When banks use some dumb excuse not to give you your money
Photo by Rene Guatlo
We bought some shirts at Glorietta 5 today and used all the cash in our wallet. No problem, we figured, the mall is dotted with ATMs. Then we went to the nearest automated teller near the washrooms at Glorietta 5 and put our Banco de Oro card into a Chinabank machine that displayed all the logos of the different ATM networks.
The ATM spat out our card and said our account had been blocked. No explanation was given.
So we called the Banco de Oro hotline. According to the call center operator, our account had been blocked because our ATM card had been used recently in an area that was prone to fraud.
Which hotbeds of criminal activity were they referring to? Glorietta 5 where we’d just tried to use the card, or Power Plant Mall in Rockwell, or Bonifacio High Street?
The operator advised us to have the card replaced at our BDO branch, a process which would take five to seven working days. Of course she issued a thousand apologies—all of which mean absolutely nothing, none of which make up for the inconvenience they have just caused us.
We know that while yelling at the operator would release the rage boiling in our system, it is not the operator’s fault that her employer’s systems are idiotic. She probably does not get paid enough to absorb public execration for her employers. If you need any proof that capitalism is evil: the underlings get the shit that the overlords richly deserve, the overlords get the big bucks no matter what dunderheads they are. (Arrogant underlings behaving as if they were overlords is another issue.)
Therefore while we were seriously tempted to follow our Jedi Master’s lead (Call people’s mothers whores and call their paternity into question), we merely told the operator to relay our hatred towards her corporate masters, who cooked up this lame excuse (fraud-prone area, your ass) not to hand over our money. Hey, here are some advertising slogans. We make ways…to cause you inconvenience. We make ways…to ruin your day. We make ways…to make money off you while you thank us for handing over what is your money in the first place. We make ways…to promote the rights of morons by putting them in charge of our ATMs.
So we shall start our week by telling the branch manager: YOUR BANK SUCKS.
Has this happened to you? Tell us your story.
Answers to questions you might be asking, unless you wandered onto this site purely by accident >>>
July 7th, 2014 at 00:45
This did happen to me as a BDO account holder, too. In my case, though, the branch I use is also the branch our office uses, and we’ve known the staff there for years, so the process was much smoother. I opted to have a card without my name on it, which means the activation process took only 24 hours.
Although it seems like BDO’s ATMs go down at rare but inopportune moments. I had to postpone a set of medical tests when their entire system bogged down last month, as I couldn’t get money out of their machines to pay for them.
July 7th, 2014 at 03:07
Switch to BPI. I’ve heard too many horror stories about BDO, like withdrawals in places like Malaysia.
July 7th, 2014 at 03:09
Forgot to add, withdrawals in Malaysia while the owner is in Manila.
July 7th, 2014 at 03:55
It did happen to me in January. I have a BDO Kabayan Saving account.
I inserted my card in a BDO ATM and entered my security code then the machine took my card! It was my second day back from the UAE. I wanted to take my parents shopping. Worse part is I live in Angeles City and since the account was opened in Dubai I can only have my card replaced in Paseo de Roxas.
It was really inconvenient!
July 7th, 2014 at 06:56
Oy! This happened to me too!
Two months ago, I tried to withdraw money from a BDO atm. It spat out my card. Then I tried another BDO atm, then another. And then I tried withdrawing from a non-BDO atm, same thing — it spat out my card. I was out of cash, and it was also a weekend!
I called them up and they told me that my BDO account was indeed blocked. Same reason that you mentioned — that I used it in an area where it was prone to being hacked or tampered with.
BDO has my contact details. I wonder why they didn’t even bother to call! Such inconvenience brought about by incompetence!
July 7th, 2014 at 10:10
Happened to me last month!
I got caught in their latest network glitch and could not withdraw from any of their ATMs anywhere. I’ve also noticed that many of the machines near me are either offline or out of service most of the time. I have no choice since our office’s payroll account is with them
What I do these days is withdraw all my money after payday and transfer it to my BPI account. I’ve had an account with BPI for almost four years and I’ve experienced none of the horrors that BDO has given me in close to two months.
