ATMs
can make mistakes. And when they do, it can cost you time and money to
clean them up. They can account for a deposit amount incorrectly,
dispense too little or too much cash, fail to give a receipt and keep a
customer's payment card.
ATM mistakes (Photo: Chukky Nwakky)
The most spectacular errors occur when ATMs dispense cash to anyone
who walks by, including those without money in their accounts or even
without accounts.
A couple of times a year, news reports tell of crowds gathering
around ATMs that mistakenly begin spewing bills. In 2010, the Bank of
Ireland’s ATMs dispensed more cash to customers than they actually had
in their accounts, according to the New York Times. One taxi driver with
nothing in the bank walked away with huge amount of cash.
How often does it happen? Diebold Incorporated, a leading maker of
ATMs, based in North Canton, Ohio, United States, does not keep records
of how many mistakes its machines make, the company says. A
representative there says only that mistakes are rare.
However, mistakes do happen, says James Trocme, senior director of
market research and knowledge management at Diebold. While they don’t
know how often they happen, mistakes by the machines can usually be
traced to some form of human error. Poor maintenance practices,
especially, can lead to ATM foul-ups, Trocme says.
Although no one in the industry seems to know how often mistakes
occur, they generally agree about what to do to avoid being victimised
by a rogue ATM, according to www.bankrate.com.
1. Always get a printed receipt. The receipt
contains important information such as the transaction date, time and
the machine identifier, says Nessa Feddis, senior counsel for American
Bankers Association based in Washington, D.C. Among other things, this
will allow the ATM owner to check the photographic record that is often
made of transactions.
2. Count your cash. John Prendergast, vice
president of supervision for Conference of State Bank Supervisors, an
advocacy group composed of state banking regulators based in Washington,
D.C., acknowledges that safety concerns may sometimes preclude openly
counting a fat stack of $20 bills.
“You need to be cognizant of your surroundings, particularly if
there is anyone behind you waiting for the ATM,” Prendergast says. “But I
would absolutely count the money.” It’s possible that a video record of
the transaction could be used to confirm how many bills you count out,
he says.
Act fast to improve your chances
3. Notify the bank or ATM owner. You can find a
phone number on the ATM, telling you whom to call in case the machine
isn’t located outside of a bankbranch, Prendergast says.
4. Act quickly. If you let the ATM owner know immediately, it will make it more likely that the company can trace the error, Feddis says.
An ATM error can leave you baffled, infuriated and not knowing
where to turn. But if you take the right steps, the mistake is likely to
get corrected.
“The outcomes in my experience have been the same,” Prendergast
says. “That’s that the consumer is always dealt with very well and is
not left in a bad position.
Five ATM Mistakes to Avoid
You just finished a lovely dinner somewhere in Victoria Island in
Lagos or in Abuja, and you are told by the cashier that the restaurant
accepts only cash. But as you dash off to the Automated Teller Machine
to get cash, do your best to avoid making some mistakes
According to www.purewow.com, there are seven time-tested ATM mistakes you need to avoid making. These are:
1. Not shielding your PIN
This is not just about the person in line behind you. Next-level
skimmers will go so far as to set up cameras to record your Personal
Identification Number as you punch it in. A good idea? Use your free
hand to cover the numbers. When it comes to your cash, better safe than
sorry.
2. Tossing your ATM receipt
Computers never make mistakes, right? Wrong. An ATM receipt is the
best proof of transaction should you spot an error you need to dispute.
You don’t have to hold on to it forever—just until your withdrawal (or
deposit) clears. Keep in mind: It’s best to shred your receipt before
you toss it. You will be amazed what an identity thief can do with just
your name and partial account number.
3. Using your credit card
It may feel more secure than using your debit card, but the charges
on ATM withdrawals using a credit card is sky-high. (Not to mention
that a lot of times you will be subjected to additional cash-advance
transaction fees.) Even worse, there’s no grace period on paying
interest for creditcard cash withdrawals. Bottom line: Emergencies
aside, your debit card is really the only card you should be using at
the ATM.• Not fighting the fees
4. Exorbitant ATM charges happen
This is not withstanding the fact that the Central Bank of Nigeria
has stipulated guidelines on ATM and other charges. Never hesitate to
call your bank and push back should you notice something funny on the
ATM charges. If you’re a good customer (and nicely explain the fact that
you had zero options available), in most cases, they’ll do you a favour
and refund the fees. Those little money adds up.
5. Withdrawing cash from stand-alone ATMs beyond midnight.
Credits: Oyetunji Abioye for Punch newspaper
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