Jetset

Hi !<BR>just curious to know if you have any experience having your ATM card got stucked in the machine while attempting to make transaction in Europe - especially when it happened during off hours? was someone available to help? were you able to retrieve it?<BR>thanks.

elaine

Hi<BR>It happened to a friend of mine once, but it's the only occurrence I know of personally. Can happen anywhere of course, but it's rare. Most atms in Europe are outside, so you won't really have someone to talk to or ask.<BR><BR>suggestions for this unlikely occurrence (think of it as 2 belt plus suspenders)<BR>first, have a back up credit card with an available line of credit, just in case (also good in case of wallet theft or loss)<BR>second, some travelers carry one or two large denomination travelers checks (in $, a couple of hundered dollars, let's say) to cash in case of emergency. If you don't use them you can deposit them back into your account when you get home.<BR><BR>third, call your atm/debit card issuer before you leave home and find out exactly how you call them and what they will do for you should you lose your card. For example, 800 numbers can't be dialed from outside the U.S.<BR>For another example, some banks or credit card companies will only send replacement cards to the cardholders HOME address, (and some not for 7-10 days) so not much help if you are traveling. Of course take this info with you (or leave it at home with someone) and make a note of your card numbers on the same piece of paper.<BR>

frank

I and many others had our ATM card sucked into the machine over the weekend (on Rue Rivole) in Paris last Year. <BR><BR>I Showed up first thing Monday and got it back. I had back up cards. Another guy on line was very Irate... I don't blame him.<BR><BR>Speaking of ATM machines, In '99 I went by a bank with an indoor ATM. The sytem locked a customer in the bank... would not let him out. The police were there for several hours trying to contact the bank personnel, who were off god only knows where.<BR><BR>

Eye Spy

That tale happens to many people: the card goes in and doesn't come out and you have to go to the bank first thing the next day or they send it back to your bank. However, I think the bank will wait one business day for you to come in and retrieve it but don't quote me on that one. That's another reason I prefer to use the Citibank ATM's in Paris -- just like in America, you dip it in and then out thereby avoiding the machine's eating your card. Naturally, that only helps if there is a Citibank ATM in your part of Paris (Gare Saint-Lazare or on the Champs-Elysees). Let's hope French ATM's will change -- it happens a lot in London too.

hungry

There is a big differenece between ATM's in France (maybe other European countries as well) and the USA.<BR>In France you have to take back your ATM card before the machine spits out the cash. In the US (at least when I was there, and with several ATM's I used) it is the other way round!<BR>Tricky. Not used to it, I took the cash and walked away. Noticed the next day that the machine swallowed my card..

t

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Marilyn

Didn't happen to me, but to my cousin, in Italy. He went to the bank the next day and they were not going to give him back the ATM card. They said it was not legally allowed! (Yes, he had plenty of ID.)<BR><BR>Luckily for him the manager of the hotel he was staying in had the same thing happen in the same machine. The hotel manager went to the bank with him and convinced them to give both of them back their cards.<BR><BR>Good reason to have a back up plan for getting cash!

jetset

Thank you all for responding.<BR>I will be in France in December so I guess nothing to worry about getting the card sucked in the way their ATM system works!

Santa Chiara

Good advice from all above. Just one point to make. You can call 800 numbers with a phone card. These are the cards where you pre-purchase the minutes. The 800 number will not be free but at least you can access it.<BR><BR>Also, most major cities have American Express offices, and I have been able to get a replacement card on the spot.

MH

This happened to my traveling companion in Egypt, at the Luxor airport. He stuck his card in, put in pin, and then waited and waited and waited some more. After about 10 minutes he figured out that the machine was broke and he freaked out. He was not going to leave his card in this country esp. since the machine had his pin. Evidently he had a very substantial amount of $ in his savings account. Our tour guide got one of the airport security guards, who came with a crowbar and ripped the machine apart and retrieved the card. He refused to use another atm, the entire trip and ended up spending a small fortune cashing travelers check. Even American Express doesn't want to be bothered cashing their own checks. The Cairo office charged 30% of the face value per transaction. Rip off!!! I was just glad he had them, so he wouldn't be hitting me up for cash. The really ironic thing about the whole situation was that I had just used the very same machine and had no problems, my friend was standing behind me...life is like that sometimes...Take care and be safe..

Terry

stucked?

cynthia

We had something interesting happen getting money from an atm in France. We were in Cluny late on a Friday in September. We put our card in the machine and got a receipt that it gave us money but it Didn't. We had asked for $500.00. We could not get money until the next day as we have a limit a day. We called our bank at home and they saw the $500 debit to our account--we are currently contesting it. Our bank has seen this before and recommended that late in the week you use a atm in a large city as some of the smaller cities don't fill their machines regularly.

Marilyn

In France we had it refuse our card and not give us the money, so it was good to have backup travelers checks. The next day it was working again. M.

Thyra

Not stuck but in Northern England in 1999 my card, apparently either caused the ATM to &quot;explode&quot; or was innocently in the wrong place at the wrong time.. when I say explosion thats an extreme overstatement, however I put my card into the ATM, withdrew 200 pounds or so then before my card or reciept came out the ATM &quot;shorted out&quot;, hard to describe.. the screen blanked out, made a fizzling popping noise and then my card spit out and it smelled like electrical smoke... my card was then demagnetized which was a bit of a problem as it was a bank holiday weekend. But the cool thing was, my bank never deducted the money.. it's as though the transaction never occured... I am still waiting for someone from the bank to call me about it.

Christina

I almost had a card stuck in an ATM in Prague once, but luckily after a while, it did finally come out (I tried many variations of buttons). I'm more cautious than some, I guess, as I generally won't use my ATM card except during business hours (even that time, the place was open and someone in the bank came out to check it out). Once in a while I might if I'm staying in a place for several more days and it's near my hotel. This isn't a big problem for me because I don't use up that much cash, so it's easy to plan to do that.<BR><BR>I had an ATM in Krakow double-charge me for a transaction, but they corrected their own mistake the next day -- I saw both transactions on my monthly bank statement. <BR><BR>I always carry TCs as a backup and usually end up using them a little bit due to various ATM problems or inavailabilities. I don't think it's a matter of AmEx not wanting to be bothered to cash TCs in Cairo, it's obviously a big money-maker for them if that rate is correct. Most AmEx places give decent rates and no fees on them, though (very good in Prague). I cashed Amex TCs in Cairo years ago before ATMs existed and didn't pay anything like 30 pct, though. I didn't go to their office, just used hotel services for the most part, as I recall. I think that is a good moneymaker for hotels in some countries, and they don't always have terrible rates in that case, because they want the business (hotel rates in Mexico, for example, were better than the downtown bank on cashing TCs). Some things are not predictable in Egypt, I learned.