Atm Machine Swallowed My Uk Bank Card

[eek]

Ok, so i lost my wits and broke a cardinal rule of not using atm machines which are not attached to a bank.

I punched in my pin and after it told me it would not make the transaction for me, it swallowed my card.

I phoned up the company and they told me its policy to not return the card. I tried to explain that its a UK card and that it cannot be easily replaced. After much pleading (nearly downright begging..how pathetic) she told me to call again at 8.30am in the morning to see what can be done.

Has this happened to anyone else?

Any suggestions on what I should do? Just hound them in the morning for help?

Shit...

[sbk]

Most of the people I have met this has happened to showed up in the morning and got their card back with no problems. Give that a try before cancelling it and getting a new one.

[bruceboy]

Ok, so i lost my wits and broke a cardinal rule of not using atm machines which are not attached to a bank.

I punched in my pin and after it told me it would not make the transaction for me, it swallowed my card.

I phoned up the company and they told me its policy to not return the card. I tried to explain that its a UK card and that it cannot be easily replaced. After much pleading (nearly downright begging..how pathetic) she told me to call again at 8.30am in the morning to see what can be done.

Has this happened to anyone else?

Any suggestions on what I should do? Just hound them in the morning for help?

Shit...

Most British Banks WILL NOT mail cash cards to Thailand. Sounds like you could be in a spot of trouble. Good luck.

[chinthee]

Sorry to be the bearer of bad news, but same thing happened to me a few years ago, but with a Thai bank card. The hassles were so great, that I just simply cancelled the old card and had a new one issued.

Good luck, and report to us the outcome.

[cmsally]

Surely the ATM must belong to a Thai bank. Just go to the nearest branch or your branch of that bank and tell them where you lost it. The bank should get it you within a week at least. Bangkok bank ATM once ate my Nationwide debit card, but the machine was attached to my local branch. I seem to remember it took a day as the person with key to the machine wasn't there for the day.

[torito]

In had a similar problem with my HSBC account card (not credit card). The system went down when my card was in process.

The bank refused to give it back to me because it had not signature. They told me that these kind or cards could not be returned even with your passport becuase they do not have signature......my conclussion is that your credit card can be returned if you explain you case and take your passport with you....good luck!

[keebone]

Just hope that the Lebanese Loop hasn't caught on in Thailand

[jeebusjones]

My girlfriend was using here SCB debit card in an SCB atm. The atm swallowed her card. She called SCB, and they said it would be impossible to get the card back. She would have to buy a new one for 300 baht, even though it was their machine that swallowed it.

What a scam. ATM/Debit cards are free in the US.

Edited May 31, 2007 by jeebusjones

[eek]

well..thankfully i do have a back up. I have an account at bangkok bank. I am sure i could transfer money via HSBC internet banking into the bangkok account..right? (havent done it before, a little ignorant in those matters, so if you know it to be easy id appreciate the comment).

Its just i would very much like to have my card back.

To be honest I would even pay a fine if necessary, i just dont understand why it has to be so difficult in retreiving it.

I feel today is One of THOSE days, for along with a lot of silly things going wrong, on the way to get the money out (to pay for my rent tomorrow) I slipped in the storm, fell, and landed on my (now bruising rapidly) hip. Had to walk into the mall (closest ATM) with dirty wet jeans.

Wish I had stayed in bed today!

[meadish_sweetball]

To be honest I would even pay a fine if necessary, i just dont understand why it has to be so difficult in retreiving it.

To make it difficult for people wanting your card for fraudulent purposes, is my guess.

Wishing you good luck with getting your card back.

[torito]

well..thankfully i do have a back up. I have an account at bangkok bank. I am sure i could transfer money via HSBC internet banking into the bangkok account..right? (havent done it before, a little ignorant in those matters, so if you know it to be easy id appreciate the comment).

If you use internet banking then you should print a form to register your Thai account if you want amounts over the transfer limit for not registeded accounts. They only do the process with original, so it takes some days.

If you need to transfer money below the limit is not a problem at all...2 days from my HK account. An additional comment, do not conver to THB inyour bank, transfer whatever currency you have directly to your Thai bank so the conversion is made in here.

good luck!