July 7th, 2014 at 10:10
Same thing happened to me, too! Around 2012. In Eastwood Mall.
It was inconvenient because I didn’t have any other cash on me then, and I’d just deposited my entire salary a few days prior, so I was practically reduced to temporary mendicancy.
They told me a few days, whereupon I asked them how I was supposed to eat for “a few days” (I live alone, my fridge was empty then, and the money I was withdrawing was for my groceries). They should be thankful that at that time I only walked to work as my office was down the street because otherwise transport to work would also have been a problem.
I also told the CS Rep exactly what Peter S above was wondering about: if they were suspicious of fraudulent activity, they should have called me first before blocking my ATM. If they could do that for credit card transactions, then they sure as heck could do it for ATM transactions. Even more so because, unlike credit cards where the money is still “theirs,” with ATMs it’s definitely ours.
Then again, prior to BDO, I was with BPI, and BPI also had some sucky activities on my accounts which I shan’t share for the moment lest this become a novella.
Basically, we are held hostage by these banks.
July 7th, 2014 at 11:52
This happened to me, too. They told me the same thing- I had used my card in an area vulnerable to hacking that’s why they had to block it. What irked me was that they didn’t even inform me they were going to block my card. The only way I knew about it was when I tried to withdraw. And they wouldn’t allow over-the-counter withdrawals in BDO branches other than where you opened your account. Good thing I had cash left to go home. Imagine if this happened to you while you’re out of town or overseas. The horror. It was very inconvenient and they weren’t even sorry about it. It would’ve helped if they informed their cardholders which goddamn merchants to avoid.
One time they went offline during lunchtime (lunchtime!), for ‘maintenance’ reasons and I had to borrow money from an office mate.
July 7th, 2014 at 12:10
I had two incidents of card capture within the span of a year. On top of that I also have two incidents of undispensed cash (card wasn’t captured but my account was debited). The first one during Christmas weekend and the other during a holiday vacation. Took them eternity (2 weeks) to credit it back.
I can’t do much since it’s a payroll account. I just opened another BDO account so I can transfer my money around in case of card capture.
BDO (Banco de Offline) Finding ways to screw us sideways.
July 7th, 2014 at 12:30
Mine has always been BPI. The problem I usually encounter in BPI ATMs is that they rarely dispense 100 bills. And sometimes, if they have more energy and time to be egregious, the ATMs would only dispense 1000 peso bills.
July 7th, 2014 at 13:04
Are ATM cards still not in widespread use for debit charging in the Philippines? You really still have to pay in physical cash or credit card even in Glorietta?
July 7th, 2014 at 13:47
Exactly what happened to me! Telling me my card was illegally used somewhere in Camarines, not getting my own money the time I badly needed it, going to the main branch to apply for a replacement, waiting for five f….ng working days to get my new card..GRRRR..
July 7th, 2014 at 17:41
BDO is a joke. Really, all aspects.
July 7th, 2014 at 22:34
Is Barangay Buwang in Antique? Lush greenery + overcast sky + roadside kubo = haaaayyyy…sarap humiga.
July 8th, 2014 at 01:53
Please be reminded that credit card culture is one of many economic factors why the American economy collapsed in 2007-2008. In short, BANKS really do anything to OWN the people. I myself admit that there were times I wanted to have a credit card in the name of convenience, but ultimately, the word “credit” is one of the BAD WORDS in my economic perspective. I really, really hate “credit”.
And oh, I am sure that Barangay is located somewhere in Visayas, most probably in either Samar or Leyte (wangbu is Buwang!).
July 8th, 2014 at 04:09
Dr. Feelgood: ATM as debit card is widely-used in major malls like Glorietta. But that is still useless if the card is blocked for “security reasons.”
