It was an ordinary Saturday for me last March 22, except for the mangled P500 bill I took out of the BDO automated teller machine. Nope, it definitely doesn’t look like something the girl at SM would take from a customer. After a dismayed sigh, I shrugged it off. A few moments after, I was already contemplating my wet market list and forgot about it.
This morning, I saw the mangled bill again. I must admit I was tempted to forget about it but I could smell a MoneySmart moment, so off I went to the BDO branch near the ATM machine to ask if they can replace the bill.
“I have a sort of weird request,” I told the lady in blue behind a desk. “This is one of the bills I got out of the ATM machine near this branch…” I let my voice trail into a sweet silence.
She wasn’t really surprised, come to think of it. “Wait here, let me ask them if they got the other half,” she said.
After a few minutes, she came back and told me they didn’t find the other half. She wants me to show her the ATM receipt. ATM receipt? It was probably lying down in my sorry excuse for a filing system, or rolled up with all the plastic bags that I came home with after my market day.
“You can also ask your bank to give you a report that will prove that you withdrew from our ATM machine on that day,” she said.
Errr.. sounds pretty complicated. I told the lady with a smile that perhaps I would come back. As I type this blog post however, I’m thinking what if that was my last money and I needed to buy medicine for an ailing baby? What if my son’s graduation depended on that money? Even if I had the receipt today, the faulty ATM would have already caused me grief over the weekend. Shouldn’t the bank be held accountable for that? The lady, in fact, added that they had a similar incident the previous week, showing that their machine was indeed faulty.
Glad that it didn’t caused me much grief, though. Perhaps I should frame it to remind me that money is just money. Attitude towards it is the one that causes either grief or happiness.
August 29th, 2008 at 11:50 pm
The BDO atm at SM Lucena asked my partner by screen message to take the money, nothing was dispensed and printed the ticket. she was en- route and could not stop the jackliner transport to file a complaint out of hours.
Later BDO claimed the transaction was completed successfully. Net result BDO up 20000 peso Me down 20000.
BDO twenty thousand shames on you.
August 26th, 2008 at 9:23 am
I have same complaint which i thought just happened to me.. One time, I tried to withdraw from an ATM machine in MOA. The screen says to get the money and receipt but to my surprise, I had the receipt but the machine did not dispense the money. I was with my cousins as I told them that I will treat them. It’s good that they have money that time but I was really disappointed with what happened. I filed a complaint,had the receipt with me just in case they will ask for it, looked for a security guard and they referred me to Customer assistance. They tried to fix the problem but.. since no one was answering, they just gave me the BPI Hotline number. Kept on following up for days, but had difficulty to speak with staff as the line was always busy. They should think of ways that transaction like this should not happen again. We’re talking about money here which we know is hard to earn. Put yourself in my shoes for you to know how it feels. Will keep on following up to the bank and I still hope it will be credited back to my account. Cheers and God bless!
March 31st, 2008 at 6:35 pm
@ logan
duhhh???
March 29th, 2008 at 7:31 am
@ alex.., pls read the article carefully and you’ll find out that it’s not from a BDO account that she withdraw her money.
Yes all transactions are listed, but what the bank is trying to avoid here is for them not to be flooded with bogus ATM complaints. You see, if they don’t ask for a proof of your transaction with their ATM, anyone can barge in to their branch and file a complaint and there’s no way of knowing if their claims are valid or not…
For your information, ATMs cannot just be opened anytime you want to.. These machines were being closely monitored by their HO. What I’m trying to say is that THERE ARE PROCEDURES TO BE FOLLOWED… we are talking about money…
@ C_A.
ATMs that doesn’t dispense receipt is a different story..
ATM problems cannot be avoided..it will happen to anyone..The point is we,, have to do our part in securing and taking care of our hard earned money..even most of us says ” Tao lang ” what more an ATM ” makina lang “…IMHO
March 28th, 2008 at 1:55 pm
I had an experience with an ATM machine of BPI that did not dispense the cash I was supposed to withdraw. I didnt noticed it until I was able to withdraw in another machine and saw the discrepancy in the balance. I really went back to the branch and took my receipt from the trash can.
