Dr Odiba Innocent Monday, is a medical doctor. Here he gives an account of his frustration with the use of ATM

What was your experience with the ATM machine?

 
I bank with First Bank. On a fateful day, I happened to use my First Bank ATM card in a Skye Bank machine located in Gwaripa about a week now. I did a transaction, infact I withdrew 20,000 naira but I found out that I was debited to the tune of 40,000 that is an excess of 20,000 naira, instead of the amount that I requested.

Were you sent a debit notice?

No, I just checked my balance and saw that I was said to have taken N40, 000, so the next day I went back to the First Bank branch in Wuse to report the issue. But to my surprise I got a lukewarm response. The lady at the customer care service behaved as though nothing had happened. I told her about my experience and that I had also seen the same thing happen to people who had lost their money through the ATM process. But she seemed so unconcerned about it and only gave me a piece of paper to fill in my complaint. When I expressed my fears to her, it was as if I was asking for too much. I was the one at the receiving end, I mean how could I be defrauded of 20,000 that I did not spend? This is painful.

Given this experience, what is now your perception of the ATM?

If we were not told in the first place that it was safe to use the ATM, we would not have been using it. I believed that the system worked that was why I used the machine, or else why would I throw away 20,000 naira for nothing? And I do not think that the cheque book costs that much. I withdrew from Skye Bank's ATM, that is a hundred naira extra for the N20, 000. if it was my cheque, I do not think that it would cost me up to N50 and these days, they even refuse to give you money across the counter if it is a little amount because of the ATM option.

Did you get back your money?

After that I called some help lines that were on the Skye Bank machine in Gwarimpa. They told me that as soon as First Bank gets to them, they would rectify it. Well, I have not called back again. They gave me until two weeks to do something about it and to me two weeks is a long time. I worked for my money and I do not have any other source of livelihood, I had expected prompt response but nothing has happened up till now. One of my colleagues, Dr Adeoye had the same experience. In her own case, she used Diamond Bank, I think she was banking with UBA. Eventually, she was debited to the tune of about N40,000. She said UBA claimed that Diamond Bank said that she was paid the money, that was how the money went with the wind.

What efforts did she make to retrieve her money?

She kept going to the banks until she got frustrated and stopped following up on it. The incident happened about two months ago, before mine. It is unfortunate that even customer service departments of banks have not been receptive to the plight of customers who use the ATM. When I lost my 20,000 to the ATM, I had to forcefully go upstairs to look for someone I could talk to after the callous treatment by the lady at the customer service. I wanted to talk to a senior officer. Fortunately, I saw one officer of the bank who calmed me down and said I should relax and that something would be done about it. Though the money has not been paid up till now, his own approach was consoling. So to me ATM looks more like a fraud. Most times when you go, the ATM machines can't print the tellers, only few of them can print those tellers.

How do you see the future of the ATM in Nigeria in terms of easing financial difficulties?

I think that it will get to a time when Nigerians would be scared of using it since it has not proved to be safe guarding our money. I for one will never use it again. I was out of cheques when I did the last transaction, so immediately after the incident, I placed an order for a cheque book and that is what I will be using henceforth.

What advice would you give the banking sector for a more viable ATM transaction?

They should reinstate the dwindling confidence of people. When the device came, the expectation of people was high, that now they can easily access their money and the delay in bank transactions would be reduced and so on. But now the reverse is the case. There is a growing fear for the use of ATM, people's money can not just be disappearing like that and their bankers can't help them. They should wake up to their responsibility and be more customer friendly. If not, I would be inclined to say that we are not yet ripe for the technology.