# Anyone ever get stiffed by an ATM machine? **URL:** \ **Category:** Factual Questions\ **Created:** [April 25, 2013, 11:02pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/anyone-ever-get-stiffed-by-an-atm-machine/656717 "2013-04-25T23:02:12Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 20\ **Page:** 2
**Author:** ![SeaDragonTattoo](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/df705f/32.png) [@SeaDragonTattoo](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/SeaDragonTattoo)\ **Post date:** [April 27, 2013, 7:16am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/anyone-ever-get-stiffed-by-an-atm-machine/656717/21 "2013-04-27T07:16:54Z")
Just a few years ago, I used a little machine that appeared to have a dialup connection and also seemed to have lost track of what it was doing. It never dispensed the $40 I tried to get, but it gave me a receipt showing it was taken out. I took the receipt to my bank the following Monday, told the banker what happened and gave her the receipt. There was an audit of the machine and a credit back to me within a couple of days, IIRC. ---
**Author:** ![Hail\_Ants](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/h/dc4da7/32.png) [@Hail\_Ants](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Hail_Ants)\ **Post date:** [April 28, 2013, 2:03am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/anyone-ever-get-stiffed-by-an-atm-machine/656717/22 "2013-04-28T02:03:15Z")
Well I checked my statement and my bank credited both debits back to me w/o any problems. I still find it odd that that ATM simply didn’t dispense \*\*\*any \*\*\*cash to me, twice in a row! As others have said I’ve only ever had one short me a twenty. Think I’ll be scared to use that particular ATM again… ---
**Author:** ![epbrown01](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/e/7ba0ec/32.png) [@epbrown01](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/epbrown01)\ **Post date:** [April 28, 2013, 2:21am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/anyone-ever-get-stiffed-by-an-atm-machine/656717/23 "2013-04-28T02:21:35Z")
> [@Hail\_Ants](#): > > Think I’ll be scared to use that particular ATM again… Funny how that works. At my job we had an ATM inside the building, just outside the cafeteria, just for employees (you couldn’t enter the building without ID). In the 20 years I worked there, I used that thing hundreds of times but after it glitched once I avoided it for months. As for your delay - our policy was that if the amount was $60 or less, we immediately credited back the funds with the option of reversing it if it wasn’t the machine. Over $60, you got nothing until we’d reviewed the issue. We’d tell people 10 days, but usually 5 would get it done - basically a day or three for someone to reconcile the machine and file the discrepancy in the system, which would be matched against your case in another day or so. ---
**Author:** ![tjka4231](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/t/e36b37/32.png) [@tjka4231](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/tjka4231)\ **Post date:** [April 18, 2015, 2:51pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/anyone-ever-get-stiffed-by-an-atm-machine/656717/24 "2015-04-18T14:51:37Z")
I went to a drive-up Bank of America ATM in Irvine, CA and made a withdrawal of $200. When the cash was dispensed, I noticed that it wasn’t in the neat pile that I normally have seen before. When I took the cash out, I counted only seven $20 bills ($140) instead of the ten $20 bills that should had been dispensed. So basically I got shortchanged by $60. When I came home and checked my online account, it definitely showed that I withdrawn $200. I called Bank of America customer service and they promptly credited me $60 and did verified electronically that there was an error during my ATM withdrawal transaction. This was the first time ever I had any problems with an ATM transaction. ---
**Author:** ![UncleFred](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/u/f0a364/32.png) [@UncleFred](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/UncleFred)\ **Post date:** [April 18, 2015, 3:13pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/anyone-ever-get-stiffed-by-an-atm-machine/656717/25 "2015-04-18T15:13:30Z")
Long ago, when ATMs were still fairly new, I was shortchanged $20. There was a handset next to the ATM and when I connected with an operator they corrected the withdrawl on the spot. Funny how you never hear about anyone receiving _too much_ money. ---
**Author:** ![jz78817](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/jz78817/32/1028_2.png) [@jz78817](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/jz78817)\ **Post date:** [April 18, 2015, 3:16pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/anyone-ever-get-stiffed-by-an-atm-machine/656717/26 "2015-04-18T15:16:28Z")
never an ATM, but I was stiffed $10 by the cash back function of one of those self-scan checkouts at Busch’s. I asked for $20 back, it issued one $10. Holding said $10 bill in my hand, I notified the attendant that it shorted me. I had my wallet in my other hand which had a $10 in it, which led her to deduce that the machine did in fact give me two $10 bills. never gone back to that store since. ---
