Atm Swallows My International Credit Card

[Erap]

Friday morning, I go to the Central shopping mall in Pinklao for some errands. As my rent is due, I wanted to withdraw some money with my international credit card, as the majority of my funds lie at the bank account in my home country (I rent out a condo in my home country, so I have a steady monthly income). I went to a Siam Commercial Bank ATM and inserted my card. PUFFF!!! The card is swallowed by the ATM and the screen of the machine turns blank.

No real problem I naively think, I will just go to a nearby Siam Commercial Bank branch and ask them if they could arrange for a technician to open up the ATM and reteive my card. So I found one at the basement, though very little English is spoken there... With my limited Thai and their limited English I am finally able to explain to them what happened. They gladly agree to help and call the main branch for further instructions.

So the friendly clerk is seating and talking on the phone, with the rest of the staff following closely. The call takes a surprisingly long time, with me waiting more and and more impatiently with every minute that passes. Finally the clerk hands over the phone to me. A Thai man speaking flawless English is on the other side of the line. First he asks me to confirm the details of the story. Then he tells me with a firm voice that they will indeed send a technician to open up the machine, but once they do that, my ticket will immidiately be Destroyed!

Is this some kind of a sick joke, I wonder? Apparently not. He goes on explaining that according to agreements signed between the Thai government and the international credit card companies, once a card is swallowed by an ATM it is automatically destroyed, whatever the reason is. "Siam Commercial Bank has to apply to the regulations set by the bank of Thailand" he says. And What am I supposed to do? "Contact Mastercard, ask them to send you a new card" he continues. So because your bank doesn't maintain its ATMs properly, I have to wait for over a week and pay a large comission for a new card to be send over to me? "Yes" He replies, without (I assume) the blink of an eye.

Going back to my condo I decide to make a few calls to my bank in my home country, asking them wether they could help. Well, not only that they couldn't help, they are also unable to issue me with a new card. "F@#K" I mumble. Before calling Mastercard international, I decide to take a shot at calling Siam Commercial Bank myself. A friendly lady answers the phone. Being as polite as possible, I tell her that I must have my card back. She explains to me that while it is not the bank policy to return the card, she'll see what she can do. She puts me on hold for 5 minutes and when she returns, she tells me that she will send a letter to her superior explaining the situation. However she must know the exact location of the ATM. And by "exact" meaning not that it's located on the 2nd floor, next to the parking lot opposite Dairy Queen, but by knowing the machine's serial number.

"Oh, for fug zake" I think. So I ask her to call me back in half an hour, and I go back to Central Pinklao. The ATM is now working properly; I insert my local card and withdraw 100 Baht. The serial number is written on the small slip of paper given as reciet. So she calls me again, and I tell her the serial number. She promises to inform her superior about the case. She hangs up, and calls back after a few more minutes. they will indeed send the technician to open up the ATM on Tuesday. I should go to the nearby branch at about 12 noon time with my passport, and see wether or not I could have my credit card back.

To cut a long story short - what ae the chances that I would actually get my card back? what do you guys thinnk I should do?

Thanx

Erap

Edited September 13, 2009 by Erap

[Travel2003]

Dont know if you get it back here in Thailand.

A machine in Hong Kong ate my card once, and that was the same story when I called my own bank (that had issued the card).

They told me the card would be destroyd, and I would receive a new card within 7-10 days.

So it will be interesting to see if anyone else has experienced this here in Thailand and can tell.

And please keep us posted as well if you are kind.

[ukrules]

From what I understand you have almost zero chance of getting it back, I'd concentrate on arranging a delivery address in your home country to get a new card.

Alternatively in the past I have had cards delivered to local branches of the bank and have collected them in person, it might be possible to make an arrangement with the local bank staff in your home country to have someone else pick it up on our behalf on presentation of some form of ID, they might not do this though.

For this reason it's a good idea to keep multiple credit cards or ATM accounts active, if you lose one of them this way you can transfer as much money as you need into one of the other cards as they normally allow you to 'pre load' whatever amount you want.

[akirasan]

Hang around the ATM on Tuesday and give the technician 500 baht to give you your card back.

Edited September 13, 2009 by akirasan

[llso]

Same thing happened to a friend of mine. Except his GF had his card. He was able to go there to the bank with his passport and when they came to load the ATM machine he got his card back. I have never heard of this destroying the card before.

