What can you do if an ATM "stiffs" you?

Factual Questions
21

Yep, it can happen. I’ve had experience with it in Canada, at least on the flip side of things.

Twenty years ago, one bank’s ATMs used to dispense both $5 and $20s depending on the amount selected. One day I used one of their machines to request $20, and instead of four $5 bills, I received four $20 bills. So, what to do?

The posted notice indicated that if there were problems with the ATM machine, a branch located several kilometres south should be contacted. So, off I go to that branch. When I got there, I explained my little story. Instead of them taking the money from me, I was told that they couldn’t take the cash back from me at that branch, and instead I would have to take it back to a different branch, several kilometres to the east!

Being young and foolish, instead of dumping the money on them and leaving, off I went. I took the surplus $60 into the bank, and went through my story again. The teller left to confer with someone else, presumably on what the appropriate procedure would be. Several minutes later the teller comes back to confirm, yes, they can take the money here.

At the end of all of this, I didn’t even get either a thank you or an acknowledgement of the trouble I had take in returning their money to them. The attitude instead was very much that I was inconveniencing them. Need I add they are not my bank now?

22

I used an ATM that was right outside a bank branch near my work. I tried to withrawl $100. Instead of 5 twenties, I got five…

Sheets of stamps.

So I had to go in, stand in line, and tell the teller. At first the teller didn’t belive me, until another guy was complaining about it. They went and opened the machine up and found the error, and made the switch.

23

It’s rather unlikely that ‘her bartender’ would be filling an ATM.

If it’s a bank-owned machine, they are serviced by bank employees, usually from an armored car.

For non bank-owned machines, the owners usually have a contracted service that takes care of the machines. Often the same armored car people.

I suppose there could be some small, independently-owned machines that are self-service type. But it seems unlikely. They would still have to be connected to an ATM network, and servicing can only be done in association with the network control room. If the machine is opened without prior arrangement, they send the local police pronto!

24

I haven’t had problems myself, but the machine next to the one I was using tried to deliver a bill that was too crumpled to get the stack out. (It showed about a half-inch of all the bills, but they were tight.) He didn’t know what to do and the bank was closed, so I told him to phone.