# Don't EVER forget your card in the ATM (especially if it's to a bank of which you aren't a member) **URL:** \ **Category:** The BBQ Pit\ **Created:** [March 24, 2012, 7:31pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/dont-ever-forget-your-card-in-the-atm-especially-if-its-to-a-bank-of-which-you-arent-a-member/616704 "2012-03-24T19:31:43Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 20\ **Page:** 3
**Author:** ![Ambivalid](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/a/a5b964/32.png) [@Ambivalid](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Ambivalid)\ **Post date:** [March 25, 2012, 3:28am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/dont-ever-forget-your-card-in-the-atm-especially-if-its-to-a-bank-of-which-you-arent-a-member/616704/41 "2012-03-25T03:28:15Z")
> [@Frank](#): > > Look, asshole, you’re the one that claimed I would find fault with anything you posted, thus implying that the only reason I find your OP here to be facile and imbecilic is that I find fault with anything you post. That is not so. > > I’ve found fault with _some_ things you’ve posted, and I’ve been very specific about why I have found fault with them, just as I did in this thread. > > If you wanted to let it rest, I suggest that you could have done that by not starting it. Mmmkay. ---
**Author:** ![Frank](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/f/3d9bf3/32.png) [@Frank](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Frank)\ **Post date:** [March 25, 2012, 3:31am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/dont-ever-forget-your-card-in-the-atm-especially-if-its-to-a-bank-of-which-you-arent-a-member/616704/42 "2012-03-25T03:31:11Z")
> [@Ambivalid](#): > > Mmmkay. 😃 Asshole. ---
**Author:** ![Ambivalid](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/a/a5b964/32.png) [@Ambivalid](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Ambivalid)\ **Post date:** [March 25, 2012, 6:51pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/dont-ever-forget-your-card-in-the-atm-especially-if-its-to-a-bank-of-which-you-arent-a-member/616704/43 "2012-03-25T18:51:44Z")
> [@hajario](#): > > I disagree. If a bank were a Mom and Pop business, sure. They’re huge corporations and the employees simply don’t have that power without taking personal consequences. What exactly might those “personal consequences” be for the bank representative who takes the minimal time and effort to give me my card back? The card was going to be destroyed anyway. ---
**Author:** ![hajario](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/hajario/32/171_2.png) [@hajario](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/hajario)\ **Post date:** [March 25, 2012, 7:03pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/dont-ever-forget-your-card-in-the-atm-especially-if-its-to-a-bank-of-which-you-arent-a-member/616704/44 "2012-03-25T19:03:10Z")
> [@Ambivalid](#): > > What exactly might those “personal consequences” be for the bank representative who takes the minimal time and effort to give me my card back? The card was going to be destroyed anyway. They work for a corporation. Violating a company directive will get them in trouble at their job. It could show up on their review. A ding like that on their review could be the thing that gives the promotion to someone else or make them the one laid off over someone else. At the very least it will piss off their management. Why should they do that? Do you really have trouble understanding this? Really? You have a valid argument about whether or not the rule sucks. To think that an employee should break the rule just for you is asinine. Not as over the top moronic as whomever thought that this was an issue for the police, but close. ---
**Author:** ![Trom](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/t/958977/32.png) [@Trom](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Trom)\ **Post date:** [March 25, 2012, 7:16pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/dont-ever-forget-your-card-in-the-atm-especially-if-its-to-a-bank-of-which-you-arent-a-member/616704/45 "2012-03-25T19:16:53Z")
I once left my Chase ATM card in a Chase ATM inside a Chase bank lobby. I walked a block away and realized I had left my card. When I got back to the bank I was told there was nothing they could do and I’d have to order a new card. ---
**Author:** ![Ambivalid](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/a/a5b964/32.png) [@Ambivalid](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Ambivalid)\ **Post date:** [March 25, 2012, 7:19pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/dont-ever-forget-your-card-in-the-atm-especially-if-its-to-a-bank-of-which-you-arent-a-member/616704/46 "2012-03-25T19:19:53Z")
> [@hajario](#): > > They work for a corporation. Violating a company directive will get them in trouble at their job. It could show up on their review. A ding like that on their review could be the thing that gives the promotion to someone else or make them the one laid off over someone else. At the very least it will piss off their management. Why should they do that? > > Do you really have trouble understanding this? Really? You have a valid argument about whether or not the rule sucks. To think that an employee should break the rule just for you is asinine. Not as over the top moronic as whomever thought that this was an issue for the police, but close. How would such a ‘violation’ even show up on a review? How could it even register a ‘ding’? And I’m talking about management making this decision, not some lowly teller. How would the corporate heads know that rather than destroying a card, it was returned to the cardholder? ---
