Atm Machine Eat My Card!!!! What To Do?

[Dave Hounddriver]

Happened to me back in 2011 at the Metrobank ATM inside Bethel House Dumaguete

 

Yep, that machine is a bad one.  People need to avoid that one and I find many 'stand alone' AND 'in the wall of the bank" MetroBank machines are bad.  I used them a lot up until moving to Dumaguete 1 1/2 years ago and then started having problems with MetroBank machines so I avoid them now.  Probably just my bad luck.

[canadamale]

Happened to me at a bro bank in a mall on a Sunday, I phone the emergency number and was told I would have to wait until Monday and the atm was serviced, then I would have to wait until my catd was delivered to the bank which owned the atm. Lucky for me Ai had enough money on me to take a taxi back to my condo and enough for a jeepney and tricle to go to the bank on Monday. I was able to get my card Monday afternoon. Very scary and the bank could not tell me why my card was not returned and also when I asked my Canadian bank they could not give me a reason, I have not used a bdo atm since

[earthdome]

These stories document that you need to be prepared to ensure you aren't standing somewhere in the Philippines with no cash for days.

 

1. Have more than one Credit/Debit card and keep them in separate places. That way if one is lost/stolen/declined/ate by ATM you have a backup.

 

2. Always keep at least a few thousand pesos in spare cash on your person and maybe 5k-20k spare pesos at your home hidden/secured away for emergencies.

 

3. Plan your withdrawal's of cash so you can do them during the day at an ATM in a secure foyer at a bank that is open.

 

4. Keep important information like your credit/debit card numbers, exp date, ccv and emergency contact numbers in an encrypted PDF file which you can store on your laptop/computer/smartphone so you have access to that information in an emergency. Then you just memorize the password for the encrypted PDF so you can gain access to that important information in an emergency. Kind of hard to call the emergency number for your credit card company if you lost the credit card which has the emergency number printed on it.

[Lou49]

I had that happen to me. I went to the bank affiliated with the ATM and got my card back . Now I only use bank ATM during banking hours.

 

I also watch an ATM for a few minutes before I use it. If it works ok for one or two people before me  then it is probably safe for me to use.If i have a problem the guard can watch the machine while I go inside and  talk to the manager. I don't like free standing machines, only machines that are attached to a bank that is open during business hours. And I do have a secondary ATM  card just in case.

Edited April 14, 2015 by Lou49

[chris49]

 

I had that happen to me. I went to the bank affiliated with the ATM and got my card back . Now I only use bank ATM during banking hours.

 

I also watch an ATM for a few minutes before I use it. If it works ok for one or two people before me  then it is probably safe for me to use.If i have a problem the guard can watch the machine while I go inside and  talk to the manager. I don't like free standing machines, only machines that are attached to a bank that is open during business hours. And I do have a secondary ATM  card just in case.

 

 

That's sensible. With the number of machines that run out of money on paydays, I like to see if the previous customer got "cash", then I go ahead.

 

I'm sure you guys are aware that pickpockets watch us and in particular they watch which pocket we put the money in.  I have an incident which I will relay later.

 

I lost my wife's card, my fault for mixing up the Pin Number. Saw the manager and even though she knew me, she couldn't give me the card. We had to go back next day.

[i am bob]

When I first got here, my Special Someone and I decided to go out for dinner... I kept trying to get the ATM in the hotel to accept my card but it kept shooting it out... So across the road to BDO and you know what? It still won't take my card!!! I'm just about ready to let loose with a 40 mule team scream in frustration when I looked at the card in my hand... No matter how hard I tried, I never did get any money out of my driver's license!!!

:D