You might give your debit card to friends and relatives to withdraw cash. This can be very dangerous and more so after a recent ruling by a Bengaluru consumer court, saying ATM card is non-transferable and no one else can use it other than the account holder. Giving your ATM to any one is a violation.
In this blog, we will discuss a real-life incident of a lady from Bengaluru who learnt a lesson the hard way and lost Rs 25,000. On November 2013, a Bengaluru resident named Vandana had given her debit card and PIN to her husband to withdraw Rs 25,000 as she was on maternity leave. Her husband Rajesh Kumar went to the local SBI ATM and swiped the card. He just received a slip saying Rs 25,000 has been debited from the account, but cash was not dispensed.
Rajesh immediately contacted the SBI customer care and was told that there was an ATM glitch and the amount would be refunded within 24 hours. As the amount was not refunded even after waiting for 24 hours, the couple visited the bank personally to file a formal complaint. But, the bank closed the complaint saying that the transaction was accurate and the customer had got the money.
After a long struggle the couple managed to get the CCTV footage that showed Rajesh using the machine, but no cash being dispensed. Using the CCTV footage they lodged a complaint with the bank, but the investigation committee gave a judgment saying the cardholder was not seen in the footage.
Vandana had even submitted a cash verification report of the ATM for the day, which showed excess cash of Rs 25,000 in the machine. The SBI counsel countered the report saying there was no excess cash.
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Before moving the consumer court, the couple filed a complaint with the banking ombudsman, but the complaint was closed saying that Vandana has shared her PIN which is not meant to be shared.
The case was not resolved even after three-and-a-half years. Vandana said that the money should be refunded as the loss was due to an ATM glitch. The bank argued that sharing ATM PIN with others is a violation and issued a document saying that the ATM transaction was successful and technically correct.
In the final verdict given on May 29th, 2018, the court argued that Vandana should not have given her ATM PIN to her husband and asked him to withdraw cash. Instead, she should have given him a self-cheque for Rs 25,000 or an authorization letter, allowing him to withdraw that amount. Now the case has been dismissed.
After reading this blog you better develop the habit of not sharing your ATM PIN with anyone even with close relatives or friends.
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