July 8th, 2014 at 07:22
this should be the stuff that keeps lawmakers busy. if there’s a law that would require the bank to compensate those who had been inconvenient by their incompetence , they’ll take the maintenance of their system more seriously.
July 8th, 2014 at 10:27
redoctober, wangbumaximus21: Barangay Buwang is in Antique. Our friend went there last month to do research on banig-weaving.
July 8th, 2014 at 10:36
wangbumaximus21: We pay for everything in cash, like the Sopranos. We used to have credit cards, but after we maxed out three credit cards we realized that most of our income was going to paying the monthly balance on our credit card debt. In effect, we had landed in economic slavery. So we cut the cards, called the banks and got terms.
Credit cards are a convenience, but only get them if you can pay off your entire balance at the end of each month. Paying the minimum balance required is the road to economic servitude!
July 8th, 2014 at 13:32
I don’t like paying with credit cards because:
A. I have very poor impulse control.
B. Most places prefer cash, and some places don’t take cards.
C. It’s embarrassing to have your card declined because you’ve reached your limit.
D. The systems that connect to the banks are slow and sometimes break down.
July 8th, 2014 at 23:44
Nangyari rin sa akin iyan sa aking payroll ATM card noong nakaraang taon. Nag-amok ako sa BDO Corporate Offices branch at nag-alerto ng HR namin. Hindi lang pala sa akin nangyari iyon noong araw na iyon kaya’t naglabas ng memo ang aming HRD kung paano ang gagawin.
Ang pinakamaganda ay ang paliwanag ng BDO: “Nangyayari talaga na nacocompromise ang cards, lalo kapag may incident report sa ATM terminal na pinaggamitan niyo. Best is to withdraw in the office premises because malls are public places.”
Bleeech.
July 8th, 2014 at 23:47
Maganda ang cash basis only para sa mga impulse buyers na kagaya ko. Ang ginagawa ko’y itinatabi ko na muna ang aking ipon bago ako gumala sa mall, at ang ipon ay naka-passbook kaya nakakatamad bawasan.
July 9th, 2014 at 00:34
Your Grace, my apologies if I unintentionally made a personal (but unpleasant) view on credit card. I just can’t help myself feeling right of not having a credit card in the first place (but the irony here, Your Grace, I’m the one who delivers the credit card payments of my old folks on a monthly basis).
My thanks on the specific Bisayan location of the place, Your Grace. Indeed, I have friends who speak Bisaya and “buwang” is often uttered in their personal conversations (to which I understand for Bisaya is a second language in my place, Your Grace).
P.S. “Buwang” can be translated as Moon (Many pronounce and spell Buwang as “BU-ANG”–people in Leyte, Sorsogon, Masbate, and Samar say that way). They say Buwang differently, Your Grace.
July 9th, 2014 at 01:22
BDO uhuh, there were 2 times in my recollection that they were down for a day .. twas a Sunday and the most recent, 3 weeks ago It think. I dunno why my company still chose them… yay and their ATM in Paseo de Roxas has been compromised so never withdraw there (if ever u will go south) :)
July 9th, 2014 at 10:03
I have a BPI account and one time, around Christmas season, I got an additional Php1,000 in my ATM account. I thought someone must have sent me an “aguinaldo”. So I took the cash and a few days later when I tried to withdraw money, BPI deducted a thousand pesos. So nagkamali lang pala sila at nasobrahan ung nilagay sa ATM ko. What was that? A prank? Sakto Pasko pa. Nakakainis.
July 9th, 2014 at 14:01
I think it was 2 years ago when a number of payroll accounts in my former place of employment (I love saying that —former!) got compromised and this was no ordinary glitch. It was a major security breach!
I even have teammates who had to go to the BDO branch where our payroll is at and changed their ATMs. I was told the lines to have the cards changed were longer than the queues at the last Spiderman movie.
Ayaw ni Kris, hahahaha!
July 9th, 2014 at 14:05
* ATM cards.
By the way, BDO should be grateful they didn’t lose my former employer’s account or else heads would have rolled.