The ATM at Jimmy's Diner ate my deposit on a Friday night

So I'm at this diner off Route 9 around 10pm trying to deposit $320 cash into my checking account. The machine makes a horrible grinding sound and then just goes blank. No receipt, no money back, just a frozen screen. I call the bank's 1-800 number and they say file a claim but it'll take 7-10 business days to investigate. Meanwhile I'm out the cash with rent due in 4 days. I ended up having to borrow from my buddy to cover it. The bank finally credited my account 8 days later. Has anyone else had an ATM just eat your cash like that? Did you get it back faster going into the branch?

2 comments

2 Comments

ryang7712d ago

Damn, did your ATM just go full Hungry Hungry Hippos on your deposit or what? I swear, those machines have a sixth sense for knowing when you're already broke and need the cash the most. I had a similar thing happen at a gas station ATM once where it sucked in my cash then gave me the blue screen of death. I ended up getting it back faster by going straight to the branch, but only because I camped out at the door like a lunatic as soon as they opened. Took the teller about 20 minutes to sort it out, way better than waiting on the phone for days. I still get nervous every time I put cash in one of those things now, like I'm feeding a wild animal that could snap at any second.

matthewh2811d ago

Camping out at the branch door is genius though. Did the teller give you any hint about what actually goes wrong inside those machines when they eat the cash? I've always wondered if it's a mechanical jam like a paper jam in a printer or if the software just glitches out and locks everything down. Knowing the actual failure point might help me decide whether to yell at the screen or kick the side of the machine next time it happens.