Shortchanged by bank ATM

[Busaholic]

Has this happened to anyone else on here? If so, I'd like to know if you attempted to do anything about it.

Last week, having bought a loaf in my baker's I noticed the £5 I proffered in payment was my only cash, and as I passed a Lloyds Bank on the short way home I decided to draw some more cash out. I selected the £100 button and opted for a receipt (thankfully) and a collection of £10 and £5 notes came out, but no £20s, which rather surprised me. I didn't attempt to count it at the machine (too many low life around) but walked the two minutes home with the money safely in my wallet. As £70 was destined for someone else, immediately I got in I went to my wallet and, to my initial disbelief, I counted 8x£10 and 2x£5 notes: I kept rechecking, but the missing £10 didn't mysteriously appear. I immediately went back to the bank, spoke to one of the tellers and told her what had happened. She said it was a very uncommon occurrence but that I would have to go to my own bank (NatWest) and 'lay a complaint' which would go to NW's head office, then they would report it to Lloyds' head office for investigation. I don't hold out too much hope, because I suspect the user of the cash machine after me might have received an extra tenner, so the books would have balanced at the end of the day, but we shall see.

 

[furnessvale]

Has this happened to anyone else on here? If so, I'd like to know if you attempted to do anything about it.

Last week, having bought a loaf in my baker's I noticed the £5 I proffered in payment was my only cash, and as I passed a Lloyds Bank on the short way home I decided to draw some more cash out. I selected the £100 button and opted for a receipt (thankfully) and a collection of £10 and £5 notes came out, but no £20s, which rather surprised me. I didn't attempt to count it at the machine (too many low life around) but walked the two minutes home with the money safely in my wallet. As £70 was destined for someone else, immediately I got in I went to my wallet and, to my initial disbelief, I counted 8x£10 and 2x£5 notes: I kept rechecking, but the missing £10 didn't mysteriously appear. I immediately went back to the bank, spoke to one of the tellers and told her what had happened. She said it was a very uncommon occurrence but that I would have to go to my own bank (NatWest) and 'lay a complaint' which would go to NW's head office, then they would report it to Lloyds' head office for investigation. I don't hold out too much hope, because I suspect the user of the cash machine after me might have received an extra tenner, so the books would have balanced at the end of the day, but we shall see.

My response is nothing to do with your query, but I don't use Lloyds ATMs.

I have never seen an ATM that dishes out fivers so it is useful to know that if I need a fiver Lloyds will oblige.

I would have thought any ATM would "clear its throat" so to speak, between users so any cash left in the tray by the previous user would not be available to the next. Best of luck with your tenner.

 

[philjo]

My response is nothing to do with your query, but I don't use Lloyds ATMs.

I have never seen an ATM that dishes out fivers so it is useful to know that if I need a fiver Lloyds will oblige.

the ATM inside Nationwide branches usually issues £5 notes. If I withdraw up to £30 it usually comes all as fivers.

 

[Busaholic]

My response is nothing to do with your query, but I don't use Lloyds ATMs.

I have never seen an ATM that dishes out fivers so it is useful to know that if I need a fiver Lloyds will oblige.

I would have thought any ATM would "clear its throat" so to speak, between users so any cash left in the tray by the previous user would not be available to the next. Best of luck with your tenner.

For some reason, only one of the two adjacent ATMs at Lloyds dishes out fivers - I only know this because the other one bears a notice saying it doesn't! I assume you could ask for £25, say, from the one that does, that could be useful for impecunious people.

Thanks for your good wishes.

 

[greyman42]

I have never seen an ATM that dishes out fivers so it is useful to know that if I need a fiver Lloyds will oblige.

Barclays regularly issues fivers.

 

[Bantamzen]

Has this happened to anyone else on here? If so, I'd like to know if you attempted to do anything about it.

Last week, having bought a loaf in my baker's I noticed the £5 I proffered in payment was my only cash, and as I passed a Lloyds Bank on the short way home I decided to draw some more cash out. I selected the £100 button and opted for a receipt (thankfully) and a collection of £10 and £5 notes came out, but no £20s, which rather surprised me. I didn't attempt to count it at the machine (too many low life around) but walked the two minutes home with the money safely in my wallet. As £70 was destined for someone else, immediately I got in I went to my wallet and, to my initial disbelief, I counted 8x£10 and 2x£5 notes: I kept rechecking, but the missing £10 didn't mysteriously appear. I immediately went back to the bank, spoke to one of the tellers and told her what had happened. She said it was a very uncommon occurrence but that I would have to go to my own bank (NatWest) and 'lay a complaint' which would go to NW's head office, then they would report it to Lloyds' head office for investigation. I don't hold out too much hope, because I suspect the user of the cash machine after me might have received an extra tenner, so the books would have balanced at the end of the day, but we shall see.