Its a good thing that the customer service was really ok. They asked me to file a report and to follow up within 2 banking days. The phone hotline was also able to give a quick update in the reversal. The money was credited back to my account on the second day.
March 27th, 2008 at 12:41 pm
15
mikoy Says:
March 26th, 2008 at 2:33 pm
hello salve,
if you do online banking, you can still check the details of the transaction (atm withdrawals, deposit etc) in your account’s transaction history.
i also don’t get the receipt…
…………………..
Yes, Makoy: There is lots of people banking online, But I don’t trust computer just one mistake can cost your life time saving. For instance a long time ago some computer hacker, Hack the bank computer and stole lots of money when they time the customer find out about it most of their money gone already.
I don’t have ATM, CARD. Anymore its give me sakit ng ulo. I don’t have credit card wala ako sakit ng ulo sa ka bayad ng bills. No problem ika nga.
March 27th, 2008 at 10:35 am
I don’t agree with some opinions below that the bank employee handled the situation in an adequate manner.
It is not said directly but I presume the writer drew money from her BDO bank account.
All transactions are listed. The employee of the bank could easily call the customer branch or if she doesn’t have enough permissions she could elevate the matter to the manager, since it is clearly unacceptable a BDO customer performs ATM withdrawal from her BDO bank account, the sum is deduced but she doesn’t get the amount.
If the customer is in a good standing (it appears to be the case) it is even more unlikely she is inventing a story just to replace a damaged bill.
She doesn’t need a receipt since the operation can be easily tracked down and withdrawal clearly appears on the account statement accessible from any branch and even ATM details can be retrieved through elevating the matter if they are not seen directly by any employee.
When customers are not any more important to the bank the question is what is the sense to trust the bank your hardly earned savings.
March 27th, 2008 at 9:58 am
Reswell, BDO atm near Ace Hardware in SM City North EDSA and the branch is along that street also, in the old SM Supersale building.
March 27th, 2008 at 2:28 am
I have an account with epci, which was converted to BDO now. I was disappointed that epci or bdo didn’t send e-mail to inform clients how they can switch from epci to BDO internet banking but I was impressed with BDO’s customer service when I called them about it. The transition was very smooth and everything was done with just one phone call. Actually, it was impressive enough that somebody answered the phone. Before, when I call epci and hello service of equitable card, it takes ages and several tries before somebody picks-up the call and worse, you will not get a satisfactory answer for your question - not to mention that you are already being charge while waiting and listening to those voice messages that say, please hold until the next agents becomes available!!!
But then again, I cannot blame those who had a bad experience with BDO or any other banks. I’ve had my share of unbelievable customer service from the country’s big banks.
March 27th, 2008 at 1:57 am
@arpeelazaro,
I finally got some peace of mind with BPI.
*******
I also love BPI. I’m quite satisfied with their customer service. Still not the best bank but it’s a lot better than other big local banks. Grabe, yong staff sa ibang bangko, ni hindi alam ang product and services nila…dumudugo ilong ko…
March 27th, 2008 at 1:53 am
@ Alex
LBP ATM na kung pwede ay maglagay naman sila ng ATM booth sa loob ng mga SM mall o Robinson mall
*******
I remember there’s LBP ATM at Robinson’s Galleria and even in some SM malls although kaunti talaga unlike other banks, they have ATM for every mall.
March 27th, 2008 at 1:47 am
I also don’t get receipt from my atm so this is a lesson learned. But for online banking, I always print transaction advice for reference and to save paper, I print PDF.
March 26th, 2008 at 5:16 pm
FYI… ATMs does not always spit out receipts and banks will never guarantee it will issue one 100% of the time. BTW, did you know that some ATM would even prompt you if you require a receipt.
In fact, even if you don’t have a receipt, the bank/s (if you’re withdrawing from another banks ATM) will have a record of transaction made from their machine. In other words, its not the end of the world if you don’t get to keep your receipt, having one will just speed the closure of your issue. When you don’t have a receipt then you simply call up or write to your bank (it’s likely the bank will require an affidavit from you) with all the details and they will look into it but they will likely commit to get bak to you in no less than 5 working days.