**Author:** ![Ambivalid](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/a/a5b964/32.png) [@Ambivalid](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Ambivalid)\ **Post date:** [March 25, 2012, 7:27pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/dont-ever-forget-your-card-in-the-atm-especially-if-its-to-a-bank-of-which-you-arent-a-member/616704/47 "2012-03-25T19:27:33Z")
> [@hajario](#): > > They work for a corporation. Violating a company directive will get them in trouble at their job. It could show up on their review. A ding like that on their review could be the thing that gives the promotion to someone else or make them the one laid off over someone else. At the very least it will piss off their management. Why should they do that? > > Do you really have trouble understanding this? Really? You have a valid argument about whether or not the rule sucks. To think that an employee should break the rule just for you is asinine. Not as over the top moronic as whomever thought that this was an issue for the police, but close. Also, Dort Federal is a local Credit Union, not a national Bank. ---
**Author:** ![Cat\_Whisperer](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/cat_whisperer/32/4839_2.png) [@Cat\_Whisperer](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Cat_Whisperer)\ **Post date:** [March 25, 2012, 7:40pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/dont-ever-forget-your-card-in-the-atm-especially-if-its-to-a-bank-of-which-you-arent-a-member/616704/48 "2012-03-25T19:40:17Z")
> [@Ambivalid](#): > > \someone who was frequenting their ATM and thus earning the institution money (through the non-member user fees). I was going to ask you about that - I assume you pay a large fee for using a bank of which you aren’t a member - I’d just make a habit of using my own bank. 🙂 > [@Frank](#): > > Guess which post was first. “Mom! He started it!” 🙂 ---
**Author:** ![hajario](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/hajario/32/171_2.png) [@hajario](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/hajario)\ **Post date:** [March 25, 2012, 7:53pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/dont-ever-forget-your-card-in-the-atm-especially-if-its-to-a-bank-of-which-you-arent-a-member/616704/49 "2012-03-25T19:53:48Z")
> [@Ambivalid](#): > > How would such a ‘violation’ even show up on a review? How could it even register a ‘ding’? And I’m talking about management making this decision, not some lowly teller. How would the corporate heads know that rather than destroying a card, it was returned to the cardholder? If there was an audit and it was discovered that they violated the rules, the violation would be discovered. If there was no way for them to find out, which is an assumption not a fact, and the employee gave you the card and then something bad happened with it, they would be in serious trouble. (Not _you_ you but someone else.) All of that aside, they have an agreement with the other bank as to what will happen when they get one of those cards. As has been discussed, the card is the property of the other bank, not you. Why should they violate a breach a contract that they have with another corporation with whom they do business be overridden to do something for a person who isn’t even one of their customers? > [@Ambivalid](#): > > Also, Dort Federal is a local Credit Union, not a national Bank. OK, but they’re still a corporation that has rules, policies and agreements with other corporations. ---
**Author:** ![hajario](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/hajario/32/171_2.png) [@hajario](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/hajario)\ **Post date:** [March 25, 2012, 7:55pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/dont-ever-forget-your-card-in-the-atm-especially-if-its-to-a-bank-of-which-you-arent-a-member/616704/50 "2012-03-25T19:55:20Z")
BTW, one of the things I love about my credit union is that they refund any fee that I pay to use an ATM that’s not one of theirs and their ATMs are free for members. ---
**Author:** ![alphaboi867](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/alphaboi867/32/3898_2.png) [@alphaboi867](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/alphaboi867)\ **Post date:** [March 25, 2012, 8:00pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/dont-ever-forget-your-card-in-the-atm-especially-if-its-to-a-bank-of-which-you-arent-a-member/616704/51 "2012-03-25T20:00:14Z")
> [@Ambivalid](#): > > How would such a ‘violation’ even show up on a review? How could it even register a ‘ding’? And I’m talking about management making this decision, not some lowly teller. How would the corporate heads know that rather than destroying a card, it was returned to the cardholder? A manager is still an employee of the corporation and why would would you expect him to disobey his employer, lie to them, & possibly be terminated for cause just because it’s convenient for you? :dubious: Write a letter to someone who actually has control over the policy like the CEO (granted all you’ll get his a form letter from her secretary) if you like, but don’t shoot the messenger. Or just vote with your pocketbook and stop using their ATM; it’s not like anyone’s forcing you to. ---