This did actually happen to me once, at a Halifax ATM many years ago. Once I had discovered the shortfall, I reported it to the staff at the same branch. They immediately shut the ATM in question down so that no-one else could use it until someone could audit the machine, and a few days later they reimbursed me. So don't give up hope, there will have been an imbalance between what the machine was loaded with, and what it dispensed, so it should be easily resolvable. Just make sure you don't allow them to fob you off, which hopefully they won't.

 

[Bertie the bus]

I took out £200 at an HSBC ATM which has a sticker on saying it only dispenses £10 notes a couple of years ago and received £195. It was obvious as I haven't been given any £5 notes from an ATM for years. I told the bank and was immediately believed, they took my £5 note and they said they would inform the company who fills the machines and credit my account with £10 in the next couple of days. They did credit my account but why they couldn't have let me keep the £5 and credit it with the other £5 is a mystery.

 

[Shrewbly]

Has this happened to anyone else on here? If so, I'd like to know if you attempted to do anything about it.

Happened to me too (a long time ago). It was an HSBC machine which dispensed £10 short. Disappointingly they didn't really believe me and tried to brush me off, but with some persistence they finally checked the machine, and it had a big discrepancy on it, so I did get a refund. Obviously I wasn't the only one who had been short-changed by that machine.

 

[eastdyke]

Has this happened to anyone else on here? If so, I'd like to know if you attempted to do anything about it.
......

Not an identical experience but a bad one that turned out ok in the end.
I am also with Natwest, used a local Barclays ATM, got no cash at all. Before the transaction it said on screen that both £10/20s available but after inserting card and asking for money it returned my card and said wait for cash. After much whirring the m/c went out of service, no cash dispensed.
On returning home checked balance online and cash had been debited. Phoned Natwest who asked me to wait 48 hours and check my account again. As nothing had changed after 48 hours phoned Natwest again who transferred me to 'ATM Operations'. Took details of my experience and said that a claim would be lodged with Barclays who had 15 days to respond. Heard nothing after 15 days so phoned Natwest again who then immediately refunded my money.

Suggestion: phone Natwest again after 15 days!

 

[johntea]

Fivers seem a lot more common from an ATM these days since the polymer ones were introduced

I've also noticed recently on several that the PIN code entry screen seems to now allow more than 4 digits to be entered

 

[flymo]

I've also noticed recently on several that the PIN code entry screen seems to now allow more than 4 digits to be entered

Just for info, the PIN code for the ATM card I use (a non-UK HSBC card) is 6 digits, If I use my HSBC card in UK I need to input the 6 digits. No idea if it is relevant but may explain why there is space for more than 4 digits.

 

[ComUtoR]

Happened to me a few years ago. I got a credit of £20 to my account. No problems at all from the bank and I was simply told that it would be resolved once they had checked the machine.

I've only ever had 2 ATM problems in 30 odd years

 

[DarloRich]

Happened to me a few years ago. I got a credit of £20 to my account. No problems at all from the bank and I was simply told that it would be resolved once they had checked the machine.

I've only ever had 2 ATM problems in 30 odd years

I have never had a problem with an ATM but would expect they could relatively easily check the behaviour of a machine and compare with account and activation records and quickly spot any fault. If the machine was wrong I would expect the bank to rectify the situation ASAP.

it might take them a few days to run the diagnostics mind.

 

[ComUtoR]

I think the lady just said that they had to check the money count or words to that effect. I worked in retail at the time so I understood the need to 'check the till' and whatever audit/reconciliation needed, rather than any diagnostic.

The other one was a simple 'money never came out' it was debited from my account but I didn't get the cash. I was credited by the end of the day.


I think I have been lucky with banking and haven't really had many problems. I know a few people who have had many problems with their bank.

 

[PeterC]

I never worked with these machines in my days as a bank clerk but I believe that, in some models at least, each note cassette position is registered for a denomination so if you load a pack of 5s into a £10 slot you can get the problem that the OP experienced.

I can imagine the sequence of events:
1. machine onlty dispensing 10s and 20s
2. branch told to load 5s as well (there has been political pressure for this)
3. Notes are loaded without resetting the denomination. (superviser thought clerk would realise that a reset was necessary without being told perhaps)

 

[Busaholic]

Happened to me a few years ago. I got a credit of £20 to my account. No problems at all from the bank and I was simply told that it would be resolved once they had checked the machine.

I've only ever had 2 ATM problems in 30 odd years

I first got a card to be used in an ATM in 1984, which may have been when they were introduced by NatWest. The very first time I attempted to use it was on a Saturday morning in a suburb of Bristol, near the flat I was renting. The machine ate my card, the bank was closed (as per all bank branches in Bristol then) and it took me three months for my card to be returned. I'd done nothing wrong, and funds had been available. After that I perhaps understandably refused to use them for years, but eventually relented. This is my second bad experience in 35 years then, but won't lead to me turning my back on them, just that one machine!

