StirCrazy

A post relating to this item from Finextra:

06 November, 2008 RBS ATM dishes out 'free' cash Residents of the English market town of Chorley flocked to a Royal Bank of Scotland (RBS) ATM last week after word spread that the unit was dispensing double the amount of cash requested.

Nice try

06 Nov, 2008 15:00

Nice idea, but I am sure all those that received double will get a letter informing them that 'an error was detected, and your account was not correctly debited, so we have corrected it for you'. If you want to take it up with the bank and face a dishonesty charge - feel free.

I am assuming of cause that the ATM was correctly noting what it was paying out to people, even if it was double what they requested.

It then become no different to when a cheque is incorrectly applied to your account, and picked up later - its gets removed again. Or worse, when funds from a cheque bounce after you have spent it.

-j

Comments

Added: 06 November, 2008 - 15:10 | Marite Ferrero - CardSwitch Technology - London

It depends if the machine dispensed a receipt that showed that it gave out 100 gbp and actually gave 200. The receipt I think will have to be the basis.

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Added: 06 November, 2008 - 16:10 | David Griffiths - gryffle - Hertford

It's a simple error. Some branch twonk has stuck £20 notes in the £10 cassette. In some cassettes this is easy; but in some it is more difficult, involving large numbers of branch staff sitting on the device in an attempt to make all of the closing parts close. Sometimes they notice, sometimes they don't.

Question is, is it really worth chasing up the lucky punters who have just doubled their money? In most cases, it isn't, so good luck to them. Now if the ATM dispenses several thousand pounds too much, like the Halifax Philips 6601 ATMs did in 1988, that's a different story, and off go the assistant branch dogsboddies to try and retrieve it. For the sake of a monkey or a pony, though, they will just shut the stable door after the horse has bolted.