Please be aware using ATM card by your spouse could be unauthorised

The case was written about in TOI. The holder of the card is a lady who just delivered a baby and gave the card to her husband for medical expenses. They were astounded when cash was debited and not issued. Even the CCTV recorded the non-dispensation of cash and the husband's consternation. The bank(SBI) has taken shelter under a technicality in a deserving case saying she should not have parted with her pin to her husband and that absolves them of reversing the debit and crediting her account. It is easy to verify that cash was not dispensed and it is wrong of SBI not to reverse the transaction and rectify the wrong done to the customer, who was unable to leave her hospital bed and the newborn baby. It is not a small amount for a young couple with a newborn baby. That would have been the right thing to do, not to lecture to the hapless lady that she should have issued a cheque instead of parting with her ATM card and pin. I know of a case where a customer had his entire balance of 45000/- drawn out in three debits of 15000/- each on a Friday evening when he was driving home and had not given the Pin to anyone. Even though it was established he was an innocent victim because there was a fraud centred from Mumbai where the dormant savings accounts of others were first credited and cash drawn out from these accounts there was no sympathetic reaction from the higher ups or the Card Products Division in Head Office. It was left to the Branch Manager to assist the customer especially since it was established during the Manager's delving of computer records that a similar fraud occurred within days where Rs.2lacs was drawn out from a hospital account in Kolhapur in debits of Rs.15000/- each which were credited to similar dormant accounts and cash drawn out from them. It was only later that we came to know about "skimming" of data for fraudulent usage. Anyhow it is better to exercise caution in usage of ATM cards. I personally have surrendered the ATM card as it is prone to misuse and fraud and prefer to draw cash direct from the Bank or use my credit card for payments to approved member establishments. L.Kalavathi Retd. Bank Official Chennai, Tamilnadu, India 14th June, 2018 more  

IF the District Consumer Forum in Bangalore has adjudicated and dismissed the complaint of non-dispensing of Rs. 25,000/- from the ATM, reasoning that the Husbands cannot use the ATM card, then it is unfair. I think the BDCDRF has erred. more  

In India,I don't think the ATMs with any banks are FACE-RECOGNITION enabled to identify as to who inserted the ATM card into the machine and who entered the PIN .If the holder of a valid Current/SB and Credit Card/ATM Card personally or through own authorised representative who has been communicated by the customer with the card and PIN disclosed to him/her, if requisite balance is available/within the prescribed level of a withdrawal at a time,the machine if working would deliver the cash.There would be no question to not to deliver the cash.The author is perhaps not aware of the facts and just relied on the news that appeared in the press.The facts in this case may be different.It may be a card which had been lost or stolen and to prevent misuse on the instructions of the client it might have been stopped.Banks are also trustees of the monies of their clients and use diligence to prevent perpetration of frauds.In the instant case unless full details are made available,it cannot be a case to accuse a bank that it did not release cash to the wife of a client.Do the banks are under obligation unless specifically communicated by the client/s in writing about any instructions to their accounts.Besides there is a Secrecy clause which enery bank and their staff are obliged to follow about the dealings of their clients and if there is failure,the banks can be hauled up in the courts. more  

This does appear to be a case where the hapless is made to suffer at the hands of the mighty State. If it was fact that ATM did not dispense cash the transaction should have been reversed instead of depriving the hapless to lose their hard earned money.They don't act against cheats like this for they turn out in most cases to be powerful more  

IS THERE ANY MECHANISM WHICH CAN RECOGNIZE THE PERSON USING THE CARD WHETHER IT IS CARD HOLDER OR SOMEONE ELSE. IT IS ONLY THE PIN WHICH IS VARIFIED. SOMEHOW IT WAS VARIFIED BY ATM THAT THE PERSON IS OTHER THAN THE CARD HOLDER, THAN ATM SHOULD NOT HAVE CONTINUED THE PROCESS & REJECTED THE TRANSACTION. WHY THE AMOUNT WAS DEBITED FROM THE ACCOUNT. IT IS A CLEAR CASE OF FAULT OF ATM MACHINE AND NOW BANK IS FORCIBLY KEEPING THE MONEY. BANK MUST RETURN THE MONEY TO THE ACCOUNT HOLDER WITH INTEREST, EXPENSES, DAMAGES, HARRASSMENT WITH PUBLICALY APOLOGY." more