 

[SteveP29]

I have never seen an ATM that dishes out fivers

They were reintroduced at least 3 years ago

 

[plugwash]

As I understand it ATMs that dispense £5 notes never quite died out, but in recent years there has been political pressure for operators of ATMs in poorer areas to return to dispensing them. It looks like the "revival" started in the late 2000s*. Link's ATM locator has an option to limit to ATMs that dispense £5 if you want to find them. ATM operators get paid per transaction, so from the ATM operator's point of view more smaller transactions are better than fewer large ones.

The downside of loading fivers is that the ATM will need re-stocking more often. An ATM will have a limited number of cassettes (looks like the usual number is four) for dispensing cash and using one of them for fivers means the operator can't use it for higher denominations.

* e.g. https://www.thisismoney.co.uk/money...g-cash-machines-increases-490-just-years.html is from 2011 and talks about "the last two years".

 

[Hadders]

Has this happened to anyone else on here? If so, I'd like to know if you attempted to do anything about it.

Last week, having bought a loaf in my baker's I noticed the £5 I proffered in payment was my only cash, and as I passed a Lloyds Bank on the short way home I decided to draw some more cash out. I selected the £100 button and opted for a receipt (thankfully) and a collection of £10 and £5 notes came out, but no £20s, which rather surprised me. I didn't attempt to count it at the machine (too many low life around) but walked the two minutes home with the money safely in my wallet. As £70 was destined for someone else, immediately I got in I went to my wallet and, to my initial disbelief, I counted 8x£10 and 2x£5 notes: I kept rechecking, but the missing £10 didn't mysteriously appear. I immediately went back to the bank, spoke to one of the tellers and told her what had happened. She said it was a very uncommon occurrence but that I would have to go to my own bank (NatWest) and 'lay a complaint' which would go to NW's head office, then they would report it to Lloyds' head office for investigation. I don't hold out too much hope, because I suspect the user of the cash machine after me might have received an extra tenner, so the books would have balanced at the end of the day, but we shall see.

A similar thing has happened to me on a couple of occasions (once at at ATM at Kings Cross St Pancras station).

You need to make a disputed ATM transaction with your own bank. They will contact the operator of the ATM you had a problem with. ATMs have to be balanced regularly (at least weekly I think) and if the ATM shows as being over then you will be refunded the money.

As the amount is relatively low it may well be the case that your bank will simply refund you as a goodwill gesture.

 

[najaB]

They were reintroduced at least 3 years ago

It was longer ago than that, probably about six or seven years ago. It was at least in part because of the number of tatty £5 notes in circulation.

 

[Busaholic]

Result! it took me ages to find out, as my bank failed to e-mail me, and I don't do internet banking, but the £10 was credited to my account within about three days.

 

[Cowley]

Result! it took me ages to find out, as my bank failed to e-mail me, and I don't do internet banking, but the £10 was credited to my account within about three days.

Could you lend me a tenner until after Christmas...

 

[Busaholic]

Could you lend me a tenner until after Christmas...

Sorry, I posted a book to my sister this afternoon and slipped it in between pages 128 and 129, so I'll only know she got it when she gets that far...

 

[Cowley]

Sorry, I posted a book to my sister this afternoon and slipped it in between pages 128 and 129, so I'll only know she got it when she gets that far...

Maybe you could just send me a photo of the tenner and I’ll use that...

 

[Busaholic]

Maybe you could just send me a photo of the tenner and I’ll use that...

True story - my father, in his long and fairly inconsequential career at the Bank of England, for a few years was responsible, with the aid of a secretary, for preventing any attempts to 'degrade the currency or bring it into disrepute' (or words very similar to that) so any flyers, newspaper ads etc etc that contained anything that could be construed as doing that got a strong standard letter with the message 'desist immediately or else, and acknowledge this in writing' and it always worked, according to him. He even encouraged me to look out for such things and report them to him, so my career as a snitch was born.

 

[DaleCooper]

True story - my father, in his long and fairly inconsequential career at the Bank of England, for a few years was responsible, with the aid of a secretary, for preventing any attempts to 'degrade the currency or bring it into disrepute' (or words very similar to that) so any flyers, newspaper ads etc etc that contained anything that could be construed as doing that got a strong standard letter with the message 'desist immediately or else, and acknowledge this in writing' and it always worked, according to him. He even encouraged me to look out for such things and report them to him, so my career as a snitch was born.

It looks like Cowley could be sent to the Tower.

 

[Busaholic]

It looks like Cowley could be sent to the Tower.

I'll visit him!

 

[Cowley]

I'll visit him!

Thank you.
I think I’ll write my memoirs while I’m in there.

 

[Busaholic]

Thank you.
I think I’ll write my memoirs while I’m in there.

And I'll find a publisher for them. Mind you, don't know how much advance you'll have to pay them (plus my cut, of course.)

 

[MotCO]

Sorry, I posted a book to my sister this afternoon and slipped it in between pages 128 and 129, so I'll only know she got it when she gets that far...

What was the book ....in case it turns up in Oxfam