What I do is I have 2 ATM cards for same US Bank,seperate accounts. If I lose one for any reason. I go online and transferthe money from the one that is lost over to the other one. I never carry both cards at same time.

LL

[TheWalkingMan]

An ATM swallowed my card once and I was able to retrieve it the next day. Unfortunately, the card no longer worked and I had to get a new one.

TheWalkingMan

[Nowhereman60]

Once I enter Saving Account instead of the correct Current Account and the ATM machine kept my card. I also only use an ATM at an open bank, so the staff got my card back. I had to call my bank to unlock the card, but it worked again fine.

[Jangot]

I travel for a living and exist on international ATM withdrawals/hotel payments.

Card failures and ATM machine failures are a fact of life and inevitable.

And it is no good getting stressed or indignant about it because the 'banking machine' is big and unfeeling.

Only way is to have at least 3 credit/debit/cash cards available at any given time.

Hope you resolve you problem OK.

J.

[Rionoir]

God I hope a card would be destroyed once it is taken by the machine... What if it ate my machine and they gave the card to someone else who knew I lost my card? I don't know why you are surprised about this.

[PST]

Think it depends on the bank,i lost mine at homepro in Phuket (red and blue bank logo,Thai military?),and had to wait an hour and a half until the company who stock the machine with cash arrived doing their daily rounds.

They turned up,i showed another card with name,signature on it,and my card was returned.

PST.

[Rionoir]

Think it depends on the bank,i lost mine at homepro in Phuket (red and blue bank logo,Thai military?),and had to wait an hour and a half until the company who stock the machine with cash arrived doing their daily rounds.

They turned up,i showed another card with name,signature on it,and my card was returned.

PST.

I think it depends more on who shows up to change the cash than it does what bank it is... I would bet those guys weren't supposed to return it. What if you stole someone's wallet, tried to guess their ATM, the machine ate your card, then you show a non-picture ID, or maybe the person looks a little like you and the Thai people can't tell the difference... then you can still go use the card as a credit card.

[IMA_FARANG]

This happened to my friend from the Netherlands in an ATM in Pattaya about 2 years ago. It hapened to him on a Friday and the bank involved (ATM was outside the bank) was then closed. He showed up there as soon as the bank opened on Monday, and after a lot of arguement ....and with valid I.D. (his passport)...finally got his card back.

He was lucky that the ATM was outside the bank...if he hadn't been there as they opened, the card would have been destroyed.

[scorecard]

I talk often to the Thai manager of my bank, in fact we are close friends. I just mentioned this thread.

He shared that fraud involving credit cards (stolen card numbers) also at ATM machines and fraud involving standard ATM cards is enormous and growing, and all banks continuously uncover clever new scams, all over the world.

He confirmed that his bank follows an 'international agreement' that all cards eaten by ATM machines have to be destroyed regardless of the circumstances.

He reminded me that several years back he advised me to have several credit cards and several ATM cards, just in case one of my cards got stolen, or was 'eaten' by an ATM machine, etc.

His bank has a part foreign ownership but I won't mention the name. He did mention that managers /staff who bypass the rules about destroying cards consumed by ATM machines are seriously punished, no excuses whatever, and he says his bank have recently got even more serious about following regulations. One serious breach of regulations - dismissal. Two breaches of minor regulations - dismissal. He has recently dismissed one long term employee for a lax attitude to following policies.

[thetefldon]

This happened to me when I first arrived here in 2008. The Bangkok Bank where it happened were sympathetic but would not return the card because of the international agreement already quoted above i.e. destruction required.

Fortunately at the time I also had set up a BB account with plenty of funds and I had a CC from my UK bank for emergencies. I contacted my UK bank by phone immediately and received a replacement card to my home address here in less than a week.

The only worrying thing was that it came by Thailand Post!

BTW the old card is no use to anyone ONCE you inform your home country bank and I also assume it was chip and PIN which is a further protection unless it is skimmed at the point of use.

I also learned from the international department of my bank that they have a security policy that occasionally will instruct the system to snatch a card being used in a foreign country. (for my protection!!)

Needless to say I no longer use my UK ATM card in Thailand preferring instead to use the costly but totally secure SWIFT transfer system to fuel my BB account. Which I suppose is really no more expensive than paying international ATM charges.