**Author:** ![Azeotrope](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/a/0ea827/32.png) [@Azeotrope](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Azeotrope)\ **Post date:** [March 25, 2012, 8:01pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/dont-ever-forget-your-card-in-the-atm-especially-if-its-to-a-bank-of-which-you-arent-a-member/616704/52 "2012-03-25T20:01:51Z")
> [@Ambivalid](#): > > How would such a ‘violation’ even show up on a review? How could it even register a ‘ding’? And I’m talking about management making this decision, not some lowly teller. How would the corporate heads know that rather than destroying a card, it was returned to the cardholder? My experience with banks has been that nothing changes hands without there being a record of it. So, whether it was a manager or a lowly teller, if they gave the card back without following proper procedures, their ass would be on the line after the next audit when someone asks, “hey, what happened to card #1234? It was never destroyed and it shouldn’t have gone back to the cardholder because he never opened an account here.” A smaller institution might even be more anal about following the rules, because there’s less opportunity for things to get buried in the sheer volume of business. A manager would probably get a worse time out of it, since they’d be expected to know the policy and follow it to the letter. ---
**Author:** ![Lynn\_Bodoni](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/l/e47c2d/32.png) [@Lynn\_Bodoni](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Lynn_Bodoni)\ **Post date:** [March 25, 2012, 8:05pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/dont-ever-forget-your-card-in-the-atm-especially-if-its-to-a-bank-of-which-you-arent-a-member/616704/53 "2012-03-25T20:05:30Z")
> [@Ambivalid](#): > > How would such a ‘violation’ even show up on a review? How could it even register a ‘ding’? And I’m talking about management making this decision, not some lowly teller. How would the corporate heads know that rather than destroying a card, it was returned to the cardholder? If the machine ate the card, there’s a record of that. Whoever retrieves the card will have to sign for it. And that person can and will get into trouble if it’s against policy for him/her to do this. Would you prefer that the cards be available to every worker who cares to dip his/her hand into the bin? I can guarantee that cards would turn up missing on a regular basis if this were so. Most people would prefer to keep their jobs, especially if they’ve worked their way up the totem pole. One of my biggest peeves when working with the public was people expecting me to do something that would result in me getting fired, and possibly facing a stiff fine as well. Just because you want something that’s convenient to you, doesn’t mean that someone else is obligated to give it to you when s/he could face some negative consequences for doing so. ---
**Author:** ![Ambivalid](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/a/a5b964/32.png) [@Ambivalid](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Ambivalid)\ **Post date:** [March 25, 2012, 8:16pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/dont-ever-forget-your-card-in-the-atm-especially-if-its-to-a-bank-of-which-you-arent-a-member/616704/54 "2012-03-25T20:16:28Z")
> [@Lynn\_Bodoni](#): > > If the machine ate the card, there’s a record of that. Whoever retrieves the card will have to sign for it. And that person can and will get into trouble if it’s against policy for him/her to do this. > > Would you prefer that the cards be available to every worker who cares to dip his/her hand into the bin? I can guarantee that cards would turn up missing on a regular basis if this were so. > > Most people would prefer to keep their jobs, especially if they’ve worked their way up the totem pole. One of my biggest peeves when working with the public was people expecting me to do something that would result in me getting fired, and possibly facing a stiff fine as well. Just because you want something that’s convenient to you, doesn’t mean that someone else is obligated to give it to you when s/he could face some negative consequences for doing so. I don’t believe what you are saying is correct. About having to sign for a retrieved card. Are you a bank employee? Or do you have a cite for this assertion? How would a ‘missing’ card be different from a ‘destroyed’ card? Both would be cancelled. ---
