ATM experience in Edinburgh
 

We have used ATMs freely all over Europe and elsewhere, for years. On this recent visit to Scotland, we went inside the Royal Bank of Scotland, at what I think is their headquarters in the New Town in Edinburgh. After what seemed like the normal sequence, the machine said transaction cancelled and kept my card. I went over to a bank employee and explained my problem. No sympathy, no recourse. Only if I had an account at RBS, could something be done. Otherwise the fault was mine, either I'd stolen the card or my account was empty.

I then spent a long time on the phone to the US, including time on hold, cancelling my debit/ATM card and confirming that there was plenty of money in the account as well as a note about my foreign travel.

I never had a problem before, so must assume this was a one off. But I'm left with a very negative impression of the Royal Bank of Scotland.

<i> Only if I had an account at RBS, could something be done. </i>

That's actually standard operating procedure for most banks. If you're not an account holder then normally what happens is they destroy the card.

The situation sucks but it's not RBS's fault.

What evidence is there that it was the fault of RBS?

I have had it not give me money and you have to deal with your own bank if the atm is not your own bank that you used. Takes forever to get the money. The pitfalls of atm machines.

Everything was normal with my account. The fault was with RBS or the company they employ to program and service their ATMs. It was possible for the machine to cancel my transaction and return my card. And there was definitely a problem with the way the bank treated me, assuming my guilt and implying I was some sort of criminal.

This was obviously a distressing event, but it is standard procedure in Britain for a bank or a retailer to be instructed to destroy a card (usually in front of you and by cutting it in half with scissors) if there is an indication that a card has been stolen or cancelled. I had that happen to me once when my bank cancelled a credit card before it sent me a replacement. It was not my fault, or that of Trailfinders where I was booking a round-the-world air ticket.

In the circumstance you describe, it seems more likely that it was your bank in Seattle that refused the transaction and gave the instruction to retain your card. A poster here recently reported that she was denied an ATM transaction in Scotland because her bank had only authorised ATM withdrawls in England. Are you sure that the same could not have happened to you?

If you had reported that your card had been stolen, would you like an overseas bank to continue to process transactions against your account, or simply decline them and return the card to the thief?

I've always figured that I was over-cautious for having two ATM cards. This post tells me that I am not crazy after all.

>>A poster here recently reported that she was denied an ATM transaction in Scotland because her bank had only authorised ATM withdrawls in England.<<

That was moi :)

I told the bank (in person) I'd be traveling in the "UK - United Kingdom" (That's exactly what I said) and their fraud prevention provider (not the bank itself) didn't know Scotland was included in the UK. I my case the machine did return my card. But if it hadn't -- I'm pretty sure I wouldn't have got it back.

No need for the bank personnel to be rude -- but they were correct in not returning it. That is why I carry THREE debit cards w/ me (and leave my 4th at home to make sure I have something to fall back on if there are problems when I get back)

THREE cards, Janis??? THREE??????

Yep -- I bank at four banks (well 3 banks and a credit union).

I take 3 of the cards w/ me only intending to use 2 of them and keep the CU card as the back up since it is just a small account.

This is one of my fears while traveling. I hate the machines that take my card while it processes the transaction. From what you say, the problem does seem to have been RBS and not your bank as you have already spoken with your bank. People need to stop being so defensive. The people at the bank could have explained this better to the OP.

If it makes you feel better by all means write a letter to RBS explaining the situation, location, time and anything that would help investigate the problem if they decide to. Machines can be wrong too. I am a big believer in speaking up. What they do with the information is their business but how can things be fixed if the don't know about it? Write the letter than expect nothing. At least you tried to bring it to their attention and did your due diligence.

<i>THREE cards, Janis??? THREE??????</i>

I see someone has embraced Improviser's Travel Rules of Three.

;)

I do not however carry three compasses (nor <i>any</i> compasses for that matter)

Several years ago, I was trying to get cash from ATM at a Barclay's. the sun made it very difficult to read the screen; however, I was convinced that I could complete the transaction without seeing what I was doing. Result was no cash and it did not return my card. I watched as a number of people seemed to use the machine with no problem. It was a Saturday afternoon, and I had to wait until Monday morning for bank to reopen. I was there as soon as it opened and explained what had happened. They had my card, and it had not been destroyed as I had feared. I did learn a lesson.

