ATM malfunctions

[Cyclonepride]

Not sure how common this is, but my son ran into an unfortunate one the other day at BMO. He was between jobs and had just landed a new one, but he was short on money until he gets his first check, so I gave him $1200 (cash, a mistake in hindsight) and he went and deposited in the ATM (another mistake in hindsight).

At any rate, he put his card in, entered the amount, and then inserted the cash. It went clunk-clunk, and the machine basically blue screened, and when it came back up, nothing. Didn't acknowledge his transaction, didn't give his card back, nothing. He immediately entered the bank (luckily it was open) and started the process of filing a dispute, and I went in with him a couple days later and asked them to escalate the process if they could.

So far, all we've gotten from them is that the ATM servicer is investigating the matter and he should have an answer within 10 days. I get that this is within their legal timeframes, but it just sucks because you know damn well that within a day or two at the longest, they've had someone out to check it and know the balance is off. Meanwhile, I had to spot him another $800 so he could pay his rent on time.

Anyway, just venting and wondered if anyone else had a similar experience. I know for sure that he (nor I) will never deposit cash in an ATM again.

 

[JEFF420]

sounds like your son was hacking into the ATM

 

[JEFF420]

 

[CycloneDaddy]

That is pretty crappy service … I assume he doesnt have an acct with BMO.

 

[Cyclonepride]

That is pretty crappy service … I assume he doesnt have an acct with BMO.

No, he does, and I do. Definitely rethinking that one. They're laying it all off on the ATM company because they own and service the machine, not BMO.

 

[Clark]

Can't say that I've ever tried and thanks to this post I probably never will.

Particularly if it's an important amount of money (which varies based on the individual) I can't imagine not taking the extra few minutes to go inside the bank.

 

[CycloneDaddy]

Tell your kid to get off Tic Tok

https://www.kxan.com/news/national-news/chase-glitch-social-media-trend-is-fraud-plain-and-simple-bank-says/#:~:text=Except%2C%20it%20isn't%20a,check%20is%20flagged%20as%20illegitimate.

 

[Cycsk]

I would not trust an ATM with a $1200 cash deposit. That is what bank tellers are for. And Venmo.

 

[AgronAlum]

Tell your kid to get off Tic Tok

https://www.kxan.com/news/national-news/chase-glitch-social-media-trend-is-fraud-plain-and-simple-bank-says/#:~:text=Except%2C%20it%20isn't%20a,check%20is%20flagged%20as%20illegitimate.

lol beat me to it. I had the link ready to post.

 

[CYdTracked]

Surely you eventually will get the money back even if it's longer than you hope for it to be resolved. Seems like most ATMs have video camera so not only they likely got video of the transaction but they should be able to match it up with time it happened and like most electronics there likely is an error code or log of the time of the malfunction so just a matter of time for your claim to be reviewed along with the logs of the ATM and you'll have your money back eventually.

As others have said I'd never deposit that much money into an ATM, I'd do it in the bank and let a teller process the transaction. I don't deposit anything in ATMs anymore regardless of the amount. The reason why is that if anything were suspect or in error with the transaction banks have video surveillance everywhere plus you have another human being processing the transaction that has accountability as well. The only thing I use an ATM for anymore is a cash withdrawal and I rarely do that anymore as I just don't use cash much.

 

[BCClone]

So the bank was open and he used the ATM outside it???????

 

[Cyclonepride]

So the bank was open and he used the ATM outside it???????

He came around the drive through and decided to avoid human interaction was his explanation lol. Oops

 

[CycloneErik]

He came around the drive through and decided to avoid human interaction was his explanation lol. Oops

I am willing to take $1200 to help him learn the next lesson.

 

[BCClone]

You didn’t give him your stripper joint stash and 1200 Washington’s plugged it up?

 

[cs98cy]

A lot of banks don’t run their own ATMs and have other companies run it for them. It looks like BMO has Allpoint running their ATMs. Most likely they need Allpoint tech (or subcontractor?) to go out and verify cash at the ATM before they can verify his transaction. Some FIs (mostly Credit Unions) will give provisional credit based on your word but like what you experienced most won’t.

Adding to that, they already have a set schedule on when each ATM is serviced. Unlikely they’ll do a special trip to look into 1 transaction.

 

[Cyclonepride]

A lot of banks don’t run their own ATMs and have other companies run it for them. It looks like BMO has Allpoint running their ATMs. Most likely they need Allpoint tech (or subcontractor?) to go out and verify cash at the ATM before they can verify his transaction. Some FIs (mostly Credit Unions) will give provisional credit based on your word but like what you experienced most won’t.

Adding to that, they already have a set schedule on when each ATM is serviced. Unlikely they’ll do a special trip to look into 1 transaction.

One would think that they'd have a way of knowing that the machine had crashed and send a tech out reasonably quickly (especially with a dispute filed), but maybe not.

 

[jsb]

An example of why checks are still good for some things.

 

[Tailg8er]

Or he had a brilliant plan to double your $1,200 at the casino, but the roulette spin hit 00 so he lost it all. Instead of telling you, he figured the ATM story was a safer option.



In all seriousness, I'm with the other posters - I never have considered depositing cash into an ATM, and likely never will. ESPECIALLY not $1,200 that I need to pay my rent.

 

[3TrueFans]

An example of why checks are still good for some things.

Not to jump on Pride here or anything, but there are also like a dozen different ways to send money electronically. Maybe Pride had a good day at the track and had $1200 cash kicking around though.

 

[Chitowncy]

Unfortunate situation and sorry to hear you're dealing with it, @Cyclonepride . Not much you can do except wait for them to make it right, I suppose.

What's interesting to me about this thread though reading the comments, is the willingness to use an ATM or not for a cash deposit like this seems to relate to the age of the poster. I'd bet it's like a lot of things that vary by generation. The older generation (sorry, making some assumptions about Pride and Cycsk who I've seen post on here and believe to be in their late 40s or 50s and older, more likely) trusts the teller and is willing to go inside. The older doesn't mind human interaction and is probably more comfortable with it. The younger (Pride's son) has grown up with convenience and technology, is used to it probably, and would rather "avoid human interaction" and probably has built up less of those social skills since they've always used the ATM instead of the teller, or buys their groceries online to avoid interaction, or insert other change here of the many our society has seen.

That's a real problem if you ask me for our long-term society and the social impact the younger generation's approach to business and life creates. We're raising more and more young people who avoid human interaction, probably have less social skills and the ability to talk things out. In brief, they'd rather live in a more digital and electronic world that isn't real. This may just be my "old man inside" speaking, but I worry about the effects of phones, buying off the app and all this stuff. It's fundamentally changing and has changed our society, and what the younger generation grows up seeing as normal, will become normal in many years from now as older generations die out and are replaced.

I also realize I'm very much Old Man Simpson yelling at clouds, here... Haha....