[DP25]

I think it depends more on who shows up to change the cash than it does what bank it is... I would bet those guys weren't supposed to return it. What if you stole someone's wallet, tried to guess their ATM, the machine ate your card, then you show a non-picture ID, or maybe the person looks a little like you and the Thai people can't tell the difference... then you can still go use the card as a credit card.

Or they could just require a passport. If they wanted to just go use it as a credit card they could do that already. I'm never asked for ID when using a credit card, even for very large purchases, but if their poorly maintained machine eats my card while I'm trying to get a 1000 baht for dinner I can't have it even with a passport, drivers license, finger prints, retina scan, and an anal probe?

Well, it's good to know. Someone could die in this situation waiting 2 weeks for their bank to send them a replacement.

[barryofthailand]

Once an ATM machine swallows your card, you must get a new one as the old one will no longer work.

International, or local, both applies.

Barry

[Rionoir]

I think it depends more on who shows up to change the cash than it does what bank it is... I would bet those guys weren't supposed to return it. What if you stole someone's wallet, tried to guess their ATM, the machine ate your card, then you show a non-picture ID, or maybe the person looks a little like you and the Thai people can't tell the difference... then you can still go use the card as a credit card.

Or they could just require a passport. If they wanted to just go use it as a credit card they could do that already. I'm never asked for ID when using a credit card, even for very large purchases, but if their poorly maintained machine eats my card while I'm trying to get a 1000 baht for dinner I can't have it even with a passport, drivers license, finger prints, retina scan, and an anal probe?

Well, it's good to know. Someone could die in this situation waiting 2 weeks for their bank to send them a replacement.

Have you ever had an ATM card before?  This isn't exactly a Thai-specific issue... this is how it is handled all over the world when an ATM takes your card.

I hope you're smart enough to not be in Thailand with just one method of getting money available to you. *chuckle*

[PST]

Think it depends on the bank,i lost mine at homepro in Phuket (red and blue bank logo,Thai military?),and had to wait an hour and a half until the company who stock the machine with cash arrived doing their daily rounds.

They turned up,i showed another card with name,signature on it,and my card was returned.

PST.

I think it depends more on who shows up to change the cash than it does what bank it is... I would bet those guys weren't supposed to return it. What if you stole someone's wallet, tried to guess their ATM, the machine ate your card, then you show a non-picture ID, or maybe the person looks a little like you and the Thai people can't tell the difference... then you can still go use the card as a credit card.

I contacted the bank first (Bangkok head office),it was them who authorised the cash company to return my card,they initially wanted a copy of my passport,which i did not have on me,so i told them my house was miles away,and i wouldn't have time to go and get it.I then showed 3 other cards with the same name and signature on.

PST.

[syd barrett]

Happened to me years ago at the Thai Farmers Bank on Pattaya Klang. I asked if I could have my card back: NO!

Phoned my bank and they said it would automatically be cancelled anyway.

Got new card 4 days later by DHL: Cost 30 GBP.

Never used that ATM since.

[Huey]

Happened to me 2 twice in the 8 years I have been in Thailand and each time I got it back in a couple days.

[johnboi]

I had this same problem last month with a Kasikorn ATM in Pattaya. Card was swallowed by the machine. I then had my Thai Wife call the hotline number on the machine and they arranged for me to pick up the card the following day at the main branch on Pattaya Klang. Maybe I got lucky.

Edit. The card that was swallowed was a UK issued Visa creditcard.

Edited September 14, 2009 by johnboi

[sunholidaysun1]

This has just happened to me a few days ago :

Put in my card and the machine had an internal power cut, completely offline. I got my girlfriend to call the bank and explain what happened and they said an engineer would be out to fix the machine within 24 hours but couldnt tell me when . I said , I need my card and money now. I was then told the same story , the card would be destroyed and I would have to get a new one . I was livid , blew a fuse myself and wanted to rip someones head off.

The problem now is that I contacted my bank in the UK and ordered a new card , they told me for security reasons - NAT-F-In- WEST would not send my new ATM card to Thailand . I was told I should either go and collect the new card personally (flying all that way just for my card , I dont think so ) or have it sent to an address in the UK.

