Think twice, the next time you give your ATM card to a close relative/friend for withdrawing money from an ATM as this could prove costly.
The same has happened with a Bangalore woman on maternity leave, who on November 14, 2013, gave her debit card with PIN to her husband, to withdraw Rs. 25,000 from a local SBI ATM. When her husband went to the ATM and swiped the card, the machine delivered a slip showing the money was debited, but the amount was not released.
Her husband then called the SBI call centre, which informed him that it was an ATM fault and the money would be reverted to the account within 24 hours. But the money was not received. Thereafter, her husband approached the bank’s helicopter Division branch at HAL with a formal complaint, to which the SBI stated that the transaction was correct and the customer got the money.
The couple then obtained the CCTV footage that showed the woman’s husband using the machine, but no cash is dispensed. On the basis of the CCTV footage, they further lodged a complaint with the bank, following which an investigation committee ruled that the cardholder is not seen in the footage.
As a last resort, the woman approached the Bangalore IVth Additional District Consumer Disputes Redressal Forum on October 21st, 2014, alleging that SBI had failed to refund the Rs. 25,000 that she has lost in the ATM transaction. The woman claimed that she had just given birth and could not move out of the home, hence has to ask her husband to draw the money on her behalf.
As per the banking rules, the ATM card is non-transferrable, and no other person apart from the account holder should use it.
In the court, SBI stood its ground, citing the rule that sharing ATM PIN with someone else was a violation and that as per the log record the stated ATM transaction was successful and technically correct.
The court verdict came on May 29th, 2018, in which the court dismissing the case stated that the woman should have given a self-cheque or an authorization letter to her husband for withdrawal of Rs. 25,000, instead of sharing the PIN and making him withdraw the money.
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