ATM stole my money this morning

steppinthrax

Diamond Member
Jul 17, 2006
3,990
6
81
Interesting thing happened at the Bank of America ATM this morning. I have $1,000 cash money that I needed deposited. I went to the ATM this morning (8:30 or so), inserted my card and put the cash money in the machine. The machine began counting it (you can hear the mechanism inside) and totaled it to be $900.00!!!!!!! I was like WTF, I hit the button to return the cash and it returned me $900.00!!!! I was like holy shit something must of fucked up in the machine. My biggest concern was since I never actually deposited the money that there is no physical record that I put $1K in the machine it would be my word against theirs. I could just imagine a bank employee opening up the machine and noticing $100 laying in a compartment somewhere and pocketing it!!!!!

So anyway I waited till the bank opened. Talked to the manager, he indicated that they can't touch the machine, that diebold services them. He said he would put in a claim. He contacted the claim department and spoke on my behalf, he then gave the phone to me. She pulled my account, said that she saw that I used the machine and the exact actions I did with the machine. She said the machine threw and error code indicating there is money stuck in the machine!!!!! She gave me a temporary credit of $100.00 and said it should be resolved tonight since they will open the machine tonight and verify all the funds.

Turned out pretty good....
 

Fritzo

Lifer
Jan 3, 2001
41,920
2,161
126
I had that happen at a drive through ATM along time back. Really screwed me over because I was withdrawing the cash for Christmas shopping, and it only gave me 1/4 of the amount I requested. They fixed the problem 2 days later, but I was going around town purposely overdrawing my account with my debit card because I didn't have enough cash :D
 

lxskllr

No Lifer
Nov 30, 2004
59,132
9,565
126
You violated my first law of ATMs. NEVER put money in, only remove it. There's too much crap that can go wrong putting money into a machine. If you don't get money out, you can try a different one.
 

EagleKeeper

Discussion Club Moderator<br>Elite Member
Staff member
Oct 30, 2000
42,589
5
0
Had similar with a Chase ATM. Shorted $20 at night. Branch does not control the machine. Credit 2 days later after machine checked.
 

SunnyD

Belgian Waffler
Jan 2, 2001
32,674
146
106
www.neftastic.com
You violated my first law of ATMs. NEVER put money in, only remove it. There's too much crap that can go wrong putting money into a machine. If you don't get money out, you can try a different one.

This. My wife does ATM deposits... I look at her like she's got an arm growing out of her head when she does it.
 

AstroManLuca

Lifer
Jun 24, 2004
15,628
5
81
I had that happen at a drive through ATM along time back. Really screwed me over because I was withdrawing the cash for Christmas shopping, and it only gave me 1/4 of the amount I requested. They fixed the problem 2 days later, but I was going around town purposely overdrawing my account with my debit card because I didn't have enough cash :D

Yeah there was one time I made a deposit at an ATM and the cash didn't show up in my account the next day. When I called my credit union they were like "oh, the ATM can take up to a week to have the money added, you should use our dropbox." I was like WTF!!! A WEEK??? They were really helpful though, I told them that was absolutely unacceptable and they basically cleared the full deposited amount instead of making me wait for it to go from "pending" to complete.

Hell the dropbox is easier anyway. And the credit union is always very helpful and nice so they're totally worth keeping as long as I never make deposits at ATMs (withdrawals are fine).
 

amdhunter

Lifer
May 19, 2003
23,332
249
106
I made $200 off an ATM withdrawal when the machine bluescreened during the transaction. For months I was worried someone would find it, but it never happened.

Good old Windows NT.
 

Oyeve

Lifer
Oct 18, 1999
22,044
875
126
You violated my first law of ATMs. NEVER put money in, only remove it. There's too much crap that can go wrong putting money into a machine. If you don't get money out, you can try a different one.
I was was given a 10 when I wanted to pull a 20. It happens the other way too.
 

rsutoratosu

Platinum Member
Feb 18, 2011
2,716
4
81
This happened to me also, I deposited around 3-4k in 100s and it got stuck but I used the phone next to the machine and told them what happened. This was on a friday night. Now the funny thing was they lady ask me how much did I deposit, I said 4k, but after counting what I had left in my wallet, I was 95% sure I only deposited 3300. I figure they would count the machine and take the 4k and put 3300 in my account instead. They credit me for 4k, and 2 months later, I got a letter that it was finalized, I didn't argue with them.. :)
 

D1gger

Diamond Member
Oct 3, 2004
5,411
2
76
What kind of ATM's do you use? Every ATM I have ever used has envelopes that you put all of your cash & cheques in. I then tell the ATM how much I am depositing, it takes the envelope and when the machine is emptied the bank verifies the contents.
 

Vic Vega

Diamond Member
Sep 24, 2010
4,535
4
0
What kind of ATM's do you use? Every ATM I have ever used has envelopes that you put all of your cash & cheques in. I then tell the ATM how much I am depositing, it takes the envelope and when the machine is emptied the bank verifies the contents.