**Author:** ![Lynn\_Bodoni](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/l/e47c2d/32.png) [@Lynn\_Bodoni](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Lynn_Bodoni)\ **Post date:** [March 25, 2012, 8:56pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/dont-ever-forget-your-card-in-the-atm-especially-if-its-to-a-bank-of-which-you-arent-a-member/616704/55 "2012-03-25T20:56:49Z")
I don’t work in a bank, nor have I ever worked in one. My uncle was a VP at one of the local branches, but that was years ago. I have handled money and checks and cards, though. Every time someone handles money or the equivalent, they have to account for it. When a cashier counts out her drawer, or has it counted, she signs for the money, or whoever counts it signs for the money. When someone takes a check, s/he initials it or marks it in some way to show who took that check. When someone issues a refund slip, or a gift certificate, s/he marks it in some way. This is one of the things that you learn in Accounting 101, that you always, always, always leave a paper trail. Hell, it’s the first thing you learn as a cashier, that you have to sign for things, and you have to handle everything according to the company’s rules, or you get FIRED. A missing card would raise all kinds of red flags. If it was truly missing, that would mean that someone took it…and that NONE of the retained cards are safe. And a missing card that was cancelled would be no good to the customer…if it’s cancelled, then it’s been deactivated. And today, I would expect that there’s a video camera focused on that retained card bin. So there would be a video record of just who took what card out. Why would you think that a person could just take a card out without accounting for it? Is that what you really want? It’s not what I want. I want my credit union to keep track of every cent that I’ve got in my accounts, and I want my cards and info to be as safe as they can make them. ---
**Author:** ![billfish678](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/b/7bcc69/32.png) [@billfish678](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/billfish678)\ **Post date:** [March 25, 2012, 9:01pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/dont-ever-forget-your-card-in-the-atm-especially-if-its-to-a-bank-of-which-you-arent-a-member/616704/56 "2012-03-25T21:01:35Z")
> [@Ambivalid](#): > > I don’t believe what you are saying is correct. About having to sign for a retrieved card. Are you a bank employee? Or do you have a cite for this assertion? How would a ‘missing’ card be different from a ‘destroyed’ card? Both would be cancelled. So, you want them to return a card to you, thats now labeled as “missing”, rather than “destroyed”, that has been canceled. Doesn’t sound terribly useful to me. ---
**Author:** ![Ambivalid](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/a/a5b964/32.png) [@Ambivalid](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Ambivalid)\ **Post date:** [March 25, 2012, 9:11pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/dont-ever-forget-your-card-in-the-atm-especially-if-its-to-a-bank-of-which-you-arent-a-member/616704/57 "2012-03-25T21:11:45Z")
Well fuck. I’m just pissed I left my fuckin’ card at the goddamn ATM. Stupid fuckin’ policy. Fuck some policy. :smack: And fuck me!! ---
**Author:** ![Folacin](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/folacin/32/3195_2.png) [@Folacin](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Folacin)\ **Post date:** [March 25, 2012, 9:18pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/dont-ever-forget-your-card-in-the-atm-especially-if-its-to-a-bank-of-which-you-arent-a-member/616704/58 "2012-03-25T21:18:59Z")
> [@constanze](#): > > If they don’t want to give it to you despite proof of ID, then they should forward it ASAP to your bank, which can check the status and hand it to you. Which would be slower than contacting your bank, cancelling the card and having them send you a new one. ---
**Author:** ![billfish678](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/b/7bcc69/32.png) [@billfish678](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/billfish678)\ **Post date:** [March 25, 2012, 9:28pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/dont-ever-forget-your-card-in-the-atm-especially-if-its-to-a-bank-of-which-you-arent-a-member/616704/59 "2012-03-25T21:28:19Z")
> [@Ambivalid](#): > > Well fuck. I’m just pissed I left my fuckin’ card at the goddamn ATM. Stupid fuckin’ policy. Fuck some policy. :smack: And fuck me!! I feel your pain. And at first, like you I wondered WTF can’t they just give it back? But I think the reasons behind the policy now make sense…at least to me. Sometime’s life’s just a pain in the ass doncha know. And I ain’t fuckin no broke ass guy that doesn’t even have a valid ATM card 🙂 ---
**Author:** ![VinylTurnip](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/v/b2d939/32.png) [@VinylTurnip](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/VinylTurnip)\ **Post date:** [March 25, 2012, 9:51pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/dont-ever-forget-your-card-in-the-atm-especially-if-its-to-a-bank-of-which-you-arent-a-member/616704/60 "2012-03-25T21:51:32Z")
It happened to me, over 15 years ago. Think it was NationsBank at that time. Machine ate the card, bank teller told me to return the following day to get it, and when I did a different employee said she couldn’t give it to me. I raised enough hell that she eventually “made an exception” because the first employee had erroneously told me they could give it back. I thought it was the dumbest thing I’d ever heard in my life. “We can’t be sure it’s yours.” Me with a photo driver’s license, insurance card, several credit cards, library card, Blockbuster card in my name… if I’d stolen someone’s identity I really went all out. [Previous page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/dont-ever-forget-your-card-in-the-atm-especially-if-its-to-a-bank-of-which-you-arent-a-member/616704.md?page=2) [Next page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/dont-ever-forget-your-card-in-the-atm-especially-if-its-to-a-bank-of-which-you-arent-a-member/616704.md?page=4)