I have two different credit cards and an ATM/debit card. Now thinking I may get that third card. Maybe.

Also you can buy travel cards now and the issuer always gives you two. You load the cards with an amount which is converted to the currency of the places you plan to visit. You can nominate different currencies. They only work on a pin number and have no connection to your own bank account. I know American Express issues them in the USA (I'm an Australian and we have many options) but probably there are better ones. They are very safe and can't be used unless the pin is known. They also protect you from currency fluctuations.
Smart move to take three cards Janis. We take 4 between us!

> Travel cards ...

Aren't they the new versions of travelers' cheques, that are not recommended here due to bad exchange rates ?

<i>Aren't they the new versions of travelers' cheques, that are not recommended here due to bad exchange rates ?</i>

Correct.

"Aren't they the new versions of travelers' cheques, that are not recommended here due to bad exchange rates ?"

Incorrect, at least as far as UK originated cards are concerned . I have 5 pre loaded cards with www.fairfx.com, in three different currencies. If one is lost or stolen, I can switch the balance to another car. The rates are amongst the most competitive on the market and the fees are minimal or no existent. As I tend to trVel for long periods, I can also top up the cards as and when the fx rate moves in my faavour.

Not sure whether anything similar is available in the US yet as the retail banking system their seems to be years behind in this sort of technology.

<i>as the retail banking system their seems to be years behind in this sort of technology.</i>

You got that right.

I have read advice here on many occasions to use ATMs that are attached to banks during banking hours so that if there is any trouble with the machine you can get your card back. It appears that this advice does not prevent losing one's card to the machine, at least in the UK. I do have a backup card from another account, but I will now consider getting an extra card for my main travel account.

RE : Crellton's post

I read about hidden costs in the reviews below. I will wait to hear what other posters think/know of the travel cards to see if travel cards are that good as Crellton says.

http://reviews.money.co.uk/FairFX.htm

http://www.theaussienomad.com/travel...rd-for-travel/

hidden costs : card fee, the transaction fee, the currency conversion fee, the inactivity fee…. (seriously they charge you if you don’t use the card).

Kappa, I think you will find that not all travel cards are the same. In the UK where "free" banking is still prevalent fair FX provides a cost effective means of currency exchange, a least for me. I use my cards a lot. Currently on a six month trip around South America and have used the cards exclusively in five different countries. Prior to that I was in Spain for six month again using the cards exclusively and they worked well in both locations. My comments apply to UK based cards only and fairfx in particular. I am very happy with their charges and with their customer service. I can't speak for the

I haven't read your link to the Aussie site in any great detail but I am aware from US friends that the deals available on these cards from say Travelex appear worse in the US than in the UK in terms of fx rates and charges and from what I know of the Australian retail banking system the situation there is likely to be similar.

As with any financial product, it pays to read the small print. I did and was happy with what I found.

Thanks, Janis. Actually I used to carry two different ATM cards when I had an account at one bank as well as an account at a credit union so three makes sense because you can never be too careful.

Our friend the computer guru keeps urging me to carry all my credit and debit cards in a wallet that shields them from those readers people can use to get the information from them. Or at least line the thing with tin foil.

Thanks Janis.

Re francophiletasmania's post. Those responding that pre-paid travelcards area bad idea are likely Americans. And that is 100% true for us.

However francophiletasmania is from OZ and that is a different situation. Many Aussies have posted that their pre-paid cards are a normal way of doing things and don't have the bad features of US-issued cards (and from the posts apparently the same for the UK)

It may be standard operating procedure, but it is not understandable why a bank would refuse to return the card to the original holder who presumably has a passport (and probably a driver's license with additional photo) as proof of identity.

I have not read all the answers. So this may be a similar answer.

But our ATM card was eaten in the Rome airport.

We forgot to check the expiration date.

Yes, it was expired.

Well, I find this very odd that a bank is keeping a card just because a transaction isn't authorized on it, unless the home bank did have some instructions to that effect. It just doesn't seem like being in a foreign country should be considered "fraud" enough to keep the card. IF so, the rest doesn't surprise me (that they kept it) except it seems they could have been a little more flexible if it was something obvious like the foreign charge and the holder had a passport to verify identity.

