ATM Machine cautionary tale

[Divers82]

On the 2nd night of my October 28 cruise on the Pearl, the ATM machine was not working properly. It deducted $1100 from my bank account, but did not dispense any cash. It displayed a generic error message.
 

The casino staff originally told me the money was automatically be returned, as they could see in their system that it was not dispensed. A couple of days later, I could see the charges went from pending to processed on my account. I went back and spoke to the Casino supervisor who provided me with a printout from the ATM showing that my withdrawal should have been reversed. She indicated the issue was likely related to the satellite connection used for the ATM machine. Numerous other people had the same problem. I heard at least 4 other people complain to the cage about the ATM not dispensing cash and their account being charged. For multiple days the machine was left in this state. Finally on one of the last days of the cruise, they put an out of order sign on it. I can only imagine how many other people had the same problem, some possibly not even realizing their balance was affected.
 

Fast forward almost 2 months later, and I am just now finally successfully completing the dispute through my bank. 
 

I won’t be relying on ATM machines on board, anymore!
 

 

[Divers82]

I did find another cruise critic member had a similar issue back in 2013:

 

[phillygwm]

2 hours ago, Divers82 said:

I won’t be relying on ATM machines on board, anymore!

Sorry to hear of your difficulties.  A friend just had a similar issue with a supermarket ATM.  It's a rare occurrence but it happens and it's a pain to deal with.  I don't think it's an issue that is any more likely to occur on cruise ships than elsewhere.

[ontheweb]

1 hour ago, phillygwm said:

Sorry to hear of your difficulties.  A friend just had a similar issue with a supermarket ATM.  It's a rare occurrence but it happens and it's a pain to deal with.  I don't think it's an issue that is any more likely to occur on cruise ships than elsewhere.

I don't know about that, if it really does rely on a satellite connection as mentioned in the OP's post, I would think it would be much more likely to happen on a cruise ship than any land based ATM.

[Divers82]

1 hour ago, phillygwm said:

Sorry to hear of your difficulties.  A friend just had a similar issue with a supermarket ATM.  It's a rare occurrence but it happens and it's a pain to deal with.  I don't think it's an issue that is any more likely to occur on cruise ships than elsewhere.

At least at a grocery store, I can walk to the bank next door and get cash. On a cruise ship, I’ve got no other options, and was planning to spend some of my vacation time/sea days enjoying myself in the casino. 

[PTC DAWG]

7 minutes ago, Divers82 said:

At least at a grocery store, I can walk to the bank next door and get cash. On a cruise ship, I’ve got no other options, and was planning to spend some of my vacation time/sea days enjoying myself in the casino. 

I bring all the CASH I need with me..

[debenson0723]

Sorry this happened to you.  A word of caution...if the ATM you are using is not physically connected to a bank branch (not a drive thru or free standing machine) there is typically no one to service that machine if there are problems (cash not dispensing, card not returned, etc.). They are maintained by an independent company, normally Brinks, Loomis or another armored company. It is very possible that a ship has someone on board to minimally service the machine but it wouldn't be in relation to transactions. 

[Divers82]

26 minutes ago, PTC DAWG said:

I bring all the CASH I need with me..

That will certainly be how I handle my next cruise. The entire point of this “cautionary tale” is to let other people learn from my mistake.

[Divers82]

25 minutes ago, debenson0723 said:

Sorry this happened to you.  A word of caution...if the ATM you are using is not physically connected to a bank branch (not a drive thru or free standing machine) there is typically no one to service that machine if there are problems (cash not dispensing, card not returned, etc.). They are maintained by an independent company, normally Brinks, Loomis or another armored company. It is very possible that a ship has someone on board to minimally service the machine but it wouldn't be in relation to transactions. 

The casino supervisor did at least have access to a computer system that showed that no cash was dispensed, and that it should have been returned. They did provide me with a business card for the company (EVERI, Las Vegas, NV) that manages the ATM. 

[Turtles06]

1 hour ago, debenson0723 said:

Sorry this happened to you.  A word of caution...if the ATM you are using is not physically connected to a bank branch (not a drive thru or free standing machine) there is typically no one to service that machine if there are problems (cash not dispensing, card not returned, etc.). They are maintained by an independent company, normally Brinks, Loomis or another armored company. It is very possible that a ship has someone on board to minimally service the machine but it wouldn't be in relation to transactions. 

 

All good advice above.  In addition, ATMs not physically connected to a bank branch are also more likely to be compromised by skimmers.  

[phillygwm]

2 hours ago, Divers82 said:

At least at a grocery store, I can walk to the bank next door and get cash. On a cruise ship, I’ve got no other options, and was planning to spend some of my vacation time/sea days enjoying myself in the casino. 

That's why I have a line of credit open, so I can advance at the table.  Or you could charge to your room, That comes with a 3% surcharge but, depending on the card you're using, you may be getting 3% back to make it a wash.

[J0Y0US]

6 hours ago, Divers82 said:

Fast forward almost 2 months later, and I am just now finally successfully completing the dispute through my bank. 

 

This sounds like a NCL issue.

 

I am not sure why anyone would point you to the bank to dispute this when NCL should be stepping up to resolve the issue. As you said they even had a record of you not getting them money.

 

This is like going to walmart, it double charges you, and them telling you to go to your bank instead of them dealing with their faulty equipment.

[ontheweb]

3 hours ago, debenson0723 said:

Sorry this happened to you.  A word of caution...if the ATM you are using is not physically connected to a bank branch (not a drive thru or free standing machine) there is typically no one to service that machine if there are problems (cash not dispensing, card not returned, etc.). They are maintained by an independent company, normally Brinks, Loomis or another armored company. It is very possible that a ship has someone on board to minimally service the machine but it wouldn't be in relation to transactions. 

It is also possible that an ATM connected to a bank is not serviced by them. That is unfortunately the case of the local branch of the bank I use at home. It is serviced by someone else. And for some reason is always down on Mondays and often on Tuesdays.