hello,

and this is my first contribution after a long time of just enjoying the site. I used to travel a lot until about 6 years ago, now, it's maybe a trip, possibly 2 a year, mainly to Germany, where I have family.

here's what happened on my last trip, to India and back, with a long stopover in Dubai on the return:
just to get something to eat, and being out of dollars and euros, tried to get some local currency out of an ATM in the terminal with my VISA card. Not a smart thing to do....
...because, after putting in the card and I have to assume the PIN, nothing happened, and after a long wait, the card came out. NO MONEY. do not recall any message(s). and whether I pushed a cancel button.
I tried a second, different ATM, with the same result. nothing happened, no money.
then on my previous statement, 2 charges appear, each for 1800dirhams, approx. $500.
I contacted the card issuer and explained the above, filled in their form and waited. Now I was told that because I still had the card and especially b/c I used my PIN, I must have received the funds and am therefore responsible for the charges.
to make matters worse, while pondering a response to their ruling, the latest statement arrived and it showed another withdrawal at a 3rd ATM for the same amount, 1800d.
now, I do not recall that I tried a third time, if I did, it was utterly stupid of me, perhaps even trying already twice.
the ATMs were the freestanding type, no human beings in them.

other than again protesting VISAs ruling, is there anything one can do?, has anybody had similar experiences, not necessarily in Dubai, but with ATMs in airports?

above all, this should be a warning to be very,very careful when using such ATMs when you cannot go back and sort things out like in a store.

I am looking forward to your thoughts and comments, however critical they may be.
keep enjoying flying and this site.

rheinlaender

That's a little scary and obviously annoying. Having said that, I am surprised at Visa's ruling.

I used an ATM in downtown HKG once and the same thing happened. After the PIN, no money but the card came out. It was a Sat evening so the bank was closed and I wasn't sure if it would open the next day. So I immediately called my bank and they assured me that the transaction was cancelled at source and there was no money exchanged at all.

I can only think to recommend that if it happens to anyone, STOP! Call your bank before you try again.

Welcome to FlyerTalk. I'm going to move this to the Middle East forum where I think you'll find more help with your questions.

l'etoile
Trip Reports moderator

I am surprised at this, too. I wonder if there is any possibility to check the surveillance footage from the ATM, or if this would even show whether or not you took money out?

You would think that the ATM operator could easily see that you didn't receive money based on the accounting of that day's funds.

Of course, in a foreign country, good luck pursuing either of these areas of research.

yes, so I think RCyyz's recommendation is sage advice.

This happened to me in Dubai (not at the airport tho) at an EmiratesBank ATM. My bank credited it back temporarily and about 6 weeks later Emirates Bank credited it back to me for good.

Whose ATM was it?

thank you all for your comments and suggestions. Yes, I should never have made a second, let alone a third attempt, and also notified Visa.

the info from the statements read:

1-VISA AL BUHAIRAH BRANCH DUBAI
2-CPS-MECCA & MADINA, SHJ DUBAI
3-SHARJAH BR ATM 4

not sure, how long one can protest their ruling, but I will try.

rheinlaender