In the World of ATMs, All Is Not What It Seems

Technologically, I’m far behind.

Even the physical workings of the radio are beyond me. The day I got my first computer at The Times on Jan. 25, 1983, it was, I suppose, a turning point in my life. But even now, 15 years later, I am quick to become frustrated with every little glitch that arises.

I empathize with people who are impatient with electronic machines. So, when Jacy Crawford of Hancock Park faxed me that he had failed to get $40 from an ATM at a 7-Eleven store, even though the $40, and the $1 fee, had been deducted from his credit card account, I was disposed to believe him.

I believed him even more when, driving to the store at 6077 3rd St., I was told, first by a clerk and then by the manager, that over a two-month period, about 500 customers attempting to use the store’s ATM hadn’t gotten their money.

My, my!, I thought.

When the manager, Sabby Singh, asked, “May I offer you a cup of coffee?” I told him I would be more impressed if he would do his customers the favor of warning them not to use the store ATM.

But it turned out my first impressions were wrong, and Crawford later confirmed that he had been mistaken about the $41 charge to his card. The manager and his clerk were similarly confused.

As it turns out, these ATMs keep very intricate records. Because they do, I was able to find out exactly what happened in this case, and it became evident that Crawford was only inconvenienced and not out any money. Nor were the hundreds of other customers mentioned by the manager.

In fact, according to the Southland Corp., operator of 7-Eleven stores, and EDS, the owner of the ATM in question, only 14 of 17,000 customers of this ATM between Jan. 1 and April 10 of this year, actually lost money--even temporarily.

In 11 of those 14 cases, reimbursement was initiated, based on electronic signals of something amiss, even before the customers complained.

This doesn’t mean that the ATM dispensed money to all the other 16,986 customers. In fact, in about 10% of the transactions--about 1,700 times--no money was paid out. So Singh and his clerk actually underestimated the number of non-performances when they used the number 500.

But except in the 14 cases, the failure to dispense wasn’t accompanied by a deduction from the customer’s credit card or bank account. Like Crawford, those customers were inconvenienced but not shorted.

According to Southland Senior Vice President Dale Dentliner, speaking from Dallas, there are several reasons an ATM may not produce money, mostly due to customer errors.

“Sometimes, you input your security code wrong,” he explained. “Or you don’t have enough money in your account, or you’ve selected a transaction that your bank does not allow you to perform.

“Sometimes, though, there are system problems in getting an authorization to dispense the money,” he said.

Southland Corp. and EDS, which operates 13,000 ATMs across the country, went into Crawford’s and other cases exhaustively and then shared in detail what they found.

Ken Capps of EDS told me later, “It definitely cost us more than $41 to find out what occurred.”

But whatever it cost, it probably was worth it to 7-Eleven stores and EDS in terms of defending their reputations.

Southland’s 7-Elevens seem not to have done quite so well when Crawford first called in. He says a customer representative identifying herself as “Bambi” suggested that he write the president of the company about his problems.

Southland spokeswoman Pat Pape said the company has no employee named Bambi among hundreds of customer service reps, and anyway, no one in such circumstances is supposed to suggest writing the company president.

Although in his fax to me Crawford mentioned only that his attempted transaction took place during “an hour lunch break,” on Good Friday, EDS was able to establish that it took place at precisely 12:08. (It was the only $41 transaction during the noon hour).

What happened, according to EDS and Southland officials, was that Crawford’s request for money was routed through the Plus network and Visa card to his bank, Cross Country, of Wilmington, Del.

“The bank said, ‘Yes, give him the money,’ ” recounted Dentliner. “But it only had so much time to do so, and it did not respond in enough time. So Visa denied that transaction and sent a denial code to the ATM.

“No money was dispensed. But his bank had said yes, give him the money, and they ‘memo-posted’ the $41 to his credit card. It’s like a hold on the account, but no money is taken out, pending a demand from EDS. That demand never came.”

Demands generally are made within a day or two, Dentliner said. If they aren’t, there is no deduction and the hold is lifted.

Crawford had called his bank at the outset, and interpreted its reply to be that the money had been deducted. But Dentliner suggested that he call and check that again.

So Crawford called Cross Country Bank last week, and was told that, while no demand had been made, the bank kept the hold on for nine days (which struck him as too long).

Although he never got through to any high official at Cross Country, I was luckier. When I asked for a press spokesman, the chairman of the bank, Rocco Abessinio, answered.

“We do whatever the industry does,” Abessinio declared. “Typically, the industry holds it in these circumstances for that period of time.”

So these are the facts. It may be an object lesson that ATMs are more meticulous than we think. But maybe bank holds remain too long.

Reich can be contacted with your accounts of true consumer adventure at (213) 237-7060, or by e-mail at ken.reich@latimes.com