**Author:** ![Ann\_Hedonia](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/ann_hedonia/32/319_2.png) [@Ann\_Hedonia](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Ann_Hedonia)\ **Post date:** [April 18, 2015, 5:07pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/anyone-ever-get-stiffed-by-an-atm-machine/656717/27 "2015-04-18T17:07:43Z")
I got an ATM windfall once upon a time. I had made a large withdrawal for a cash purchase. I confess, I didn’t count the stack of money after the ATM spit it out - it was a large withdrawal of $700 and I didn’t want to flash it, so I just removed the money and slid it into my wallet as discretely as I could. Then the purchase I was going to make fell through. I stll had the wallet full of cash and I was using it for spending money. After a day or so I counted it and I realized I stll had $900 or so left. And there were fifties mixed up with the twenties, my best guess is that whoever filled the machine had mixed in some 50’s with the twenties. ---
**Author:** ![Baron\_Greenback](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/baron_greenback/32/48_2.png) [@Baron\_Greenback](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Baron_Greenback)\ **Post date:** [April 18, 2015, 6:04pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/anyone-ever-get-stiffed-by-an-atm-machine/656717/28 "2015-04-18T18:04:58Z")
A few years ago I tried to withdraw £200 from a random ATM (there’s usually no fee to use another bank’s ATM in the UK). The machine clunked and whirred, and clunked and whirred a bit more, spat my card out, clunked and whirred yet again, and then put up an out of service page on the screen. No cash. It took me about ten minutes to stroll along to a branch of my own bank so I could get a mini-statement from the machine. In that ten minutes there had been a £200 debit followed by a £200 credit to my account, which I though was pretty impressive to be honest. ---
**Author:** ![Kenm](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/k/bc79bd/32.png) [@Kenm](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Kenm)\ **Post date:** [April 18, 2015, 6:45pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/anyone-ever-get-stiffed-by-an-atm-machine/656717/29 "2015-04-18T18:45:15Z")
Years ago a machine at a branch of my bank ate my debit card for no reason I put it in the slot and that was it. Nothing appeared on the screen. I immediately told a drone behind the “welcome” and info desk who said I’d get the card back in a week. So I told her that that was unacceptable. I needed the card, now, and all she need do is open the door behind the machine, get the card and give it to me. She disappeared into the back offices, then came back with a superior, I assume, and he opened the door behind the machine, opened the thing, got my card and handed it back to me. I had them watch as I used the same machine, but this time it didn’t eat my card. I then checked with a teller to make sure the machine hadn’t registered my withdrawal the first time, though I hadn’t even punched a key. It hadn’t. I never used that machine again, and now the building’s gone. I like to think it was because the machine stiffed a mafia don. ---
**Author:** ![Honey](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/honey/32/5074_2.png) [@Honey](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Honey)\ **Post date:** [April 19, 2015, 12:44am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/anyone-ever-get-stiffed-by-an-atm-machine/656717/30 "2015-04-19T00:44:33Z")
> [@buddha\_david](#): > > As far as memory serves, I’ve never been shorted by an ATM in my life. I have, however, found cash or even cards left behind by the previous customer. The cards I returned of course, but the cash I took as a sign of positive karma smiling upon me. 🙂 I also had this happen to me, but I’ll have to wait for my karma. It was late at night, so the next day, I brought the cash, and the card to the bank. The bank manager thanked me. 🙂 ---
**Author:** ![Honey](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/honey/32/5074_2.png) [@Honey](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Honey)\ **Post date:** [April 19, 2015, 12:45am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/anyone-ever-get-stiffed-by-an-atm-machine/656717/31 "2015-04-19T00:45:52Z")
> [@Kenm](#): > > Years ago a machine at a branch of my bank ate my debit card for no reason I put it in the slot and that was it. Nothing appeared on the screen. > > I immediately told a drone behind the “welcome” and info desk who said I’d get the card back in a week. So I told her that that was unacceptable. I needed the card, now, and all she need do is open the door behind the machine, get the card and give it to me. > > She disappeared into the back offices, then came back with a superior, I assume, and he opened the door behind the machine, opened the thing, got my card and handed it back to me. > > I had them watch as I used the same machine, but this time it didn’t eat my card. > > I then checked with a teller to make sure the machine hadn’t registered my withdrawal the first time, though I hadn’t even punched a key. It hadn’t. > > I never used that machine again, and now the building’s gone. I like to think it was because the machine stiffed a mafia don. I hope they checked your ID before handing you the card. ---
**Author:** ![Honey](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/honey/32/5074_2.png) [@Honey](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Honey)\ **Post date:** [April 19, 2015, 12:48am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/anyone-ever-get-stiffed-by-an-atm-machine/656717/32 "2015-04-19T00:48:11Z")
> [@jz78817](#): > > never an ATM, but I was stiffed $10 by the cash back function of one of those self-scan checkouts at Busch’s. I asked for $20 back, it issued one $10. Holding said $10 bill in my hand, I notified the attendant that it shorted me. I had my wallet in my other hand which had a $10 in it, which led her to deduce that the machine did in fact give me two $10 bills. never gone back to that store since. That really sucks. You should have at least gotten your money back the next day, when they realized that it was $10 over. ---
