That time I forgot to take my money from the ATM...

Hey guys!

Long time, no see. (Is there a blog post that I don't start without saying that?)

So, I wanted to write a post about what happens when you get distracted while you're in the midst of withdrawing money from the ATM machine and for some reason you walk away without collecting your money!!

I remember feeling quite distressed about it and I couldn't find too many articles about it, especially when using an ATM from a bank you don't bank with when I was googling so I wanted to tell you guys my experience and comfort anyone who may be in the same position that I was in.




Backstory
At the time, I was mainly banking with Commonwealth Bank (ew, I know). I wanted to get some cash out but the dedicated CBA machine had frozen so it was out of order. There was a Westpac one right next to it so I used that one instead (if you're with a Big Four bank you can generally use any other Big Four one fee free )

Anywho, my friend who was with me was talking to me at the same time and I somehow got distracted and forgot all about my $20 and walked off., walked off straight to the Hungry Jacks counter, opened my wallet and realized I had no cash! Awkward! At the time, I was a little paranoid about using EFTPOS, so I left the counter and went back to the ATM and made sure to collect the cash this time around.

My secret weakness (less the pickles). Hungry Jacks please sponsor me!

What I did
Me and my friend couldn't recall if there was or wasn't anyone behind me at the ATM, so maybe there was a chance that the ATM sucked the money back up (I had heard of before but have never witnessed.) So after a few minutes of frantic googling, I finally found the CBA Customer Service (13 22 21) number. While I was on hold, I got to "enjoy" my Super Stunner Meal which potentially cost me $25.95.

Anyway, I got through to a random representative. It sounded like he was based in Australia, so that was a plus. I explained my situation to him and he seemed to understand like it was a common thing that happened? He asked me my Name, which ATM the withdrawal happened (I was quite general with the answer: Westpac ATM at Local Shopping Centre Food Court even though there are multiple food courts at this shopping centre), the amount ($20), when did it occur (I had to guess it was around 15 minutes ago) and my Card Number and Expiry (5555.. just kidding, so yes, if you're out in public, you might want to consider where you make the call, it was super busy that night at the food court, so I doubt anyone was scribbling down my card deets. I can't remember what he said after that but I don't think it was very comforting because I was still kicking myself later on and accepted that the money was gone.

One Month Later
To my surprise, when I logged into Netbank some time later, I was greeted with a $20 deposit. It took me a a second to put two-and-two together, but yep, it was the same $20 I thought I had lost. It took exactly 1 month for the money to returned to my account.

Now, I'm not sure whether or not I had to call CBA or if the money was going to be returned to my account regardless. But yes, that's my little story for you.  If you're reading this, I hope the money will rock up into your account next month too!

PSA: It's a good idea to review your bank transactions fairly often if you don't do so already!!

Thanks for reading!