Barclays Bank ATM at Chelston's BP Service Station

[Guest]

Dear Zambia,

I was a fond user of the ATM at this spot. It's a walking distance from where I live so it provided me that convenience. But now, that convenience is no more.

It all happened one morning when I went to withdraw a 150pin on that ATM. I punched in the details of my transaction, and out came 3 notes: two 50pins and one 20pin, a total of 120pin. The damn machine had stolen my 30pin. I immediately phoned my bank (not Barclays) to confirm the debit on my account, and indeed it was 150pin. My bank advised me to report the matter to Barclays, but Barclays told me to initiate the investigative process from my bank as I did not have an account with them. So I went to my bank.

At my bank, it seems they didn't know what to do either. At this point I knew getting my 30pin back was going to be an exercise in futility. So considering the amount in involved I just decided to let it go. But what struck me most, while I was speaking to one of the bank's customer service representatives, is a women who interrupted the proceedings of my query. She seemed to be agitated and in a hurry.

This woman presented her complaint to the rep, it was the same as mine. Unfortunately for her, it was a million+ and the ATM she used didn't dispense a single note. At that time it had been 45 days since she reported the incident and was wondering why it was taking that long to get back her money.

Out of curiosity I asked this woman which atm she had used and the answer came... THE ONE AT CHELSTON BP SERVICE STATION!

I don't use that ATM anymore.

[Juju Banton]

Guest,

30 pin is seriously not worth the hassle, but out of principle and to get rid of the feeling that you've been cheated, you might as well follow it up. You will be doing a favour to many other customers, and karma will come back in future and do you good too :)

I had a similar experience, but the ATM was Zanaco's and my bank was Stanbic. Can't remember the amount, but got no cash. I was also pushed from bank to bank at first, but being that it was Zanaco's ATM that didn't give me my money, the buck stopped there. So it was there that I found someone who would attend to my problem, got their cell number (he probably regretted giving it to me), then followed up every single day until I eventually saw that my account was credited with that amount. It took them around 2 weeks.

If that doesn't work, try BOZ.

[steve]

Put that in writing and send a copy to BOZ make sure that the two banks Know that BOZ has been sent a copy. that way u are going to receive a quick response.

[Bla bla]

I had a similar but worse experience at the Stanbic ATM at Downtown. Unfortunatly for me the withdrawal amount was K1m and it whole transaction just dropped and not a single note came out. My account was debited with the full K1m. To complicate matters for me my account was a non resident account with FNB in South Africa... (that means I could not even go to a physical branch to try to resovle the issue as Non resident centre is a virtual branch). Stanbic Zambia referred me to FNB Zambia who referred me to FNB South Africa who transferred my query to Visa Electron (the payment system on which my card is issued). After several emails and phone calls I gave up on the issue, not because I didnt need the money but just because it was too complicated to pursue with so many parties involved. What is for sure is that someone at Stanbic had an overage of a cool K1m that they pocketed.!!

[mercy]

i hav a young bro at varsity in namibia who i send money to on a regular basis. in february i credited his account with tuition.he was withdrawing from windhoek in SA rands i cant remember the exact figure but it was less by 1.5 million kwacha meanwhile his account showed he had withdrawn everything. he went to the bank that side(not barclays) who referred him to barclays zambia where his account is. he called them but they said he had to come physically. I went to his branch mutaba and explained he was a student and cudnt come bak then but they wud not listen to me they said i was a third party.
A nice lady took up my querry after she saw me shout at person rudely telling me that i was 3rd party hence i stay out of the whole situation. She gav me email and fon number for their querries dept and told me to tel my brother to file complaint. he emailed his scanned nrc, atm and a letter. A week later sumone emailed bak sayng they are working on issue.10 days later they emailed that he cud withdraw the 1.5 but by then we had to pay extra penalt money cos registration had ended at my brother's school. i deposited 600pin penalty and he withdrew without problems. A week later had to send groceries money and same problem occured-account debited but no money came from machine. Same procedure after non stop emails and faxes 2 wiks later he cud withdraw the money.
Next time he comes home, we are tryng out a different bank. Barclays has just lost 3 customers.me, my mum and my brother

[Chigayo]

Mercy oh Mercy,
If you didn't write this post I woulda thought it's fictitious. But I don't dount you. It is quite unbelievable however, that a bank can be so incompetent. I cannot even fathom how a bank or any business for that matter, would stay in business with such incompetency.

Only in Zed, as they say.

I'm even afraid to ask the next question but I'll ask it anyway. Security cameras. Do they have them?? Where I live, security cameras are a must on every ATM machine. If such a thing were to happen, which it never does around here, but if it did, the customer would simply request footage of his/her moments at the machine and it would show no money was taken out.

[Antonio]

Security cameras exist at some ATMs though you never know if they work or record anything. This ATM issue is so widespread in almost all banks its amazing. I expect an ATM to reverse a transaction once it senses that no money came out but this is not the case. Or it can debit you after dispensing the money. I suspect that bank employees have discovered a loophole in how those machines operate and are stealing all day and all night long since they know the average person will not bother to follow through a complaint. This hardly happens in developed countries where we buy the same ATM machines from so I see no reason we cannot implement whatever systems they have to prevent this open theft by bank staff. Am not sure BOZ will do anything since they surely know about this problem for a long time. Banks in Zambia are full of shit if you ask me.

[Chigayo]

ba Antonio,

this is a shame. That's all I can say. In this day and age. it really boggles the mind that this can be allowed to happen. And on a regular basis?? Come on.