I told her I dont have an address is the UK as I live in Thailand and want it sent here. NO.

I asked if they could have the card sent to the branch and for them to put it in an envelope and send for me as I have been a customer for 30 years , still , NO.

So , I then said , I have a friend in London , can the card be sent to his address - YES.

Great , so can I give you the address of where to send the card and can you re-order, NO

You have to write to the branch and change your address from Thailand to your friends London address and we need it in writing with your signiture, AGHRRR.

So , now I have to change my address in Thailand to my friends address in London, then the card will be sent to him , then on to me . Then I have to send another letter after I have recieved the new card and change my address from my friends address in London back to Thailand .

And we all thought Thailand was bad.

A-ho*les all of them.

[highlander76]

My card got swallowed two years ago the first thing I did was cancelled my card ordered a new card my girl friend now wife came home from work told me I was a fool she had a friend who works at the bank and she would get my card back that afternoon I got my card back phoned my bank in Scotland and they would not uncancel my card I had to wait ten days for a new card

[Rionoir]

This has just happened to me a few days ago :

Put in my card and the machine had an internal power cut, completely offline. I got my girlfriend to call the bank and explain what happened and they said an engineer would be out to fix the machine within 24 hours but couldnt tell me when . I said , I need my card and money now. I was then told the same story , the card would be destroyed and I would have to get a new one . I was livid , blew a fuse myself and wanted to rip someones head off.

The problem now is that I contacted my bank in the UK and ordered a new card , they told me for security reasons - NAT-F-In- WEST would not send my new ATM card to Thailand . I was told I should either go and collect the new card personally (flying all that way just for my card , I dont think so ) or have it sent to an address in the UK.

I told her I dont have an address is the UK as I live in Thailand and want it sent here. NO.

I asked if they could have the card sent to the branch and for them to put it in an envelope and send for me as I have been a customer for 30 years , still , NO.

So , I then said , I have a friend in London , can the card be sent to his address - YES.

Great , so can I give you the address of where to send the card and can you re-order, NO

You have to write to the branch and change your address from Thailand to your friends London address and we need it in writing with your signiture, AGHRRR.

So , now I have to change my address in Thailand to my friends address in London, then the card will be sent to him , then on to me . Then I have to send another letter after I have recieved the new card and change my address from my friends address in London back to Thailand .

And we all thought Thailand was bad.

A-ho*les all of them.

Don't you have a Thai bank account, since you said you live in Thailand? Before I left the US I added my mom onto my bank account there and also changed my address to their address. Now whenever I have money coming in there or going out she is authorized to handle it. Otherwise I use my Thai bank account and ATM card and just have money transferred in there.

[TopDogger]

A UOB machine ate mine at the machine outside the branch about 4yrs ago, I got it back within 1hr.

[Pakboong]

This happened to me yesterday and I retrieved my card today at the bank. Had to show my passport. Government Savings Bank Pattaya. I stuck it in the Atm outside the bank upon leaving and withdrew cash with no problems.

Edited September 15, 2009 by Pakboong

[johnboi]

This has just happened to me a few days ago :

Put in my card and the machine had an internal power cut, completely offline. I got my girlfriend to call the bank and explain what happened and they said an engineer would be out to fix the machine within 24 hours but couldnt tell me when . I said , I need my card and money now. I was then told the same story , the card would be destroyed and I would have to get a new one . I was livid , blew a fuse myself and wanted to rip someones head off.

The problem now is that I contacted my bank in the UK and ordered a new card , they told me for security reasons - NAT-F-In- WEST would not send my new ATM card to Thailand . I was told I should either go and collect the new card personally (flying all that way just for my card , I dont think so ) or have it sent to an address in the UK.

I told her I dont have an address is the UK as I live in Thailand and want it sent here. NO.

I asked if they could have the card sent to the branch and for them to put it in an envelope and send for me as I have been a customer for 30 years , still , NO.

So , I then said , I have a friend in London , can the card be sent to his address - YES.

Great , so can I give you the address of where to send the card and can you re-order, NO

You have to write to the branch and change your address from Thailand to your friends London address and we need it in writing with your signiture, AGHRRR.

So , now I have to change my address in Thailand to my friends address in London, then the card will be sent to him , then on to me . Then I have to send another letter after I have recieved the new card and change my address from my friends address in London back to Thailand .

