Caveat ATM
August 8, 2009
After the well-publicized story about a fake ATM in the Riviera in July … this week the Secret Service and Las Vegas Metropolitan Police Department said that they are investigating even more ATM machines in Las Vegas that are debiting people’s accounts yet are not dispensing cash.
Las Vegas Casino ATM
In particular, several people at the Rio Suites had their accounts debited anywhere from $200 to $1,000 from ATM’s in the casino, yet were given no cash.
After one of the customers complained to Rio staff, the casino quickly jumped into action to protect their valuable customers by doing …
Absolutely nothing.
When one of the swindled customers tried to protect other casino patrons by unplugging the machine, security threatened the patron with arrest for vandalism.
That’s what I love about casino security. They are always looking out for us … the valued customer.
The “malfunctioning” machines in the Rio are managed by a company called “Global Cash Access”, and if you have been to Vegas recently, you have no doubt seen at least a dozen of these machines.
On its surface, the moral of this story would seem to be “Don’t use non-bank ATM’s … they are risky”.
Unfortunately, it’s not that simple.
Las Vegas ATM’s in general appear to have become incredibly high-risk propositions.
Case in point …
Not once, but twice last year I used my debit card at local Wells Fargo branches here in Las Vegas, and twice I did not receive my cash.
These were not dicey, generic, off-brand machines either. Both times, the ATM’s were affixed to the bank building itself, with the words “Wells Fargo” emblazoned both on the kiosk and on the screen.
Both times, the machines made some sounds, and gave me nothing. Both times, they took the money out of my account. Both times the bank gave me the exact same answer:
“Federal Banking Law gives us 10 days to return your money.”
Both times they took over a week to return it.
Were these honest mistakes?
Probably, but I don’t want to be too naïve.
As companies like PayPal have begun floating themselves sixty day 10% balance loans, I think actual banks might be getting in on the action. If they can “not dispense” a small percentage of transactions each month on a rolling basis, this can make cash reserves look slightly better. I’m sure a percentage even forget to dispute it … especially if their non-transactions happen drunkenly on vacation after bank hours … which is more likely to happen in Vegas than anyplace else in the country.
The other reason that I have doubts is because it’s not just Vegas ATM’s.
About a year and a half ago, I went to a Wells Fargo branch and stood in line for a teller. I deposited cash, got a receipt, and when I logged into the account at home, I saw that the cash deposit had not been credited to the account.
I immediately went back to the bank, handed them the transaction receipt, and got the exact same answer:
“Federal Banking Law gives us 10 days to return your money.”
Even though I had handed the cash money to a human teller, under a security camera, and had gotten a receipt with a transaction number and an amount … they took the cash and did not credit my account for days. It was unfathomable.
I came to the conclusion in recent years that while ATM’s are especially suspect, the entire U.S. Banking system is pretty risky.
“Federal Banking Law” allows banks to steal your money for rolling ten day periods, with no limit on how many times this can be done, and there is not a single thing you can do about it other than to whine or change banks. I did both.
Throw “off-brand” ATM’s into the mix of this already lax and customer-unfriendly system, and it does not surprise me one bit that these things are happening.
Perhaps it has always been problematic, but we are just now hearing about it. My personal ATM woes were not printed anywhere in the news, and this is probably true for almost everyone else with issues as well.
In any event, I have said it before and I will say it again, I think the casinos are being penny-wise and pound-retarded by erecting these fee-laden barriers between customers and their cash during times of impulse withdrawals.
Las Vegas Casino ATM
If I owned a casino, I would make all ATM’s free to the user, and I would pick up whatever exchange fees the bank charged. Would people take cash from my casino and go elsewhere?
Sure. Some would.
But they do that already with free play and comps. I know many people that will take a comped room and play in another casino, or walk a free beer (or even casino credit) next door. Absorbing a $2 exchange fee in order to give a customer a couple of hundred dollars to blow in my casino seems to be a no-brainer. It’s incredibly low-risk with an exponential reward potential.
I would abolish the sketchy “ATMs R US”, allow the patron to go directly to the casino cage, swipe their card, enter their PIN, and get cash from a human without any additional charge. It just seems like the right and intelligent thing to do.
Then again, no intelligent casino owner would possibly allow timeshare fleas to pester their customers every time they enter, so I don’t think I am speaking to a receptive audience with my suggestions.
I don’t want to conclude this article by stating the obvious, but given the problems with machines that are cropping up lately, perhaps it does bear repeating.
Avoid Las Vegas ATM’s if at all possible. Be they off-brand or at the bank. Unless you can stand to go without your cash for ten days on vacation (as expressly permitted by U.S. Federal Law), get your cash together at home, and carry it in something safe or convert them to travelers checks. Utilize the in-room safes or a casino holding box for currency. Even if your ATM transaction is successful here, you will pay a hefty amount in fees for the privilege of handing it over to the house.
Obtaining cash once you arrive here incurs additional risk, and while most people don’t have problems, crap does happen. Three times for me within a twelve month period.
I don’t really see any optimism on the horizon either.
Now that the Feds, Rio Security, and the Las Vegas Metropolitan Police Department are on the case, you can rest assured that the problem will only get worse.
Leaving the debit card at home may be the best bet you make on your next Vegas trip.
Good god, that last sentence sounded like a cliché-laden mainstream news excerpt.
Just beware of the frigging casino ATM’s.
Las Vegas Casino ATM
Written by tully on August 8, 2009 at 4:08 pm
Interesting that an old school method of traveling with money—travelers’ checks–may be the safest, best option again. I’m probably not the only person who no longer carries a check book—just a blank check in my wallet for the rare instance when I might need it. Would seem odd to have paper travelers’ checks, but I like knowing I can get my money.
As far as banks go, I love my credit union. I’m sure they vary in terms of the quality and scope of services offered, but I have never had (knock wood) even the slightest problem with mine. Been with them more than seven years.
Written by Phouchg on August 8, 2009 at 4:49 pm
You may remember back in September 2008, “Global Cash Access” ATMs failed all over Las Vegas (and the country for that matter) with some people (myself included) having money debited from our account and not getting the cash for it. Fortunately my awesome credit union credited the money back within 48 hours. Now I just cash a check at the cage of wherever I am staying – or I use an ATM at a credit union around town (the CO-OP network provides free ATMs nationwide for credit union members).
The only time I ever had problems with any bank was with (of course) B of A, where it took me 6 weeks to get back the $500 I allegedly withdrew from an ATM in Anaheim, when I was living in Palm Springs and hadn’t been to Anaheim in months.
here is the only record I could find about the ATM story from last September:
http://feathernews.blogspot.com/2008/09/tribe-in-news-casino-check-cashing-foul.html
Written by cindy on August 9, 2009 at 7:47 pm
I’ve never used atms in vegas, I use cash and ccs.