I guess in computers, as in people, there are some intelligent ones and some stupid ones. Zambian banks seem to specialize in having the dumb computers in their ATMs. And the dumb people sitting behind the desks in the bank don't know how to rectify their stupid computer's mistakes.

or maybe the makers of these ATMs sell the defective ones to the poor countries. They do that with other products.

But no one should mess with someone else's hard earned cash. That is simply unacceptable.

[Dale]

Actually, ATM machines not disbursing the correct amount of money does happen in the US from time to time. I have 2 friends that had this happen.

The first one was shorted $20. It was at night, so my friend went into the branch the next day and they found a $20 bill jammed somewhere in the machine. The bank gave my friend their $20 and an apology and all was good.

The second one was shorted $100 - they went into the bank the next day and no jammed money could be found. So the bank shut down the ATM and counted the money. They found that the ATM had $100 more than it showed as disbursed. Again, the bank gave my friend the money and apologized.

These situations happen but very very rarely. If it became known that any bank was having this problem on a regular basis, the public outcry would be very high and maybe even the Federal Banking Commission would be at the bank to investigate...

thanks for the conversation,
dale

[Chigayo]

Dale,

Now compare the quick rectification of that same problem in the US to the dizzying battle people in Zambia have to fight. Read what happened to the nice madam Mrs. Bla bla below. The battle to get her money back got so frustrating she pleaded with the bank to just keep her K1,000,000. That is about US$200. The nice madam chose to forfeit her hard earned money than to battle the thick headed people at her bank.

Yes machines are machines. They can malfunction. But that's where human intelligence should come in. But in Zambia it sounds like the blind are leading the blind. Dumb machines dumb humans behind the machines. That is the big difference.

Dale, you are right that such incidences are very rare in the US. In all my years here, not once did it happen to me or to anyone I know. I have had vending machines steal a few nickel and dimes here and there. But even those, it is quite easy to claim your coins back, if you so desire.

[Benson]

Another earlier discussion on this issue zambia.co.zm/dearzambia/viewtopic.php?f=3&t=1586

[Tanka]

In this age of bankers bashing, I thought this article from the BBC will make delightful reading. Enjoy.


Rs Rs Rs Rs Rs Rs Rs Rs Rs Rs Rs Rs Rs Rs Rs Rs Rs Rs Rs Rs Rs Rs Rs Rs Rs Rs Rs
26 April 2011 Last updated at 14:14 ET

India bank termites eat piles of cash

Staff at an Indian bank have been blamed for allowing termites to eat their way through banknotes worth millions of rupees.

Staff at the bank, in the state of Uttar Pradesh, are reported to have been found guilty of "laxity".

The insects are believed to have chewed their way through notes worth some 10 million rupees ($225,000/£137,000).

A similar incident happened in 2008, when termites in Bihar state ate a trader's savings stored in his bank.

The State Bank of India says an enquiry into the latest incident has been held.

Replaced

"The branch management has been found guilty of laxity due to which the notes were damaged by termites in the Fatehpur branch of Barabanki district," State Bank of India Chief General Manager Abhay Singh told the Press Trust of India.

"Action will be taken against those responsible in the matter.

"As it was the bank's fault, it will bear the loss caused due to termites... there will be no loss to the public."

Ms Singh said that identity numbers on the majority of the notes were still intact, which meant that they could be replaced.

Bank officials discovered that the notes - which were kept in a strongroom - had been damaged by termites earlier this month.

Ms Singh said that directives had now been issued to all branches that stored currency in strongrooms to ensure that the condition of the cash is checked every two months.

Reports say that the branch where the money was stored was old, seldom properly cleaned and known to be a haven for termites.

[Dale]

Chigayo, yes you are absolutely correct and you point out the true problem much more clearly than I did. Thank you.

I enjoy reading this (and other) forums because I believe it helps give me a broader perspective than just an 'American.' It really does surprise me over and over the level of customer service in Zambia. It honestly makes no sense to me, but I am sure that a real reason exists that motivates this to keep happening. Therefore, I keep reading and hopefully will gain more understanding from it...any thoughts on this?

thanks for the conversation,
dale

[Local Boy]

[quote="Guest"]Dear Zambia,

I was a fond user of the ATM at this spot. It's a walking distance from where I live so it provided me that convenience. But now, that convenience is no more.

It all happened one morning when I went to withdraw a 150pin on that ATM. I punched in the details of my transaction, and out came 3 notes: two 50pins and one 20pin, a total of 120pin. The damn machine had stolen my 30pin. I immediately phoned my bank (not Barclays) to confirm the debit on my account, and indeed it was 150pin. My bank advised me to report the matter to Barclays, but Barclays told me to initiate the investigative process from my bank as I did not have an account with them. So I went to my bank.

At my bank, it seems they didn't know what to do either. At this point I knew getting my 30pin back was going to be an exercise in futility. So considering the amount in involved I just decided to let it go. But what struck me most, while I was speaking to one of the bank's customer service representatives, is a women who interrupted the proceedings of my query. She seemed to be agitated and in a hurry.

This woman presented her complaint to the rep, it was the same as mine. Unfortunately for her, it was a million+ and the ATM she used didn't dispense a single note. At that time it had been 45 days since she reported the incident and was wondering why it was taking that long to get back her money.

Out of curiosity I asked this woman which atm she had used and the answer came... THE ONE AT CHELSTON BP SERVICE STATION!

I don't use that ATM anymore.[/quote]




welcome to the jungle, my brother. Welcome to the jungle!