And we all thought Thailand was bad.

A-ho*les all of them.

Seems I'm having all the luck. I just had a brand new Natwest ATM card mailed out to me by Natwest. Try calling your actual branch. Not the main call centre.

[Enjibenji]

Hi there,

had an ATM swallow my card in a siam commercial bank too. Wrote on here asking the same question as you did and got told i was trolling

it was an ATM stuck onto a bank. I got it back the next day after a call was made. Believe me, they will have stacks of cards that their ATM has swallowed. When I got my card back, it was stuck in an elastic band with about 40 others.

[phuketrex]

Friday morning, I go to the Central shopping mall in Pinklao for some errands. As my rent is due, I wanted to withdraw some money with my international credit card, as the majority of my funds lie at the bank account in my home country (I rent out a condo in my home country, so I have a steady monthly income). I went to a Siam Commercial Bank ATM and inserted my card. PUFFF!!! The card is swallowed by the ATM and the screen of the machine turns blank.

No real problem I naively think, I will just go to a nearby Siam Commercial Bank branch and ask them if they could arrange for a technician to open up the ATM and reteive my card. So I found one at the basement, though very little English is spoken there... With my limited Thai and their limited English I am finally able to explain to them what happened. They gladly agree to help and call the main branch for further instructions.

So the friendly clerk is seating and talking on the phone, with the rest of the staff following closely. The call takes a surprisingly long time, with me waiting more and and more impatiently with every minute that passes. Finally the clerk hands over the phone to me. A Thai man speaking flawless English is on the other side of the line. First he asks me to confirm the details of the story. Then he tells me with a firm voice that they will indeed send a technician to open up the machine, but once they do that, my ticket will immidiately be Destroyed!

Is this some kind of a sick joke, I wonder? Apparently not. He goes on explaining that according to agreements signed between the Thai government and the international credit card companies, once a card is swallowed by an ATM it is automatically destroyed, whatever the reason is. "Siam Commercial Bank has to apply to the regulations set by the bank of Thailand" he says. And What am I supposed to do? "Contact Mastercard, ask them to send you a new card" he continues. So because your bank doesn't maintain its ATMs properly, I have to wait for over a week and pay a large comission for a new card to be send over to me? "Yes" He replies, without (I assume) the blink of an eye.

Going back to my condo I decide to make a few calls to my bank in my home country, asking them wether they could help. Well, not only that they couldn't help, they are also unable to issue me with a new card. "F@#K" I mumble. Before calling Mastercard international, I decide to take a shot at calling Siam Commercial Bank myself. A friendly lady answers the phone. Being as polite as possible, I tell her that I must have my card back. She explains to me that while it is not the bank policy to return the card, she'll see what she can do. She puts me on hold for 5 minutes and when she returns, she tells me that she will send a letter to her superior explaining the situation. However she must know the exact location of the ATM. And by "exact" meaning not that it's located on the 2nd floor, next to the parking lot opposite Dairy Queen, but by knowing the machine's serial number.

"Oh, for fug zake" I think. So I ask her to call me back in half an hour, and I go back to Central Pinklao. The ATM is now working properly; I insert my local card and withdraw 100 Baht. The serial number is written on the small slip of paper given as reciet. So she calls me again, and I tell her the serial number. She promises to inform her superior about the case. She hangs up, and calls back after a few more minutes. they will indeed send the technician to open up the ATM on Tuesday. I should go to the nearby branch at about 12 noon time with my passport, and see wether or not I could have my credit card back.

To cut a long story short - what ae the chances that I would actually get my card back? what do you guys thinnk I should do?

Thanx

Erap

Don't like adding to an already bad day for you but many credit card companies won't send new cards to Thailand by post or even courier because of fraud. I'm from UK and last time my cards were replaced the bank would only send them to a UK address then I had to have them DHL'd out to me.

[Lozza]

A UOB machine ate mine at the machine outside the branch about 4yrs ago, I got it back within 1hr.

Same here, last week the ATM at Kasikorn Bank Fortune Town swallowed my card I mistakingly put it a DEPOSIT only machine - not good. After a 30min telephone call to superiors I was told to return at 6pm that evening to collect it, it was there ready for me, surprise surprise!!!!!!!!! this being Thailand and all.