Banks to give forgetful customers their money back

You might find yourself with extra money in your account this week after some banks promised to reimburse customers for money they drew out but never collected from the ATM.

RBS, Natwest and HSBC are saying that customers should be prepared for an £80million windfall.

They are now searching their archives to identify the thousands of forgetful customers that have walked off without their cash and never claimed it back. Previously customers would only receive their money back if they contacted their branch.

Now RBS, Natwest and HSBC are all reporting that they have introduced systems where the ATM automatically identifies who the money belongs to if it is not collected.

Officials are saying that hundreds of thousands of people, including students could be affected. Records dating back from 2005 are being checked to see how many people are owed money.

A spokesman for RBS told the Manchester Evening news: “We are in the process of proactively contacting our RBS and NatWest customers who, according to our records, at some point have not collected all of their dispensed cash.”

“We will be refunding the value of their transactions in full, with an additional goodwill payment.”
HSBC also commented that “they are in the process of repaying £8 million to customers”.

RBS and Natwest suffered a recent hit to their reputation when a computer glitch caused by a junior technician in India resulted in a system melt down.

Thousands of customers were unable to draw out money from their banks accounts. Money transfers were also affected meaning some people had to make late payments on bills. The fiasco forced the banks to extend opening hours and open for the first time ever on a Sunday.

HSBC have also been damaged over revelations that they were money laundering for drug cartels, terrorists and pariah states in a corrupted culture that had persisted for years.