Mercury News Action Line: Fleeced by an ATM at Bank of America

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Action Line: Fleeced by an ATM at Bank of America
By Dennis Rockstroh
Article Launched: 07/13/2008 01:37:39 AM PDT

Q My wife went to the Bank of America in Cupertino where she put her card in the ATM and requested $500 in cash.

Her card came back out and a receipt showing that she had received $500 came out of the machine but no money was dispensed.

So my wife went inside to report this.

An employee of the bank checked the machine from inside the bank and told my wife to call in her complaint. The $500 was credited back to our account while they investigated.

Later we received a letter saying that the transaction was authorized, no error had occurred, and that they would be withdrawing the $500 credit from our account.

My wife called the number that was in the letter she received and was told that they would try to open the claim again but that there were no guarantees.

We have been customers of BofA for 35 years and have never had a problem.

I don’t know what can be done in this instance, but this isn’t right. My wife did not receive any money.

The machine was checked by an employee of the bank and I would have thought they would have found a problem with the machine.

All I can say is my wife did not receive the $500 she requested.

John Adams
Cupertino
A Eek. You did the right thing in reporting this immediately to bank officials, John.

It is too bad that they could not offer you an explanation. This is the kind of thing most of us fear about ATM machines. They are just that,
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machines. And we all know that machines can fail.

I sent your complaint to BofA and received no response.

But you were told that the $500 credit replacing the mysteriously missing money is still in your account.

So, if the money remains in your account, fine. If not, you might consider filing a report with the sheriff’s department.

Another possibility, if it is necessary, is the Consumer Protection Unit of the Santa Clara County District Attorney’s Office. Someone there can give you advice on any problem with a business. The number is (408) 792-2880. Or, you can file a complaint by mail. You can download the complaint form from my Consumer Action Line blog at blogs.mercurynews.com/consumeractionline. Scroll down the right column to “Related links” and click on “DA complaint form.”