While I have been converted from traveler's checks ("dinosaurs," my travel-wise college-age son calls them) to the convenience of getting currency from ATMs abroad, let me share this experience that has at least given me pause. While in Italy a few weeks ago, my card was rejected several times until I finally found a machine that would take it. I thought nothing about it -- that happens now and then, right? But when I returned home and found my bank statement, I discovered I had been charged $150.50 for a withdrawal of 300,000ITL that I didn't make. I believe it must have occurred on one of the occasions that the card was supposedly rejected but was somehow still processed to my account. (I know I didn't get the cash because I kept a meticulous log of all such transactions and besides, I did succeed that day in getting all the cash I needed from another machine and wouldn't have made the extra withdrawal.) But try proving to the bank that you didn't get the money! I'm in the process now of submitting affidavits and various forms. Stay tuned and we'll see if my money is returned to the account. Anyone else have a similar experience?

interesting because my friend had the same experience with an ATM in rome last week. i told her to be sure to make a note on her receipt that she didn't get the cash. <BR> <BR>also another friend that i was with in paris last year had problems with her ATM card being rejected by alot of the machines. <BR> <BR>as far as traveler's checks go i only still take them for "insurance" and last week i was glad i did. i was pickpocketed on the rome subway friday afternoon. my atm card was in my wallet that was stolen. since it was friday afternoon i didn't get a replacement credit card from visa until monday morning. if i had not taken traveler's checks i wouldn't have had any cash over the weekend. in fact next time i will take more $'s in travelers checks because i didn't really have enough. so definately take those traveler's checks with you!!! you can always redeposit them if you don't use them and if you need them you will be VERY glad you have them.

My card will not allow me to make but one withdrawal within a 24 hour period. From my end, the real withdrawal and the 300,000 one should not be possible. The bank would seem to be at fault. If yours is the same, is that not some help in straightening out the problem with your bank?

Not an unusual situation at all. One of the reasons we use ATMs sparingly. <BR> <BR>While we mainly rely on charging what we can on our credit card, we still carry a bit of cash and more than a bit of travelers' checks. We use ATMs when convenient, but do not rely on them. <BR> <BR>I have to smile at all those that consider travelers' checks outdated dinosaurs. Especially when, for many, the checks can be free ... if you're an AAA or credit union member, for example. <BR> <BR>Trip Tips and Tools for Visitors to Europe <BR>www.twenj.com <BR>

Just curious: how much is 300,000 ITL in US dollars?

as of July 26,2000 300,000 ITL = $145.00

Hi Frank, <BR> <BR>We had the same thing happen on June in Spain: one ATM rejected our card, subsequent machine gave us the dosh. When we received our bank statement, there were two withdrawals for that day, in the same amount, in the same small country town. Our bank has accepted our version of the story. Good luck with your bank....

I had also had cash withdrawl in Edinburgh that failed due to "cannot communicate with your bank" error that showed up as withdrawl in my account. It took 2 months to get the account corrected. I read that one way this happens is when the ATM sends fund transfer request to your bank in US (or whatever), your bank approves the transaction, but the reply comes back too late for the ATM and times out. Then ATM thinks fund transfer did not take place while your bank thought it did, thus the debit without money in your hand.

This is interesting because I had the exact opposite thing happen to me. I withdrew $140.00 worth of Sterling from a bank outside of Stratford-upon Avon. The machine sort of "sparked" out after it gave me my money then an error message showed up on the screen, and no receipt appeared. The next time we tried to use our ATM card we found that it had been demagnetized (sp?) which was kind of difficult because it was during a bank holiday weekend. But when I got home and looked at my statements the money had never been withdrawn from our account.

When we flew into Paris the end of May after a 2 week cruise, we were amazed to find the ATM people(?), machines(?) were on strike! The machines were empty! Who would have thought? We were glad to have those travelers checks with us even though we try to charge everything.

My friend and I traveled together to Netherlands and Germany in May. We both belonged to the same bank, and had ATM cards from said bank. However, mine had been converted to a "CheckCard" (bearing the VISA logo) whereas his had not. One would think my card would be better, but acutally his ATM card worked in Europe whereas mine did not (same ATM machines). <BR> <BR>Greg's explanation makes sense for Frank's/others' problem, but not mine; nevertheless, I'm digging thru my bank statements right now to see if there are phantom charges . . .

For what it's worth, my ATM cards had both been "converted" to the type with the visa logo that also function as debit cards. One would work at a given ATM, the other would be rejected (they were from different banks). I think all of this has convinced me not only to take cards from more than one bank (if that's an option for you), but also to continue to take traveler's checks as a backup. After all, they're usually free, and the only cost is the interest you lose on the money, plus any commission or charge if you actually have to use them. I appreciate everyone's input into my original question.