Viren Kumar
Aug 14, 2008
Wendy Knight, Ombudsman
RBC Office of the Ombudsman
PO Box 1 , Royal Bank Plaza
Toronto , Ontario M5J 2J5
Dear Ms. Knight,
I wish to inform you of a matter that I hope to speedily resolve, with your help. On the night of June 26, 2008, I deposited two envelopes meant for my VISA account, into an ATM at the North Road and Lougheed branch, transit number 1200. One envelope had a cheque for $100 in it and the other had $400 in cash. I created one transaction, but had the two items in separate envelopes. After depositing the cheque first, I inserted the envelope containing the cash into the slot, since the green light was still on. The machine swallowed the envelope, then said “Transaction Cancelled” and rejected my card, but not the envelopes. I retrieved my card and stood there, but with no envelope forthcoming, I left.
I returned the next morning, June 27th, to the branch and stood in line to talk to a teller about my predicament. A blonde lady, purportedly someone senior, approached me and assured me that such matters were commonplace and that my account would be adjusted, after all they would be imbalanced by $400. I told her that I didn’t think the second envelope had a stamp on it, since it was the second envelope for a single transaction. Additionally, being cash and not a cheque, it was more likely to go missing, but she assured me that they would find it and it would be sorted out. Thus reassured, I left.
I checked my bank balance every morning and when nothing happened for a few days, I called the branch on July 3rd, and spoke to a gentleman manning the phones. He advised me that he would launch a probe into the matter. By July 7, seeing the $100 cheque appear on my account, but not the $400, I went in to the branch again and spoke to a lady named Anna. She said that no prior probe had been launched, but that she would launch one that very day. She did so in front of my eyes and I left the branch, frustrated.
I saw a $500 credit the next morning in my VISA account and wondered about the extra $100, since the cheque had already been cleared. I checked the account on the mornings of the 8th and 9th and saw that the $500 credit was still there. At this point, being busy with school and work, I forgot about the matter.
When I logged on to my account on July 22nd, I saw that there now was a $500 payment reversal, backdated to July 7th. I went to the branch and asked Anna about it, but she seemed as mystified as I was. She said they would launch yet another probe and get back to me. On the 1st of August, not having received any calls from the bank whatsoever, I went in and spoke to the teller, who called over the assistant manager, Nina Bordignon. Nina informed me that a vast and extensive search had revealed no envelope! I was stunned to hear this, having seen the envelope disappear into the ATM with my own eyes. I asked her if they could rewind the cameras and see me insert two envelopes, to which she replied that the cameras only capture the face and upper shoulders of the person at the ATM. I asked her to see them regardless, since she could then note my dismay and horror at the transaction gone awry. She simply re-stated that there was no envelope, in effect, casting doubt on my entire account’s legitimacy. I asked her if she was insinuating that I was a liar, which she denied. I told her that in that case, there were two options, either a crooked employee had seen the unmarked envelope with cash and claimed it as their own, or the ATM spat the envelope out, due to a malfunction, to the next person who walked in off the street. She assured me that neither of those was an option, thereby re-iterating her stance that I was inventing this entire tale. She told me that the most she could do was to get her superior to call me. Frustrated and angry, I returned home.
By late Tuesday afternoon, Aug 5th, not having received a call from her superior, I called the RBC Client Care Centre and spoke to a lady named Doris Mandy, who advised me that there was a slight chance that the money might still be in the ATM, after seven weeks. She said she would call me back after checking with all concerned. On Aug 9th, she called me and told me there was no envelope. However, she admitted that the machine might have handed over the cash envelope to the next innocent person who used the machine. She had spoken with the bank manager at the branch and as a gesture of goodwill, he was prepared to meet me halfway and settle the issue by giving me 200 dollars. Doris informed that was the most he would offer since it came out of his branch’s ledgers. I was shocked by this cavalier offer, masquerading as a token of generosity. Does meeting me halfway imply that only half my story is true? Does the manager really think that I have nothing better to do than go around inventing fictitious tales of cash deposits to try and make a buck? I tried to point out that I had been depositing cash regularly into the ATMs at that branch, but to no avail.
I refused her offer and she advised me that the next person to contact was you. I hope you can see why I refuse to accept the offer, since I don’t see the logic in accepting only half of my hard-earned money for what is essentially the bank’s fault. One of two options is true in this case:
- The envelope was pilfered by an employee or someone operating the machine, for whom it was an easy windfall.
- The envelope was handed over by the ATM to the next person who used it, in which case the ATM is at fault for not holding on to the envelope. This malfunction of the ATM is a design flaw in RBC’s equipment and I don’t see the logic in being penalized for it. Perhaps if RBC posted a sign stating that their ATMs were fallible and not to be trusted, then the fault might have been mine.
In either case, the burden of culpability lies with the bank. I’m frankly amazed that there are no cameras on the people using the ATMs.
Ms. Knight, I am a straight-A, Dean’s Honour Roll, Computing Science Master’s student at Simon Fraser University, with far better uses of my time than to chase around after bank managers demanding my money back every week. I have also been a good customer of RBC for ten years. I ask that you restitute me for both
- The 400 dollars in the envelope
- The interest on the 400 dollars which I have been paying on my VISA account, since June 26, 2008
It has been seven weeks since I deposited the money and there is no sign of this matter being resolved. I hope you will assist me in bringing this matter to a speedy resolution.
I am enclosing the ATM receipt of the transaction gone awry, as well as a printout handed to me by Anna showing the deposit and the error code. My RBC Client Card number is 0000 11 22222222 33. Please contact me at 555 666 7777 if you have any further questions.
I look forward to hearing from you,
Yours sincerely
