ATM working, probably but you never know.

[Khun Paul]

Salutory Warning, yesterday Thursday 2/9/10 at about 1115 am I had to go to an ATM to withdraw some money ( what else do you do there ) , following all the proceedures, and paying the fee of Thb 150, I waited for the machine to do the necessary. Well it didn't.

However, as with all electronic banking it had in fact debited my account, or should I say informed my bank I had had the money. This then led to two actions, one my card had reached its daily limit, and two the bank following the second attempt immediately froze the card.

Upon rnging the bank in the UK, the internet arm of HSBC First Direct, I was told to pop into the branch where the ATM was located SCB in Central and tell them what had happened.

Well this is where the fiasco starts, after attempting with wife to get anyone with a small degree of intelligence to understand what had happened which i can tell you was quite difficult, a man dressed in a suit who had been helping customers in the queue, came over and was immediately informed by another member of staff what happened. All he mumbled was speak to Bangkok, at no time did he even sympathise and act, and after a few words and with me getting angrier, he shooed me and the wife out of the bank. ( If he was the manager god help SCB.)

So with the bit between the teeth, I drove immediately to SCB on Phrosi Road the big one, the head SCB bank in Udon, where upon on telling my story, immediately a lady was allocated to the job of speaking to Bangkok for me, I then spoke to a very helpful person and was told that eventually today it would be resolved. So SCB at Phrosi Rd, understood the situation and acted unlike the rude ignorant man at the Central branch.

Following that conversation with SCB in Bangkok, I immediately rang my bank in Englsn and the informed me that as I had disputed the amount, it would be held pending a settlement by SCB, but that it was still an outstanding authorised amount , but flagged as being in dispute.

At 0500 today Friday 3/9/10, having accessed my account, I noticed that eventually it has been re-crediterd to my account and all is well.

HOWEVER IT CAME TO LIGHT FOLLOWING THIS, THAT IN FACT THE ATM USED WOULD ONLY GIVE PUT 10000, NOT THE CUSTOMARY 20000 AND THEN IN 500 NOTES.
often I have found the ATM's do not always give pout the right amount ie: not the 20000 but maybe from 2-5000. There is no warning and in fact the ATM which caused the problem had probably either run out of money or had a fault. Unfortunately branch staff often feel incapable of understanding and refer you to the Callcenter in Bangkok to resolve the situation doing nothing themselves to assist you.

The moral of the story.
1 Make sure your bank in your home country is as helpful as mine in assisting you.As their calm in dealing with this and guarantee that while under dispute SCB in Thailand would never get the money until it was resolved even though it would show as a debit, they would not get it, was I must say quietly reassuring .
2 Always use an ATM at a branch never on the street, as then no-one else can verify your story and it will take longer. Using ATM at SCB central would never be a good idea as the manage is most definitely anti-farang.

But using 21st Century machines in a country which still has 3rd World banking ideas is fraught at the best of times.

[nkstan]

Thanks for the info,glad it worked out for you!The attitude of some Thai people in service industry jobs,is one of the hardest things for me to deal with and practice the acceptance that this is Thailand!

I try to always use an ATM in front of a bank,although I sometimes use one at Tesco-Lotus that isn't.Maybe I should investigate what the procedure for recovery is if there is a problem there!
Thanks again for the ''heads up''!

[Brian Davis]

I'm aware of a couple of occasions when money has been taken from an account, but the ATM never issued the cash. Quite a hassle to resolve, you can imagine.
Accepting that communication, for me at least, is always going to be difficult, I do get frustrated when I'm apparently viewed as a 'problem' by some Thai simply because I'm asking, politely, for a clear explanation! It's almost like 'why' or 'How?' isn't in their vocabulary?

[arjay]

Sometimes the ATM will have a problem or a note jam and fails to dish out the cash, although the main computer system thinks it has done. From my previous experience in a past life, the ATM itself, also records what has taken place on a "journal roll" and an internal separate logging computer system - "Incident Log" and the bank should be able to check your story by reference to either of those, and/or when they next balance/reconcile the ATM cash holding. It shouldn't therefore be difficult for them to resolve the situation (once they understand what you are telling them!!), though may involve a delay.

[UdonExpat]

I had a similar experience a few years back. Most ATMs are managed and maintained by a centralized team of workers and the workers at a branch have no access or control over the ATMs, although they should be able to tell you the contact, which will probably be in Bangkok.

In my instance the local main office told me to wait 24 hours before doing anything. There is a daily audit of all transactions and the machines know if there has been an error. My US bank account was debited at the time of the error and during the night it was credited when the error was detected. Luckily, I had not reached my max for the day so was able to get some money from another machine.