Lots of new ATMs allow for deposits without envelopes which makes cash deposits available instantly as opposed to after they get the money out and verify it.

At any rate - ATMs have an audit log just like anything else and all money inside must and will be accounted for. Report the issue to the bank, they will correct the error.
 

steppinthrax

Diamond Member
Jul 17, 2006
3,990
6
81
What kind of ATM's do you use? Every ATM I have ever used has envelopes that you put all of your cash & cheques in. I then tell the ATM how much I am depositing, it takes the envelope and when the machine is emptied the bank verifies the contents.

10 years ago the bank of america atms had envelopes for both cash and check, now they are much better, you can actually put a physical check/cash into the ATM, the atm will read and frank the check and/or tabulate the cash. It will then make the deposit quicker, as you can imagine that increases the probability for error since you are holy dependent on the machine.
 

steppinthrax

Diamond Member
Jul 17, 2006
3,990
6
81
Oh, and stop putting cash in the ATM. :)

Hold on a second here, many banks open at shitting hours 9 - 5pm and are opened limited on weekends and/or closed. In addition banks have long lines and they may charge you for using a teller v.s. the machine. I've been an account holder for 12 years with boa and this is the first time this shit happened, it was handled pretty well.
 
Feb 6, 2007
16,432
1
81
You violated my first law of ATMs. NEVER put money in, only remove it. There's too much crap that can go wrong putting money into a machine. If you don't get money out, you can try a different one.
Huh? How do you deposit checks/cash? For me personally, I work normal business hours (8-5) and work about 30 minutes away from the nearest branch of my bank, which means the earliest I can get there is at 5:30, which happens to be when they close. That means that any banking errands I have to run are restricted to a 4 hour window on Saturday morning when I generally have no desire to go to the bank.

Sure, I suppose I could switch banks for more convenience, but I've been using this one since childhood and I get perks as a longtime member (forgiveness of overdraft fees, for example, which doesn't come up ever, but still). Then again, they provide ATMs that can handle deposits and have not gone wrong on me once. So, ummm... Why is it exactly that one should NEVER put money into an ATM? For some of us, that's the only reasonable option.
 

D1gger

Diamond Member
Oct 3, 2004
5,411
2
76
10 years ago the bank of america atms had envelopes for both cash and check, now they are much better, you can actually put a physical check/cash into the ATM, the atm will read and frank the check and/or tabulate the cash. It will then make the deposit quicker, as you can imagine that increases the probability for error since you are holy dependent on the machine.

I have the balance available immediately now. They verify the transaction later, but I can put money (cash or cheque) in the ATM and immediately withdraw or transfer it.
 

CZroe

Lifer
Jun 24, 2001
24,195
857
126
I had one eat my paycheck and give no record of it. Also Bank of America. Saw plenty of horror stories.

I, too, waited for the bank to open and talked to them, talked to people on the phone, etc, and had to walk away with nothing at first. Luckily, I did not end up like the other horror stories and I got my money credited eventually.
 

lxskllr

No Lifer
Nov 30, 2004
59,132
9,565
126
Huh? How do you deposit checks/cash? For me personally, I work normal business hours (8-5) and work about 30 minutes away from the nearest branch of my bank, which means the earliest I can get there is at 5:30, which happens to be when they close. That means that any banking errands I have to run are restricted to a 4 hour window on Saturday morning when I generally have no desire to go to the bank.

Sure, I suppose I could switch banks for more convenience, but I've been using this one since childhood and I get perks as a longtime member (forgiveness of overdraft fees, for example, which doesn't come up ever, but still). Then again, they provide ATMs that can handle deposits and have not gone wrong on me once. So, ummm... Why is it exactly that one should NEVER put money into an ATM? For some of us, that's the only reasonable option.

My credit union is open until 6pm Mon-Thur, and 7pm on Fri. They're also open until 1pm on Sat. I can work around those hours. I've never felt the need to put money into a machine. If I have an urgent need to pay something, I use credit, and put the money on the card when I get to it.
 

darkewaffle

Diamond Member
Oct 7, 2005
8,152
1
81
ATMs are machines with moving parts. It happens; just talk to the bank and they're usually quite understanding. Just don't be a dick about it and understand that ATMs are tightly controlled and the bank itself many times will not actually be the ones that perform maintenance, service, or manual verification which may delay your correction.
 

steppinthrax

Diamond Member
Jul 17, 2006
3,990
6
81
My credit union is open until 6pm Mon-Thur, and 7pm on Fri. They're also open until 1pm on Sat. I can work around those hours. I've never felt the need to put money into a machine. If I have an urgent need to pay something, I use credit, and put the money on the card when I get to it.

Yep that is your credit union, not most banks!!!!