Consumer complaint received 2023-10-08
Product: Checking or savings account — Checking account
Issue: Managing an account — Deposits and withdrawals
Company: PNC Bank N.A. (CA)

Problem statement : A PNC ATM malfunctioned and failed to return {$2000.00} when I was attempting to deposit {$7000.00}. This occurred over two attempted deposits that were ultimately canceled, each failing to return {$1000.00}. The bank failed to return my money and admitted no fault despite abundant evidence of a malfunctioning ATM ; they also failed to properly investigate the incident, indicating a pattern of poor record keeping practices and a lack of oversight. 


Facts : 1 ) [ XX/XX/2023 ] I went to a PNC XXXX XXXX ( XXXX XXXX XXXX XXXX, XXXX, CA XXXX ) on Monday XX/XX/XXXX to deposit {$7000.00}. This was a gift from my parents for my daughters future education, so I knew that the amount was precisely {$7000.00}. 

2 ) When I told the PNC staff I needed to make a deposit, they said there were no tellers. They pointed me towards an ATM to do it by myself and left.

3 ) The ATM told me my debit card was expired, so I asked a worker for help and they said I can deposit using an account number. I used my account number to try to make my deposit in the ATM.

4 ) [ XXXX ] I followed the prompts on the machine and put all {$7000.00} into the ATM machine, but it repeatedly did not accept all my bills at once. It spit some back out at me and I tried to put it all in again several times. Ultimately, I was frustrated with the process and unsure what was going on so I canceled the transaction. However, when I counted all of the money the machine returned to me after canceling the transaction, it was only {$6000.00}. This was right around XXXX. 

5 ) [ XXXX ] At this point I was flustered and confirmed with my parents and husband that it was {$7000.00}. I told a worker there that the machine had an issue. They told me there was a private money counting room. I went there to double count the money and confirmed it was only {$6000.00}. At this point, I tried again. The same process happened a second time where bills were not being accepted and I ultimately canceled the transaction. This time I was only returned {$5000.00}. Since these were both canceled transactions, I don't have any document proof detailing these transactions. This was around XXXX. 

6 ) Then I searched for help. I found someone in one of the offices and told her what happened. She said she can help to recount the money. We counted together and confirmed it was now {$5000.00}. Then she told me that her branch was using a new program where there were no in-person tellers and that the ATM that I used could connect to a virtual teller. Then she walked me over to the ATM and helped me to connect with a virtual teller. 

XXXX ) This teller walked me through depositing the rest of my money. I followed the tellers instructions and put in my money in increments. However, each time some amount was returned by the machine. It happened so many times it is hard to remember how many times my money was returned and in what amounts, forcing me to re-deposit. I was ultimately able to deposit {$1900.00}, {$1700.00}, and {$1100.00} through this process. With the last {$200.00}, I tried to deposit it multiple times and only got it to accept {$50.00} ultimately. The teller, seeing that the machine likely would not accept the rest of the money, told me to stop trying to deposit the final {$150.00}, so in the end I deposited only {$4800.00} of the {$5000.00}. This gave me even more confidence that the ATM was malfunctioning. 

XXXX ) At the bank I filed a complaint detailing the above. When I returned home, I called the complaints office and the initial complaint had incorrectly stated the facts. She helped me to withdraw that initial complaint and file a new one. 

XXXX ) [ XX/XX/XXXX ] XXXX XX/XX/XXXX, I received confirmation dated XX/XX/XXXX that the original complaint was withdrawn. 

XXXX ) [ XX/XX/XXXX ] Later, we received a letter dated XX/XX/XXXX, nearly 2 months later, indicating Your transaction ( s ) dispute has been resolved. During our review of your account and the documentation available to us, we determined no error occurred and that the transaction ( s ) was processed as instructed ( reference : XXXX ). PNC did not return my lost {$2000.00}. 

11 ) [ Week of XX/XX/XXXX ] The confirmation letter had a customer service number indicating that they would provide all evidence that they relied on in making their determination. On XX/XX/XXXX or XXXX, after spending multiple hours on hold waiting to talk with a representative, the customer service agent told me they knew nothing about the case and could not access any of the case details. They tried to contact the disputes department for me, but could not reach anyone. They told me they left a message and I would hear back within 24-48 hours. I never heard from them again.