Question about my locked up ATM

[trying2learn]

Okay, so yesterday afternoon I pull into the drive-thru atm and after putting my pin number in, it spits it back at me and says I need to call customer service.

So I get home and call and they say that it was locked up due to, "odd" charges that they just wanted me to confirm I made. One was a $500 into a poker site (party bonus), and then there were a couple small charges at a resteraunt and gas station etc. These were ALL normal charges for me, even if I hadn't deposited into Party for a month (it's standard for me to deposit the max for the bonus for at least 5 months running now).

My question (sorry it took so long) is, was I wrong to be frustrated?!

I mean, part of me was glad that my bank was looking out for me, but at the same time...what a pain in the ass. And thank goodness I wasn't really in a pinch or something cause then it could have really sucked. I don't know...I was pretty bothered by it but then couldn't really figure out if I there was a better solution the bank could have made.

[[censored]]

I think you can both be frustrated at the moment but also recognize the bank was in the right.

[trying2learn]

Yeah that's the conclusion I came to. A friend told me that whenever he makes a large purchase he contacts the bank first. That's the first an idea like that occurred to me, but I suppose that's a good idea too.


I think I would hate to run a bank...it seems I'm constantly frustrated with them, and am probably not alone.

[Ulysses]

I'm never frustrated at stuff like this. It's because of this sort of stuff that your credit cards and bank accounts and stuff can be protected and you not held liable if someone gets into them.

[HopeydaFish]

Had they called and left messages at your home for you to call them back? Or was the message on the ATM the only indication that your account was locked? Also, was this an ATM card, or were you trying to get a cash advance from your credit card?

If it's your ATM card, you'd be on the hook for the $$$ if money was leaving your account through someone having gained access to your PIN number. In this case, you could argue that the bank is actually looking out for you.

However, if it's your credit card, you are not responsible for any transactions that you did not sign for (though sometimes there's a minimum amount that you're responsible for if you don't report the card stolen quickly enough). The bank is freezing the account because it's worried about being on the hook for any unauthorized transactions that occured on your card. In this case, the bank is just inconveniencing you for its own purposes, and you'd be right to be a little pissed off.

I had my credit card frozen on a Friday before a long weekend last year. I'd made a purchase at a store where some credit card numbers had ended up being copied. The bank cancelled everyone's cards who had shopped at that store that day. There had been no illegal transactions on my card. I ended up being without my credit card over the weekend, which was really inconvenient considering I was going out of town and needed it for my hotel, car rental, etc... I asked them to FedEx a new card to me because of the situation, but they refused to. Thankfully my girlfriend was able to use hers so the weekend wasn't ruined.