With regards to reporting the incident after the fact (after a couple of days), you have to accept the fact that this will make resolution of your complaint a bit difficult to go the way you.
So my advise is:
1. Before leaving the ATM, ensure that your transaction is in proper order.
2. Get and keep receipts for deposits, payments and withdrawal until after verifying the ATM transction has been well executed
3. If you encounter ATM issues (especially if it relates to cash transaction), report it to bank/s immediately and make sure you keep you receipt as it contains info like ATM ID and transaction no. If the ATM did not spit out a receipt, take note of the ATM location, exact time and your transaction details.
Hope this helps.
March 26th, 2008 at 5:11 pm
sometimes it also pays to go to a DECENT bank. in my experience BDO isn’t exactly one to provide good service. first of all, their machines should have been checked to make sure they don’t dispense money in bits and pieces. After one disappointment after another, bank after bank, i finally got some peace of mind with BPI. no, i’m not promoting the bank, they do have their moments (rude tellers, etc) as in any other bank. but BPIs ATMs are reliable and with the 8 years that i have banked with them, i haven’t been debited or have gotten my money in halves. their ATM machines are usually new and well-maintained.
March 26th, 2008 at 4:59 pm
What if there were no transaction receipts issued (it happens a lot with my bank’s ATM)?
They do keep electronic logs of each transaction, which is how they generate our bank statements.
Wait, why don’t you just request a bank statement and it will show the date and time of each withdrawal.
March 26th, 2008 at 2:33 pm
hello salve,
if you do online banking, you can still check the details of the transaction (atm withdrawals, deposit etc) in your account’s transaction history.
i also don’t get the receipt…
March 26th, 2008 at 1:54 pm
Lessons:
1. ALWAYS KEEP ATM’s RECEIPT AFTER EVERY TRANSACTION.
2. ALWAYS CHECK & COUNT YOUR MONEY BEFORE LEAVING THE ATM BOOTH.
3. AS MUCH AS POSSIBLE, YOU DO YOUR ATM TRANSACTION WHERE THE MACHINE IS INSTALLED NEAR THE BANK, SO YOU CAN IMMEDIATELY APPROACH THE BANK PERSONNEL FOR ANY PROBLEM THAT MAY BE ENCOUNTERED!
4. ALTHOUGH IRRELEVANT TO THE INCIDENT, IT IS ALWAYS WISE TO BE CAREFUL AND WATCHFUL FOR THIEVES THAT COULD BE WATCHING YOU AND WAITING FOR THEIR CHANCE WHEN YOU ARE DOING YOUR ATM TRANSACTION!
March 26th, 2008 at 1:47 pm
ang concern ko lang ay kung pwede bang paratingin sa kinauukulan ng LBP ATM na kung pwede ay maglagay naman sila ng ATM booth sa loob ng mga SM mall o Robinson mall o kahit mga offsite LBP atm site kasi talagang kokonti lang ang atm nila at na charged tuloy kaming mga regular government employee pag nagwithdraw sa mga common atm booth ng BPI at CDO atm. kahit isa lang per mall will do.
March 26th, 2008 at 1:24 pm
Salve, can you state the location of the ATM (or even the nearest branch, since most likely that ATM is assigned to that branch) ? TIA
March 26th, 2008 at 1:19 pm
epci / bdo merger proved to be detrimental to epci customers, at least in my own experience.
i closed my accounts with them after about 3 interbranch withdrawals routinely took 3 to 5 hours (they now require photocopy of id, faxing it to the original branch and they didn’t even bother to verify whether the fax came through clear).
when we tried to open an account in the local bdo branch and i successfully changed the pin but several days afterwards when trying to withdraw money we got “account doesn’t exist”, in short we closed the newly open account prematurely (the manila accounts i closed several days later on manila trip) and completely moved to another bank.
