dispute Form.

 

After 4 weeks of chasing i finally recieved a letter today from Lloyds stating the following:

 

"Our ATM Settlement team have now completed their investigations, and have confirmed that the ATM was working correctly at the time the requested funds were dispensed. Also, Bank Machine Ltd, have confirmed that the ATM balanced correctly following the withdrawal, and no cash differences were recorded."

 

Is it possible that the next person who used the cash point recieved an extra £150, can that happen? Is it a [problem] on the cash point?

 

What can i do now / Is there anything i can do? I want my £150 back!

 

Thanks in advance

 

Rich

[Guest Old_andrew2018]

Bump

[Goldlady]

Bump again - I am afraid I don't know what you can do - but surely someone here can help?

[slick132]

Hi RH,

 

I'm sorry to hear of your problem.

 

The site team is aware of this but so far nobody has come up with any useful suggestions.

 

You say, " the cash dispenser never opened when it was suppose to and I recieved my card back like the transaction was complete. "

 

Do you use this cash dispenser regularly?

 

When I draw out cash, I d/w the formalities and my card is ejected. Only THEN is the cash dispensed - AFTER the card is removed.

 

Did you use the card again to check your balance immediately, or did someone else use the machine first.

[rh83]

hi there,

 

thanks for your reply. With regard to your questions:

 

I've never used this cash point before (and never will again) and i made the balance inquiry straight away, no one else used the machine in between. Also, when i phoned Bank Machine Ltd, i never left the cash point and stood there for 5-10 minutes whilst making the call.

 

Thanks again for your time.

[slick132]

Hi RH,

 

It seems there was a similar case where the customer issued a court claim against the machine owner and the Bank (or network) and received a refund.

 

I'm trying to find details and will come back on this.

[slick132]

Found it.

 

Take a look here - http://www.consumeractiongroup.co.uk/forum/barclays-bank/125720-atm-dispute-barclays-they.html?highlight=ATM+dispute

 

You'll have to write to the bank and to the machine operator giving a brief summary of what occured and ask for a full refund giving them 14 days to respond.

 

If no joy, send an LBA (letter before action) giving them a further 14 days to respond, failing which you'll issue proceedings in court.

 

Have you asked bank to check for CCTV footage if they have a camera on the ATM.

 

Keep us updated and shout if you need help.

[Chrissielr]

As well as a request for the CCTV footage alongside the claim you also need to notify your bank you will be involving the police as this is a fraud matter (I would do this now just to get your complaint on record).

 

One Sunday sometime ago my husband went to a Halifax ATM to withdraw some money. He withdrew the cash and requested a printed receipt, which when dispensed clearly did not refer to his account. Upon checking his balance, it showed no details of the debit he had just made, so confirming the money had come out of someone elses account.

 

The following Monday morning, whilst he was outside his branch waiting for it to open so he could let them know what had happened, he received a call from them asking if he "had anything he wanted to tell them" about his latest cash withdrawel. He explained he was outside, but they got very heavy handed and threatened police intervention!! Of course, when they opened the door and saw he was there, along with the balance print out etc they changed their tune dramatically. Unfortunately they were very vague about how their mahcine could have allowed him to withdraw cach from a strangers account using a totally different card.

 

These mahcines do make c*ck ups and you also need to file for a copy of Bank Machine Ltd reconciliation apperwork in any court calim.

[rh83]

thanks for your replies Slick and Chrissielr. Thats been a great help. I'm drafting a letter as we speak, which i will send off to the bank.

 

I will update you again, when i hear back.

 

Thanks again

[rh83]

Update:

Hey guys, well after 3 1/2 months of letters, phone calls and visits to the branch I finally received my £150 back!

Im still quite shocked at the level of customer service I received, every time I phoned Lloyds customer service I either got put through to the wrong department and continually went round in circles until they told me that I should go into my branch, or they had no reference of any claim I made and couldn’t explain anything to me about it.

After this failure I decided to head to my branch and they told me the exact opposite that I need to ring customer service on this number etc etc.

Also, I received no acknowledgement about the letter I had sent them despite threatening legal action and a response within 14 days. I did receive a general email from one of the customer service managers about my complaint on the 22nd April (after I had sent the original on the 26th March) stating they would re open the investigation and that my local branch would contact me with the findings.

The best option I found was to go to the branch and ask them to contact the customer service department and give me a status update while I waited. I did spend numerous lunch hours in my Lloyds branch though, after being told on several occasions by members of the branch team that I would be receiving the money owed to me in full and to come back in 1 week if hadn't received it.

At this point I was ready to contact my solicitor; however I finally received the money owed to me on the 12th May. I still haven't had any explanation or letter to explain what has happened, all I have to go by is my bank statement which says "CPT CORR 05/02".

I’m sadden by the level of customer service I received, especially after being a loyal Lloyds customer for the past 9 years, but I have to look at the end result which is positive.

Anyone reading this in a similar situation, do not give up, keep persisting and taking it to the next level and you will eventually get what is owed to you.

I couldn’t have done it without the help of others on this forum so thanks again for all your help!

RH

[Guest Old_andrew2018]

Its nice to hear you recieved your money, but what a long winded process, many people would have given up.

I myself now use cash back in shops its not as convenient as an ATM but safer.

[slick132]

Hi RH,

 

Thanks for the update and I'm delighted to hear this has been properly resolved for you.

[Alphageek]

I'd ask them for interest as well.

 

You'd have got 8% if you'd have taken them to court.

[slick132]

But, as with any claim, if the defendant settles before a court claim is filed, no Statutory Interest is claimable.

 

However, did the bank offer any explanation for the error and has compensation been discussed at all.

 

The bank has certainly changed their tune from their original stance.

 

"Our ATM Settlement team have now completed their investigations, and have confirmed that the ATM was working correctly at the time the requested funds were dispensed. Also, Bank Machine Ltd, have confirmed that the ATM balanced correctly following the withdrawal, and no cash differences were recorded."

Many people would have simply left it at that, feeling that they have no chance of arguing against such a robust denial.

 

RH, I would certainly ask the bank for compensation for your losses such as phone calls, stationery and postage and for all your wasted hours in getting this sorted. Oh, and interest at 8% which I reckon will be about £3.50.

[Bookworm]

And an apology.

[Lyddie_m]

This is probably far too late to respond, but from the description of events it sounds as though there was a cash trapping fraud device on the ATM. The difficulty in this case is that the machine will believe that it is completing a normal transaction, but the fraudster will come along and remove the device and your cash. It is more complicated than this, but essentially it would not be easily detectable that this fraud had occurred and in fairness to the banks, they are battling with fraudsters who make a career from stealing from us and them in turn. It is the cheating fraudsters that we should be fighting against!

[slick132]

Hi Lyddie and welcome to CAG.

 

Of course the banks and the police should be fighting the fraudsters and I have no doubt that they ARE doing this.

 

The problem, however, is that the banks and ATM operators tend to tell you they can find nothing wrong. This leaves you with the options that you have either been stupid or negligent or are trying to defraud the bank.

 

The banks should be more honest with customers about the levels of loss incurred through professional fraud, and the frequency of such losses.