**Author:** ![Lanzy](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/l/74df32/32.png) [@Lanzy](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Lanzy)\ **Post date:** [April 19, 2015, 12:59am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/anyone-ever-get-stiffed-by-an-atm-machine/656717/33 "2015-04-19T00:59:47Z")
It happened to me two years ago at St. Thomas. I was shortchanged 80 dollars. It was after hours and I went to the bank the next day and they said to file a claim with my bank. When I got back home I did that and was refunded the money in about 2 weeks. ---
**Author:** ![Musicat](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/musicat/32/20189_2.png) [@Musicat](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Musicat)\ **Post date:** [April 19, 2015, 1:08am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/anyone-ever-get-stiffed-by-an-atm-machine/656717/34 "2015-04-19T01:08:30Z")
> [@Frylock](#): > > In your case, don’t you think there was some plausible chance that the person who’d accidentally left the money might go to the bank asking if it had been found? I once found a twenty on the floor in the stairwell of the bank where I worked, long before security cams were common. I looked around anyway, but decided it wasn’t worth the windfall to keep it, so I turned it in to a supervisor. Apparently a teller was carrying a cash drawer downstairs and dropped it. Or so they told me. Or maybe they were testing their employees, and I passed. ---
**Author:** ![puzzlegal](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/puzzlegal/32/3827_2.png) [@puzzlegal](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/puzzlegal)\ **Post date:** [April 19, 2015, 1:14am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/anyone-ever-get-stiffed-by-an-atm-machine/656717/35 "2015-04-19T01:14:30Z")
> [@UncleFred](#): > > Long ago, when ATMs were still fairly new, I was shortchanged $20. There was a handset next to the ATM and when I connected with an operator they corrected the withdrawl on the spot. > > Funny how you never hear about anyone receiving _too much_ money. I did. It was also long ago, when atms were new. I asked the machine for $10, and it spat out a 20, gave a receipt for 10, and then announced it was out of service. I tried to tell the bank that their machine made a mistake, and they assured me that was impossible, and I must be lying. I was non plussed, and pointed out that if I’d wanted to lie, I would have said the machine stiffed me, not that it gave me too much. They insisted I was lying, so I dropped it. ---
**Author:** ![Siam\_Sam](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/d78d45/32.png) [@Siam\_Sam](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Siam_Sam)\ **Post date:** [April 19, 2015, 1:21am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/anyone-ever-get-stiffed-by-an-atm-machine/656717/36 "2015-04-19T01:21:31Z")
Never stiffed but I did have my card eaten twice. Once in Honolulu, and that was my own damn fault, because I waited too long to retrieve my card as I was counting the money, and the machine ate it. The second time was in Bangkok, and as soon as I inserted the card, I mean the very moment, it suddenly shut down. Grrr! That was in the mid-90s, and it took me two weeks to get my card back from the bank. I would hope they’re more on the ball than that now in Thailand. ---
**Author:** ![Kenm](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/k/bc79bd/32.png) [@Kenm](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Kenm)\ **Post date:** [April 19, 2015, 1:52am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/anyone-ever-get-stiffed-by-an-atm-machine/656717/37 "2015-04-19T01:52:35Z")
> [@Honey](#): > > I hope they checked your ID before handing you the card. I can’t recall, but I doubt they wouldn’t. ---
**Author:** ![harmonicamoon](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/h/65b543/32.png) [@harmonicamoon](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/harmonicamoon)\ **Post date:** [April 19, 2015, 1:53am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/anyone-ever-get-stiffed-by-an-atm-machine/656717/38 "2015-04-19T01:53:38Z")
For nine years ATM’s have been more only source of money. The first 20 or so cash withdrawals, I counted the amount. There was never an error. I don’t count anymore. I think the machines have figured it out. ---
**Author:** ![Kenm](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/k/bc79bd/32.png) [@Kenm](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Kenm)\ **Post date:** [April 19, 2015, 2:00am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/anyone-ever-get-stiffed-by-an-atm-machine/656717/39 "2015-04-19T02:00:59Z")
> [@harmonicamoon](#): > > There was never an error. I don’t count anymore. I think the machines have figured it out. It’s been a long time since I went to a teller to withdraw cash, but I always count it in front of him/her, immediately after the teller counts it. ---
**Author:** ![kanicbird](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/k/5f8ce5/32.png) [@kanicbird](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/kanicbird)\ **Post date:** [April 19, 2015, 2:15am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/anyone-ever-get-stiffed-by-an-atm-machine/656717/40 "2015-04-19T02:15:44Z")
I got a $10 instead of a $20, when I went inside I was informed that it was impossible since the ATM only had $20’s. Then they realized that my Grandpa had quite a bit of money in their bank and handed me my $10 bill. [Previous page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/anyone-ever-get-stiffed-by-an-atm-machine/656717.md?page=1) [Next page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/anyone-ever-get-stiffed-by-an-atm-machine/656717.md?page=3)