I don't know what is with me and ATMs they simply don't give me cash.After my long battle with ICICI now it's the turn of SBI. A few days back i was in urgent need of a large sum of money due to a medical emergency and so i rushed to the SBI ATM near my house but to my shock it was "out of order" and so i opted to use the near by IOB atm, but in the back of my mind the old ICICI-HDFC hassle was running but i had to take my chances as i was in a real hurry and i was a believer in "Lightning never strikes twice in the same place" but i couldn't have been more wrong, it did strike me this time too but this was even a more lethal blow as the sum was a large one, the ATM merely dispensed a "HIGH AMOUNT" receipt, i was worried and i rushed home to check if any ghost debiting has taken place and my worst fears came true, the amount was gulped up.
I was mad with anger but i had to wait till the next day to get my clarifications and raise a complaint as night had fallen by then. The next day when i went to the IOB bank where the ATM was the guy there asked me "Why did you use our ATM machine and not that of your bank's, we will advertise that it's all free to use any bank's ATM but we cannot assure you of hassle free transactions and it's you who will have to face the consequences", my blood started to boil by now but i calmed down and went to the nearest SBI branch to register my complaint.
The branch manager refused to even see my complaint, he simply asked me "Which branch" and when i mentioned my branch he said you have to complain only in that branch "Core banking is a facility available for making transactions and not for registering complaints", i actually wanted to shout at him but better sense prevailed as i didn't see a point in arguing with him.
After all in person attempts failed i resorted to more extreme means,
1.I scanned the receipt given by the ATM and sent my bank a detailed mail about the problem with the scanned attachment.
2.I faxed my complaint to my branch.
3.I sent a registered post to them.
4. i called them a million times and finally caught them once to tell them my complaint.
But it has been now 10 days now still my money has not been returned.I wanted to share my anger and struggle with everyone and so i contacted "THE HINDU" newspaper and to my shock they told me i was not isolated in this matter and there are many people sharing my plight.They have also written on the topic of Ghost Debiting before, which basically means you get no cash from the ATM but it gets debited.
One of their personnel called me and asked me for a detailed description of what had happened, the person was also very helpful, she contacted some senior persons in SBI and informed me that sending a fax would be the ideal solution.Finally yesterday the news about my trouble came in the Hindu BusinessLine and i am glad that i am able to share my plight with the world.Here is the link
http://www.thehindubusinessline.com/2009/07/10/stories/2009071052170600.htm
RBI has set a 12 days dead line to for all banks to revert such transactions but these people say as it is an inter-bank issue it will take more time, my question is, these people know that such a problem is on the raise now why don't they join hands and present a centralized grievance cell that can cater to anyone's complaint and make the necessary connections possible.
An even more long term solution would be to seriously re-look into the working of ATM's when it comes to inter bank transactions, until it is fool proof they can declare saying "Don't use other bank ATMs".Are the banks ready for this challenge?I am ready for an open debate on this and i have also requested for some air time in a leading news channel to exhibit this problem, get expert opinions and so on.
You can point a finger at me and say that i am talking so much about this only because i was stung twice, i couldn't agree more cause only i know the mental agony that i had to go through when i couldn't get money for a medical emergency, i promise everyone that even after my transaction get's reversed (touch wood) i will still take up this issue very seriously, in my subsequent blogs i plan to give a detailed break up about the inner working details of all ATMs.
Join me in my crusade against these careless people, feel free to post your comments and share your experiences cause the more details i have the better it prepares me to take them on.
Damn man i too had encountered the same problem but to say it fortunately or unfortunately the sum of amount was not much for me(only Rs.900) and 'm still to get my money back even though i had made a complaint. Actually it happened while i was withdrawing the money for my SBI a/c from CANARA Bank ATM.
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