Customers who visited the ATM in Singanallur were in for a shock when the machines closed the shutter even before the customer could withdraw the entire cash from it. The cash pulled back by the ATM was debited from the customer’s account immediatelyou however was credited much later, as was the case of P. Kanagaraju of M.K. Palayam in Coimbatore.

Kanagaraju attempted to withdraw Rs. 20,000 from an ATM branch belonging to the Indian Overseas Bank near Singanallur on December 2, 2015. However, the machine pulled back Rs. 2,000. Kanagaraju could get only get Rs. 18,000.

Kanagaraju lodged a formal complaint with the bank. “The first online complaint was not accepted and hence I had to file another complaint,” said Kanagaraju, who had to wait for almost 75 days for the amount to be credited back into his account.

Disappointed with the bank Kanagaraju filed an RTI petition questioning the delay.

In his petition filed on April 20, 2016, Kanagaraju queried if the customers would be provided compensation for delay in reimbursing the debited cash. However, his petition was sent back as it was in Tamil. “I filed the petition again in English and I continue to wait for a reply,” he told the Covai Post.

Coimbatore-based activist A. Manoj said that ATMs also posed other problems including debiting cash from the account even as the transactions stood canceled. “Some ATMs debit cash from our account even as the transactions stand cancelled.  The ATMs don’t dispense money but the amount gets debited from the account,” he said and added that the amount was credited only after couple of days.

He further added that this has been a perennial issue and the banks dont provide compensations as the maintenance of these teller machines are outsourced.

Reacting to the complaints, an official from the Indian Overseas Bank claimed that if the ATM pulls back the money, it would be credited within 24 hours. “However, in some cases, it could be delayed upto three months,” he said.

“There is question of compensation only if the fault lies with the bank. The customer should immediately file a formal complaint with the respective bank branch,” he told the Covai Post.