The gluttonous machine at LIC Colony has gobbled up three cards per day since March 14
MUMBAI: Watch out! This automated teller machine (ATM) doesn’t only spit out money. It gobbles up cards occasionally.
The HDFC Bank ATM at LIC Colony in Borivili has been sucking in three ATM cards a day on an average for the past eight days. After accepting a customer’s request for a monetary transaction and releasing the amount, the machine, for some strange reason, has been occasionally retaining the card, forcing the customer to block it and apply for a new one.
Even as Dheeraj Basra, the security guard manning the centre, admitted that the problem had persisted since March 14 and that several complaints had been made to the bank officials regarding the problem. The bank was yet to address the problem. In fact, it had allowed the card-eating machine to function, choosing not to inform the customers of the malfunction.
The complaint book at the ATM centre reveals that at least three cards were being retained by the machine daily since March 14. The number could be more, as some of those affected may not have inked their complaints in the book.
Kusum Bane (name changed), whose card got retained on Saturday, said, “The least the bank could have done is put up an ‘Out of Service’ sign before I entered the ATM, and not after my card was gone.” She added, “Through no fault of my own, I will now have to visit the bank and apply for another card which will reach me only after a week. This means that I can’t withdraw cash in case of an emergency till a new card is issued.”
Neeraj Jha, in-charge of corporate communications, HDFC, said that he was unaware of the problem of the machine concerned. “It was not normal for an ATM to experience such problems. We will look into the complaint,” he said.
