I bought groceries at Robinson on Friday. Their ATM card reader did not work on either of the two registers they tried to use. I saw on both machines it did not go through so I paid in cash and have the receipt to prove it. Today I noticed the exact amount of purchase missing from my bank account. Has anyone had similar experiences? Where to start, at Robinson or my bank?
Dave, I would suggest Robinson's because the bank's position will probably be that if you put your PIN in, then you own the purchase. I think Robinson's (once showed they double dipped) will offer you a credit for the amount. If not.... steal something, the guards are useless lol.
US banks works a bit different. They always side with the customer and will remove any disputed purchases from an account, usually no questions asked. (I could be wrong in assuming that the bank in question is a US bank though.) My advice would be go to Robinsons first. Take the receipt showing you paid cash and a copy of your online bank record showing you were charged on your card for the exact same purchase. If they refuse to give you a refund or mention any of this nonsense about "credit" tell them you will dispute the charge with your bank and get your money back. If they don't give you a cash refund then go dispute the charge with your bank. Of course if you are alright with the "credit" then you could take that. (I wouldn't be just if for nothing more than to be a pain in the @ss to them).
Dear Show Pony: I sure hope you get this resolved in a short and easy order. Please let us know how this gets fixed. V/R, nwlivewire
Go to the robinsons office Dave and give them sh*t,this happens so often and it makes me wonder how many notice it.as mentioned give them hell until resolved as I'm sure they ain't going to tell you you've been over charged!
The fault is with Robinson's. The bank's job is to protect you from being wrongly charged. As Dustin mentioned, U.S. banks tilt heavily in favor of the customer. This is especially the case with credit cards. I would start with Robinson's and then go to the bank. You could probably reverse the charge AND get a refund if you wanted. This is the risk that the merchant takes for dealing with plastic (probably saves money even accounting for chargebacks.) I don't know about Robinson's but if small merchants get a lot of chargebacks due to shady dealings or incompetence, then they can get their merchant account yanked.
Well I did go to Robinson. Their customer service desk was pretty helpful. They photocopied my bank statement and receipt. The supervisor said it should be resolved in 24 hours (or so) and the money will be back in my account. They couldn't really explain how this happened. The just said it was a terminal error. I'll accept it as an error. I asked them if this has ever happened before and they admitted "yes it happens but not very often", I believe there is some truth there. Thinking back all the ATM screen displayed was "ERROR" and I would have to guess that the link dropped before receiving the transaction code from the bank. Without a transaction code the cashier can't "pay the till" so I handed over my cash. It never would have been caught but when I went to an ATM today my balance was of a couple thousand pesos. Absolutely no idea how many times this has happened before. What I have learned here is to keep my receipt and keep an eye on my bank balance when there is a failed transaction. thanks all for the suggestions.
