What happensto your money if you fail to collect it from the ATM?

Factual Questions
1

When you get money from an ATM it gives you back your card, and then once you’ve picked it up it gives you your cash. One time a few years back I got distracted by something at this point, and ended up not collecting my cash in time. The machine, sick of waiting, pulled the money back inside. When my monthly statement came, I forgot to check it.

Anybody know, (preferably UK practices but any info is good), what (probably) happened to my money? Did it get deducted from my account? If so did it get recredited? If I didn’t get it back who made a profit? (The ATM owners, my bank or someone else?)

2

I believe the ATM records the info as a transaction happens. Something similar happened to me once. At the ATM I tried to get $40 out and the money thingy (sorry for being so technical) opened up but nothing came out. Then the receipt shoots out with my new balance minus the $40. I called the bank the next morning and they said that if I checked my balance again after 3pm I would see that $40 back in there. They knew the ATM was off $40 and they knew to whom it belonged. They had already reversed the charge before I called.

3

(Some) UK ATMs used to re-credit it.

I don’t know if all bank ATMs will do this. My only experience of this was around 12 years ago, so this may not be the case anymore.

It showed up on the statement as Debit Cash Withdrawal, and then Credit with the name of the bank as the paying party.

4

Same here, I was running my mouth one time to my passenger and it sucked my money back in. I had to call the next day and they straightened it out.

5

In Ireland a few years ago, a certain bank - think it was AIB - had a hatch that opened up with the money sitting in it. A rumour went around that, if one were to withdraw the maximum amount, at the time IR£200 I think, and remove all but £20, the bank would re-credit you with £200. Never tried it and suspect it was UL.

6

Dumbest Guy in the Room, forgot to say that my money was re-credited automatically, without me having to call the bank.

7

If the money is sucked back in, the money actually is dropped into a vault and it is entered on the audit tape for the machine. It is obvious to the person balancing the machine that the money was not taken for that transaction.

8

How much time do the machines give you to grab your cash before it gets sucked back in? 30 seconds? A minute?

9

It wasn’t long, maybe 20 seconds. It took my ATM card too IIRC.

10

My only experience with this was when I requested $80 (usually 4 $20 bills) and got $40 in 4 tens. Apparently a mis-loaded machine. As it was late I called the next day and they immediately credited me the missing $40 and said they had received several calls along the same lines. I assume they can see my withdrawal amount and time and conclude my story to be accurate.

11

Here in Canada, at many bank machines, if you don’t take your money with you it is left for the next fortunate fellow who walks by.

Few years ago I was made $80 richer by this. Last summer I returned $20 to a woman who used the machine in front of me but left one bill behind. We’ll all break even in the end.

12

Hubby worked for Alliance & Leicester about 3 or 4 years ago - He reckons that most ATMS in the UK will credit the money back to your bank account - if not when they do their audits that night, then definitely when you call the bank and they check the machine manually. He used to get a lot of calls about this sort of thing.

13

I returned an ATM card to a dude in front of me that left it in the machine. I did my transaction and drove across the parking lot, he had stopped and I guess was coming back to see if he’d dropped it. The guy insisted on giving me $20, I didn’t want it but he kept insisting and I was wanting to go eat.