ATM Didn’t Dispense Cash? Here’s What You Can Do

The bank does not pay out, but debits the account

It turns out that we are not helpless in such situations. We do not lose the chance to recover the money even if the bank’s response is negative. Fortunately, such situations are not very common, on the contrary – they happen very rarely. However, it is worth knowing how to behave in such a situation.

The failure to withdraw cash from an ATM is usually due to several factors. The first one is no funds indicated in the account and daily transaction limit exceededThe machine will not pay out banknotes also because power outage or when it breaks down. In the latter case, however, we always deal with an error message. It is worth remembering it or taking a photo of it. It also happens that the ATM runs out of cash or there is no money in the appropriate denominations. This problem often occurs when we want to withdraw smaller amounts, e.g. PLN 20, PLN 40 or PLN 80. The most stressful case is when the ATM will not dispense cash, but will debit our account.

Complaint – what you need to know

We will be forced to do so then make a complaintregarding non-payment of the requested amount. In such a situation, we will be saved by having confirmation failed transaction. This will be the basis for reporting this event to the bank and will allow verification of when and at what time the customer used a given ATM. If it was not printed, it is a good idea to take a photo of the message about the failed transaction. Let’s also note the time, date and ATM number.

We can submit a complaint via the bank’s hotline. This will be the fastest way. We can go to the branch in person or send an e-mail. When filing a complaint, you will have to provide the cardholder’s details, describe the place and indicate the time of the incident. Certainly please provide the unpaid amount and the ATM number and name of its operator. The consultant will inform us how long the bank will have to wait for a response in our case. Most often, it is up to 2 weeks. The appropriate people will check the ATM and compare the amounts of deposits and withdrawals. If we find a surplus of cash in the device, we can be sure that our complaint will be considered positively. When it comes to the refund itself, the bank is not obliged to hurry, it has time to return them up to 30 days from the notification.

If we used external ATM services, we proceed in exactly the same way when it comes to collecting information. But then we can file two complaints – to the bank where we have an account and to the company managing the ATMs.

If the bank’s decision is negative for some reason and we want to pursue the matter further, we have the tools to do so. We can pursue our rights in court or report the matter to the Bank Consumer Arbitration.

See: ATM pyromaniacs busted. One detail gave them away