My Luck With Banking

Last month, I withdrew $200 from a San Diego ATM. Unlike New York, where ATMs dispense $20, $50, and $100 bills, San Diego's ATMs have always spit out $20 bills, in my experience. But, last month I got a pleasant surprise when, instead of receiving ten $20 bills, I received nine $20 bills and one $100 bill. Suspected jackpot! 

My first thought was that I had either received $280 in cash or, perhaps, I received $180, plus a counterfeit $100 bill. I immediately spent the "Benjamin" without any problem. On Friday, I looked at my bank statement and saw that I was debited $200, as expected. I spoke to a local corner market owner who refills his store's ATM and he told me that there would be no record of the extra $100 bill since the ATMs can't distinguish between bills – everything's a $20 bill to the ATM. Reaffirmed jackpot!

I figured that I would be free-and-clear of the extra $80, but it wouldn't surprise me if, at some point in the future, that money might be debited from my bank account without notice. So, I sent a message to my bank, describing what happened and this was their response:

Dear Mr. Moreno,

Thank you for your message.  I appreciate your honesty!

As it turns out, [we] can file a dispute when you are not paid enough, but we do not have a resolution process when you are overpaid [...] it sounds as though you may have had a lucky draw!  

Confirmed jackpot!

Bad Luck With Banking

In the mid-1980s, I withdrew some money from a Marine Corps West Federal Credit Union on Camp Pendleton. I heard some paper crunching inside the machine as the money was dispensed, jamming up the cash dispenser. When I walked into the bank to report the issue, the banker looked at me with suspicion and skepticism as I told her what happened.

"We'll look into it," she said, dismissively.

About a week later, I followed up with her and she made me whole. She seemed a little defensive when I asked what happened and how they confirmed it. She simply said the extra money was discovered jammed in the ATM cash dispenser feeder. A minor hassle for me before the age of e-mail, but it all worked out. 

One day, I'll write about how, in the mid-1990s, my landlord deposited my rent checks, but he wasn't credited for them. My bank, which was a different institution than his, was adamant that he was "almost positively" lying. He wasn't, but it took a couple months to reconcile. 

PS – Did you know that you can make actual size, hard copy reproductions of US bills in black and white? You can also make color reproductions of money as long as the one-sided reproduction is more than 25% smaller or 50% larger than genuine bills.