we were epci customers since 2001, back then they gave good interest rates and best customer service, very unfortunate someone with big sm money bag managed to wreck it all, hopefully they won’t buy our new bank after in few years as well
March 26th, 2008 at 12:14 pm
Thanks guys for your pieces of information shared here. All that really gave me lessons to keep. It was an eye opener as well. Thanks…
March 26th, 2008 at 9:55 am
I don’t use ATM machine anymore I had bad experiece, One day I withdraw $300.00 dollars I only receive $260.00 short change me of $40.00 dollar. I went to the bank and complaint about it but it takes 6 mos before I finally heard from the bank and even though I have proof I only receive $260.00 dollar’s and the bank told me that is because the machine run out of money I still didn’t get me money back. Thats BANK OF AMERICA FOR YOU! I didn’t get my money back but I claim it loss income in my income taxes reture when I file it. I don’t use ATM MACHINE anymore!
March 26th, 2008 at 9:52 am
hmmm…even if you don’t have the receipt they can trace your transaction by providing details of it, if they want to trace it.
many ATMs here are old and limited in functionality. Some are new ones with spanking idle screens and sounds.
btw, did you notice Expressnet and Megalink lowered their max transaction amount to P5k from P10k. extra cahrge there of you’re using an ATM not owned by your bank
March 26th, 2008 at 9:29 am
Noted po
and thanks for the lesson. Guys ha, don’t be like me. ALWAYS get a receipt. You’re right, sometimes I don’t get the receipt thinking that I am saving the environment :-). Now I know better.
March 26th, 2008 at 9:19 am
Banks don’t do QA on their ATMs. During cash retrieval, the bank cashier will have an idea if her machine needs servicing because of the internal receipt that the ATM produces. The internal of an ATM is composed of rubbers, tubes and other degradable materials which eventually breaks after it reaches it lifespan.
The lesson here I think is to always ask for a receipt when transacting to an ATM even if its only balance inquiry. A good practice is to always do balance inquiry first, with receipt of course, and then withdraw. Just don’t forget the receipt..,receipt,, receipt..
Salve,, lesson learn i hope. Cheers!
March 26th, 2008 at 8:54 am
receipt, receipt, im still looking for the receipt hehehe. yeah, i know i should have kept it under lock and key that’s why i wasn’t screaming madness at the lady behind the counter. yup, she did indeed handle the complaint pretty well, but i still think something has to be done so that accidents like this don’t happen especially to people who might be in an emergency, y’know. how about stricter and more regular QA of ATMs? is that possible?
March 26th, 2008 at 8:33 am
I think thats an SOP for banks. You should have kept the receipt when you noticed the bill for reference in your complaint.
I think the bank teller handles it pretty well. If im in the same situation i would also ask for a receipt.
March 26th, 2008 at 7:36 am
that’s the importance of having an ATM receipt everytime you transact using ATM. This is your only proof that you indeed used the machine and it is really for you and the bank security. That small piece of paper tells a lot of information.
Don’t be surprise if you have an ATM problem and the bank personnel ask you provide this receipt because this will always be the first thing the will ask you.. NO EXCEPTION… otherwise, they will treat the complaint as bogus since…, let’s accept it.., ang daming mandirigma sa Pinas..
Your receipt would be the bank’s reference if their ATM was indeed have a problem. If you don’t have one,, then sorry for you..
Sheng,, Bank don’t just replace ATM when it has a problem.. Find out how much an ATM costs and you’ll see why. Everything inside the ATM is repairable just like your PC.
The bank employee handled the complaint pretty well, she just followed the standard procedure.
March 26th, 2008 at 1:20 am
Baka talagang putol na nung nilagay sa ATM? possible yon di ba? wala ka talagang makikitang other half…
March 25th, 2008 at 6:57 pm
Ei, Salve!
“Glad that it didn’t caused me much grief, though. Perhaps I should frame it to remind me that money is just money. Attitude towards it is the one that causes either grief or happiness.”
Certainly, I agree with your introspection. However, this is a matter of concern. You pointed out that it is a good thing you didnt need it for emergency. But what about for those who earn just barely enough? Am sure that every single cent matters to them.
I must say that the bank should look into it and if necessary, replace their defective machines. After all, every client is charged for all the transactions done. Therefore, clients should be spared the hassle of going after a mangled bill. Don’t you think so?