More than once I have simply cancelled a transaction because I didn't want to get a bunch of 500 baht notes or take a lower total amount of money for the fee. There are plenty of ATMs around town.

[hangsaboot]

i only use ATM , at the banks , when the bank is open ,
obvious reason ,, any problems , can get help { hopefully ]

i try to wait for somebody
to withdraw at the ATM , if all ok ,
i use it .

[Texpat]

The moral of the story.
1 Make sure your bank in your home country is as helpful as mine in assisting you.

I will never understand why people who have lived here for many years don't get an account in a Thai bank and use it for routine purchases and cash withdrawals.

[firsttimebangkok]

I only use ATM's that DON'T charge me the 150 Baht, for withdrawing from my overseas account

[Texpat]

If you had a Thai account, you would never be charged 150 baht -- on any ATM.
It's either free (at branch ATMs within the province) or twenty baht at all other ATMs throughout the country.
And if there's a problem, you don't have to start making international phone calls in the middle of the night to banks halfway around the world. Most everybody needs a Thai account for visa extensions anyway, why not get an ATM card from the same bank? Dump your living expenses money in there every month or quarter and Bob's your uncle. Lower fees, no hassles, the bank is at your fingertips if there's a problem. If you're talking about less than 100K over a period of a month, there is little interest dividend to speak of in any bank.

I really don't geddit. Maybe Thai banks aren't proper enough.

[firsttimebangkok]

Some people pay a bank fee....to have that monthly living expense dumped into a Thai bank.

[Jello]

Thanks for the heads-up Khun Paul. Good advice on using a ATM at a branch, something I've never thought of.

I've talked to the guy you spoke of at SCB and he is indeed an ASS. When I moved here I tried to open a account at that branch and after a lot of run-around and waiting he told me I can't have a account in Thailand without having a house-book. I walked next door to Kasikorn and had no problem opening an account and have had great service with them ever since. I once screwed-up a wire transfer by writing the wrong account number on it. Kasikorn staff was very helpful and understanding. They fix the problem right away.

[eidsonpd]

I only use ATM's that DON'T charge me the 150 Baht, for withdrawing from my overseas account

Where do you find one of these ATM's that don't charge the 150 Baht for withdrawals on overseas banks? Are you simply referring to withdrawing from a local Thai account whereby there would be no fee?

[malc123]

think it is the Avon? in the old tesco and the new Tesco in UD

malc123

[papaguido]

Where do you find one of these ATM's that don't charge the 150 Baht for withdrawals on overseas banks? Are you simply referring to withdrawing from a local Thai account whereby there would be no fee?

AEON...it's not a bank, it's a financial credit service.

1. Big C: top of escalator heading to the food court.
2. Tesco (near Nong Khai rd.)
3. Carrefore
4. Main Branch, new Tesco in UD plaza

http://www.aeonthailand.com/lang/en/menu/AEON_Info

[Khun Paul]

I really don't geddit. Maybe Thai banks aren't proper enough.

Well Texpat, you don't get it, I understand the point of your comment, however as Thai banks do not give interest rates for deposits by foreigners, I'd rather have the minimal expense for withdrawing money and get an far superior interest rate in the UK, which is considerably more than the cost of withdrawing money.
That's why, I have 4 Thai bank accounts and use them all but never keep to much in any of them.

[old-timer]

OT uses ATM's that have one one of those heavy trash bins beside it. If the machine gobbles my card or doesn't spew out the money I wanted I launch the trash bin into the ATM screen. This way there is no dispute when I go into the bank and tell them that the machine is broken.

OT......

[Fahlep Yai]

I really don't geddit. Maybe Thai banks aren't proper enough.

Well Texpat, you don't get it, I understand the point of your comment, however as Thai banks do not give interest rates for deposits by foreigners, I'd rather have the minimal expense for withdrawing money and get an far superior interest rate in the UK, which is considerably more than the cost of withdrawing money.
That's why, I have 4 Thai bank accounts and use them all but never keep to much in any of them.

all three of my accounts at separate thai banks (kassikorn, scb and bangkok bank) earn interest. my banking relationship with scb appears to be the best and most dependable.

those interested in depositing money here might want to inquire at each bank.

[Texpat]

Mine too.

[thrilled]

I use kasikorn bank.And I have an account there also.Never A problem

[old-timer]

I use kasikorn bank.And I have an account there also.Never A problem

thanks for that very useful information.

OT.........