[chaiyapoon]

Kasikorn machine at the Charoensi centre in Udon ate my Nationwide card.Eventually got it back at the local branch dealing with that ATM, but was not due to be emptied for 3 days(unfortunate if you are just visiting).Had to show my passport otherwise ok.I now have several flex accounts with a card for each in case it happens again.Has happened once more in Supan but just cancelled the card and got a new one on return to UK.

[eek]

Thank heavens for this forum!

Having somewhere to read and voice opinions, get feedback and support, has been great help to me.

Thank you for the comments regarding this, for even if I unfortunatley do not get my card back, Im sure i have an alternative way to get access to my money. The support does help take the sting out of it.

Will let you know the outcome.

[jetjock]

I had an HSBC ATM machine swallow my card in Hong Kong quite a few years ago. I went to a nearby branch of the bank and showed them my passport and identification and they agreed to return it to me when they serviced machine later that day. I explained to them that I was leaving for Singapore in a few hours but would return to Hong Kong in two days. They were very helpful and said they would deliver my card to someone secure at the Hotel that I was staying at on my return . Sure enough, it was there waiting for me when I got back to HK.

Temporarily losing my ATM card turned out to be a blessing in disguise. When I was in talking with the HSBC rep about the loss of my card, we started talking about the the financial outlook for HSBC since I already held quite a bit of stock in the bank. She was an officer in the bank and very well informed. After speaking with her I was so impressed with what she said that when I returned home, I doubled my stock holdings in HSBC. Since that time, my stock in HSBC has performed great and I am now hundreds of thousands of dollar richer thanks to the incident.

Hope you also have some good luck and get your card back.

[Heng]

Some get it back, some don't. Standard procedure in banks worldwide though is for the bank to return it to the card issuer. Have had it happen early this year, maybe late last year, just had Wells Fargo send the replacement to my home stateside the same day, arrived within 10 days, picked it up on my next trip over (could have had it Fedexed from home as well).

In some cases, it doesn't matter if you get your card back because your because some issuing banks will automatically put a hold/freeze on the card if whatever flags are set are raised. IMO it's actually a pretty bad security loophole for card issuers that don't have the 'if card not returned, freeze/cancel card' flag.

[nick2k]

Ok, so i lost my wits and broke a cardinal rule of not using atm machines which are not attached to a bank.

I punched in my pin and after it told me it would not make the transaction for me, it swallowed my card.

I phoned up the company and they told me its policy to not return the card. I tried to explain that its a UK card and that it cannot be easily replaced. After much pleading (nearly downright begging..how pathetic) she told me to call again at 8.30am in the morning to see what can be done.

Has this happened to anyone else?

Any suggestions on what I should do? Just hound them in the morning for help?

Shit...

if you have skype, you can call toll free numbers like 1-800 for FREE. you don't even need to open a skype account to do so. all you need is a computer with internet access. many internet cafes will have the right setup ready to go. check out the following link for more info.

Skype

recently, I was having problems with one of my bank cards too. but after a couple of 1-800 calls to their customer service in the states, the problem was resolved. and very quickly too.

Edited June 1, 2007 by nick2k

[DeputyDawg]

All Banks here previously would return a swallowed atm card as soon as the machine had been emptied, this practice has been stopped now I am told. I too recently lost a HSBC card an when asked for it was told that they are now cut up when removed from the machine rather than being returned to the bank.

They informed me this was a new nationwide policy however I guess a few hundred baht in the right pocket might help a little

[Gary A]

I would be VERY nervous if all I had was a single ATM card. I always pictured the worst case scenario. So, one card in my wallet, one hidden in my room, another in the hotel safe and a few hundred in cash in my money belt. Even living here I have two Thai accounts, a US ATM card and a credit card at the house. Better to be safe than sorry.

[lopburi3]

I was in Bangkok Bank local branch a few months ago when a very upset middle age Thai lady was told her Bangkok Bank card had been destroyed (because she did not show up the day it was removed from machine). She had phoned them but that made no difference in there decision to destroy and charge for replacement. The kicker was that card was due a substantial free gift due heavy usage but being destroyed also resulted in loss of that. She was not a happy customer.