Luckily, I've never had a card retained by any ATM system, although it was close once in Prague, but it finally came out. I forget the problem, it hadn't worked for some reason. But I always do tell my bank I'll be abroad but I'm not sure they care much about it, I think the last time they said I wouldn't have had to tell them (they do care about the credit card).

Despite all the people who hate Bank of America, they have an official partner bank in the UK--Barclays--and I am thinking that if the OP had BofA and had used Barclay's, they would have offered some recourse. That being said, I also travel w/a back-up debit card from another bank for just such possible snafus!

The point of this post was to say that withdrawing cash from an ATM inside a bank during banking hours does not guarantee return of your card if it is eaten. As I had previously believed from posts on this forum.

Update after return home: yes, I checked the expiration date on the debit/ATM card before we left home; it was November of this year, which worked fine for the credit card. But this might have been the problem with the debit card. Still....

Late in this trip, we got brave and my husband tried his debit/ATM card from the same source, a credit union. His card has a different number and expiration date from mine and it worked fine.

We did have a second ATM/debit card from another credit union and, after my bad experience, mostly used it. But I had only put a certain amount of money in this secondary account, not enough to cover all our trip expenses. Hence we charged our stays at B&Bs and paid a surcharge for that. Usually we would have paid with cash.

we had trouble in drawing cash in Sri Lanka, on our joint account, though DH had no trouble with the account in his sole name at a different bank.

It was of course all my fault as i had told the bank that holds our joint account that we were going to SL. DH had said nothing to his bank and they were quite happy to dispense as much cash as we wanted - fortunately.

of course when I got home I complained but never got a sensible answer except it was to do with their counter "fraud" measures.

I'm now trying to decide whether to tell them about our next trip to HK, Oz and NZ - how on earth will they cope with that?

That is (almost) funny, ann, were it not such a huge pain!!

Here on this side of the Atlantic before our trip to the UK last October, we were told by both banks where we have debit cards that they routinely deny access to funds that are attempted to be withdrawn in LONDON!!! They too cited "fraud" measures.....So much for globalism in banking.

That is (almost) funny, ann, were it not such a huge pain!!>>

i know, sw. i just think that it was someone whose geography was a bit off.

recently my c/card holder rang up to check three transactions within the UK which were none of them more than £300. but routinely stopping transactions in London does seem rather a stretch - how do they think people who live and work there get on? it's like saying they routinely stop transactions in NYC!

Well, of course, that was only if you did not tell them ahead of time.....but still!!

I carry two ATM cards and two credit cards; I am surprised about the trouble inside the back and during back hours.

I do notify credit card peoples when going overseas as I have been burned on that in the past.

The bank doesn't ever stop transactions unless we ask.

In our modern 21st century society, this should never happen. Many of the ATM's I use at home have a swipe slot much like the cc terminals which take the antiquated American swipe credit cards and NYC metrocards...you swipe the card with a flick of the wrist or in some cases don't insert the card all the way, you dip it. Much safer for all concerned.

As far as "partner" banks, B of A's relationship with Barclays has nothing to do with retaining the card or things like that. If you have a BofA card and use a Barclay's ATM, it simply means BofA doesn't add a fee. Period. If you use another bank's ATM, then BofA may charge as much as $5 for a cash withdrawal with a debit card.

That's actually pretty good advice: only use swipe machines. They are common enough.

I also carry three cards. I cover the keypad when putting in the pin and I look out for strange devices plugged into the ATM.

I think withdrawal of the card with a declined transaction is one of the options the card owning bank can insist on. If they instruct withdrawal the ATM bank has to comply.

That's actually pretty good advice: only use swipe machines. They are common enough.>>

Sadly sparkchaser I've never seen one. not in the UK, or on the continent or anywhere. ATMs here are commonly the sort where you put your card in the slot and it gives it back at the end. or not.

at least the Sri Lankan machine didn't eat my card.

Here in the States, BofA (in Boston area, at least) has the kind where you push it in and pull it right out.....is that what a swipe card is?