The problem with ATMs?
 

I just got back from my 2 week European trip. My husband tried to withdraw EUR500 cash from the machine at the Marco Polo airport but it was refused. He tried again breaking it up in two transactions - EUR250 each. Having looked at our accounts as soon as we settled in, he saw that his account was debited for the failed transaction. Has this ever happend to anyone here before? He filed the complaint and the case is under investigation whatever. But having no slip or proof whatsoever since the transaction was refused, I'm not quite sure what our chances are of getting this money back.

Hi Z,

Oh dear.

This is the first I've heard of an error like this.

Hope it works out OK.

((I))

I have had this happen at an ATM machine in the US. My account showed a debit, but I was not given the cash - the machine malfunctioned or something. I filed a report with the bank. They reconcile the ATM machines on a regular basis and when the machine was reconciled the next time, it was obvious that there had been an error with the transaction - the machine had extra money in it and there was some sort of exception report printed for my transaction. So the bank credited my account for the amount.

This happened to my parents in Venice around Christmas. The machine made the sound like it was dispersing money but nothing came out. Fortunately his bank in the States were still opened and they called them right away. They were able to get reimbursed after a brief investigation.

I've had ATM machines give me an error on my transaction but I've never been charged for amounts I did not actualy withdraw. Thanks for posting so that others know to be aware of this and best of luck!

This is yet another good reason for making withdrawals during banking hours. If something untoward happens, you can march right in and talk to someone at the counter.

It happened to us in Venice at the Italian Poste Bancomat. We tried to withdraw 300 Euro, it gave us a broken English translation that the transaction failed and debited our account $400 US dollars.

Needless to say after a few panic phone calls to Wells Fargo they reversed the charges about 3 business days later.

I figured we were screwed but it worked out ok despite spending 3 hours of vacation time on the phone.

I strongly agree with Underhill's comment about using an ATM at a bank when the bank is open. Even my friends in Italy do that.

zizz, I sure hope that you get this situation worked out. I do hope inspite of this worry that you had a good trip.

My incident happened during banking hours however I still had to call the customer service number. The people AT the bank couldn't do anything. The only difference was that because the bank was open, I used on of their "courtesy phones" rather than my own cel.

Perhaps the people at banks overseas have the ability to actually do something.

If you search thru this forum, you'll find that this is not that uncommon. I had a same problem; you will EVENTUALLY get your money back. But until then, your balance is lower than you planned. This may be a big problem depending on how you have set up your checking account.

One explanation I have read is time-out: your bank debits your account and gives approval to dispense money. But the message takes too long time to reach the ATM: perhaps due to slow system, slow network, etc. The ATM gives up and refuses to give you money. ATM may finally receive the approval to dispense, but it is too late.

I try to use an ATM during local business hours as others mentioned as well as the time neither Europe or home computer system nor the Atlantic communication is congested; this seems to be morning European time. All my ATM problems took place in the late PM or night.

I'd never heard of this before either so thanks for posting this. Good luck!

Thanks for all the replies. The problem is that it wouldn't have mattered if this was done during banking hours. The machine indicated that the withdrawal was refused and we were therefore not aware of any debit transactions that went ahead anyway. I guess we should always check the account balance before and after every transaction made. Could this be done though since you are using other banks' ATM machines belonging to the same network?

Imagine if my husband never bothered to check our accounts a few days after we got back!

Yeah, we had this happen, but didn't realize our account was debited till MONTHS later. Here's a more detailed explanation:

http://www.fodors.com/forums/threads...p;tid=34398027

~Liz

I'm sure that a big majority of time the machines work fine,.....but it's interesting to read these problems.(kind of scary?)
I hope this is read by those people who think ATM"S are the "be all , end all" ONLY way to go when getting cash overseas...and those people often get very irritated when one even suggests getting more foreign cash before leaving home. WE have had the experience that the exchange rate isn't much difference getting it in the STates first from your bank....although there IS a small service fee for "convenience".
We DO use ATMS occasionally in Europe when needed!

If you think of how often ATMs are used versus the number of problems, the chances are probably slim you'll have an issue. This is still the main way I will get money out while traveling. Just like with credit card purchases, it's smart to check your paperwork when you return home.

Same thing happened to me, I wrote about it on one of the trip reports. The first time I used the ATM in Rome and it ejected my card before any money came out so I put the card back in again and started over. When I got home I was debited for both transactions.

I never did get the money back, my bank communicated with the bank in Italy who said I received the money both times. No way to prove that I didn't. The went on for months when I insisted they keep investigating.

ATM's are not the end all that they seem to be, my friend couldn't get any machine to accept her card for days until suddenly the same machines started accepting it. Same with me, sometimes I feel like I am working a slot machine which might or might not pay off.

We had this happen to us once and fortunately it was during banking hours, so the branch manager was able to help us out.
But in Conway, NH, I had the opposite experience. I tried to withdraw $200 and the machine made some VERY weird noises. It spit out about $100 and then the screen started flashing, the noises got louder, and then it did a BIG flash, and went dead.
My account was not debited for either the $200 I tried to take out or the $100 I received. I did tell my home branch manager about it and she said if it doesn't show up on their records, don't worry about it. And it never did.
Good luck with getting your money back, and the other posters are right, it may take a while.