[marginline]

Thank heavens for this forum!

Having somewhere to read and voice opinions, get feedback and support, has been great help to me.

Thank you for the comments regarding this, for even if I unfortunatley do not get my card back, Im sure i have an alternative way to get access to my money. The support does help take the sting out of it.

Will let you know the outcome.

Yes eek, "Thank heavens" indeed!

In my almost 3-years here I've had three BankThai ATM cards swallowed-up but unlike you on the first occasion, which ALSO docked 2,000 baht from my account (thank you Thai Military Bank for that), you at least had the foresight I didn't by having a 'Plan B'; I refer of course to your Bangkok Bank account. FWIW...I can't even begin to imagine the inconvenience of coming to LOS with only a credit/debit card issued by a foreign bank and then losing that!

Good Luck to you then and like many of the posters here, I too hope you get your card back soon.

[soundman]

I had my card swallowed in an ATM last month - the power failed (due to a nearby lightning strike) halfway through a transaction.

Major hassle, Friday evening - couldn't access the funds until Monday morning.

Never got the card back.

Cheers,

Soundman.

[JCCR6]

I had my SCB card swallowed in an SCB machine a couple of weeks back. I turned up to the nearest branch a few days later with my Passport, and got it returned. They had a stack of them, so I guess they hold on to the cards for a while.

[eek]

Ok so...well.. no matter what, my card will not be returned ("No mam, cannot", "No mam, cannot")

Ive moved onto plan B..with some odd outcomes (or so i think). Again, would like to pick fellow TV members brains on this.

I called up HSBC to arrange a transfer to my account here. Reasonably hassle free but, of course, a nasty charge. Out of curiousity I asked how i may go about changing my UK address to a thai address (when i enquired about it before whilst still in the UK I was told it would involve a bit of a process with my having to provide a lot of paperwork and would need to be done at HSBC Bangkok). Well, my address was changed for me on the spot, over the phone.

I then enquired that if my card was lost or stolen (i have not yet cancelled my card as I use the code for payments online. Maybe thats crazy...but they said the card would be cut up..), if I they would be able to issue another one at the address in Thailand. She said yes, not a problem, as it is my account holding address. (I was given the impression before that I would not be able to have a UK account card issued outside of UK even with a Thai address).

So...im a bit bewildered at the moment as to why such conflicting information, esp from such a large bank.

I wonder if anyone has applied and received a new bank card from a UK account to an address in Thailand?

If so, it would be a big relief.

The more time I spend in Thailand, the more i feel like Alice in Wonderland....

[Edonista]

well..thankfully i do have a back up. I have an account at bangkok bank. I am sure i could transfer money via HSBC internet banking into the bangkok account..right? (havent done it before, a little ignorant in those matters, so if you know it to be easy id appreciate the comment).

Indeed the most obvious solution is to swift money from your HSBC account to Bangkok Bank and then use the Bangkok Bank atm card. Why use a foreign credit card that charges you high commissions if you have a local bank account ? Btw, should you lose your Bangkok Bank ATM you can simply go to the bank branch with passbook to withdraw money, and the card replacement is just 100 baht.

[GuestHouse]

My advice is get a receipt from the bank where your card was swallowed and then write to your card issuing bank to tell them that the card is out of your hands. Include a copy of the receipt.

I had a UK bank card swallowed at a branch of Kasikornthai bank, it was intercepted in the post and used for making international phone calls.

It was some weeks before the 'Fat' statement arrived, but having a receipt for the card from the bank made getting that mess sorted out very easy.

Don't just assume that the card is going to arrive safely back at your bank in Thailand. It may not.

[pampal]

My bank would not send my replacement card to my BKK address, I had to get it sent to my friends house in the UK and he couriered it for me.

[Eastender]

I live in the UK and have left an ATM card with my sister in law. Last time she went to use it (linked to a bank in a small town) she forgot the number and the machine ate it. She told the bank I was coming out for a holiday, and then when I arrived they showed me the card so I could sign their forms, making sure that my signature was the same as that on the card. If it was a little different they showed me my own signature asking me to copy it exactly. He photocopied my passport, and every bit of paper he could find then gave me my card back!