Cash machine at Tesco supermarket, Askham Bar, swallows shoppers’ cards

A FAULTY cash machine retained a number of cards outside a York supermarket.

A handful of people were affected by the problem over at least hours on Monday, at the Tesco supermarket at Askham Bar.

Ricky Shepherd, from Acomb, had his card swallowed by the machine, but returned to him a few minutes later by a member of the public.

He said: “Apparently, it was happening all day. It’s downright out of order. The management didn’t seem to want to do a great deal about it.

“Thankfully, I got my card back, but I know a lot of others haven’t.”

One woman, who did not wish to be named, said her card had been retained by the machine, which would leave her without access to money until it was replaced.

She said: “I think it’s ridiculous they can’t put a sign up.

“If I was on management here, I would put a member of staff in front of that machine whether it was snowing or raining, telling people and customers not to put their cards in there.”

But a Tesco spokeswoman said the machines were run by third-party operator, G4S, and staff at the supermarket were not allowed to interfere with the ATM.

The machine was also supposed to be self-reporting, and if any faults occurred, was supposed to display an “Out Of Service” message.

In a statement, she said: “The ATM in question is looked after by a security company.

“We alerted them to the problem as soon as we became aware of it, and the machine is now working.

“We apologise for any inconvenience caused to our customers.”

A G4S spokeswoman said: “Although we are not aware of any particular issue with the machines at Tesco, we have sent an engineer to investigate and will obviously alert the store manager if we discover any problem which might be causing cards to be retained.”

Comments(38)

CHISSY1 says...
9:57am Thu 18 Oct 12

"One woman who did not wish to be named".Why do some people say that,no doubt the know all's will let me know.

North Wales Yorkie says...
10:05am Thu 18 Oct 12

G4S again!

Woody G Mellor says...
10:08am Thu 18 Oct 12

Those customers comments are pathetic. They are peeved off and are just looking for someone/anyone to blame. Idiots.

whitehorse says...
10:23am Thu 18 Oct 12

'A FAULTY cash machine retained a number of cards outside a York supermarket.

A handful of people were affected by the problem over at least hours on Monday, at the Tesco supermarket at Askham Bar.'

Come on people! Fact and figures here. How many cards. How many hours. Sloppy...very sloppy!

chillout says...
10:35am Thu 18 Oct 12

I LOVE CASH MACHINES, THEY TASTE LIKE CHICKEN...

El Clinton says...
10:58am Thu 18 Oct 12

It is very worrying when a cash machine swallows your card. It did spit it out 5 minutes later but I only hung around waiting because a member of the public kindly told me. You then report it to 'customer service' who say that there is nothing at all they can do, that the cash machines are nothing to do with them despite them being on their property and having the words 'tesco' emblazoned all over them. Surely there must be some way of reporting this or sticking an out of order sign over it.

Shouter says...
11:07am Thu 18 Oct 12

That's one of the reasons why I refuse to use cash machines. Also because criminals find them an easy target...

Woody G Mellor says...
11:09am Thu 18 Oct 12

El Clinton wrote:
It is very worrying when a cash machine swallows your card. It did spit it out 5 minutes later but I only hung around waiting because a member of the public kindly told me. You then report it to 'customer service' who say that there is nothing at all they can do, that the cash machines are nothing to do with them despite them being on their property and having the words 'tesco' emblazoned all over them. Surely there must be some way of reporting this or sticking an out of order sign over it.
You went to the wrong customer service where they advised you that it was nothing to do with them. End of.

Yes it has happened to me at Kings Cross with ten minutes before my train left. In a panic I ran into the cafe where it was situated to be told it was nothing to do with them. Fair enough. Luckily when I went back out my card was there and I caught my train. Without any money.

m dee says...
11:12am Thu 18 Oct 12

A G4S spokeswoman said: “Although we are not aware of any particular issue with the machines at Tesco, we have sent an engineer to investigate and will obviously alert the store manager if we discover any problem which might be causing cards to be retained.”

Why alert the store manager he already stated he or his staff cannot touch the machine.

Pete the Brickie says...
11:57am Thu 18 Oct 12

Has nobody considered that the machine might have been tampered with, the cards retained for a few minutes, copied on a skimmer then returned by a "member of the public" to give more time to use the cloned card. This is a well known scam, hopefully not the case here, but if your card is ever kept inside an ATM ring your bank.

BigDog-LittleDog says...
12:07pm Thu 18 Oct 12

m dee wrote:
A G4S spokeswoman said: “Although we are not aware of any particular issue with the machines at Tesco, we have sent an engineer to investigate and will obviously alert the store manager if we discover any problem which might be causing cards to be retained.”

Why alert the store manager he already stated he or his staff cannot touch the machine.
erm...because customer are going into the store to ask...??!!

Chrido81 says...
12:21pm Thu 18 Oct 12

BigDog-LittleDog wrote:
m dee wrote: A G4S spokeswoman said: “Although we are not aware of any particular issue with the machines at Tesco, we have sent an engineer to investigate and will obviously alert the store manager if we discover any problem which might be causing cards to be retained.” Why alert the store manager he already stated he or his staff cannot touch the machine.
erm...because customer are going into the store to ask...??!!
Well then that's general ignorance on behalf of the shoppers. The staff in-store have no access to the cash machine and its contents - this is the case with every in-store cash machine in supermarkets and local shops up and down the country.

Let's suppose the store manager had already informed G4S of what was going on. Then there really was nothing more they could do.

Bucktrout says...
12:51pm Thu 18 Oct 12

And the prize for stating the obvious goes to Ricky Shepherd, Acomb:

"It’s downright out of order."

Yes, Ricky, I'd say it probably was.

kirchheim says...
12:57pm Thu 18 Oct 12

The article says a lot about Tesco's abysmal customer service - the store staff do not have access to the machine, yes, that's clear, but surely a store manager who thinks first of his customers should have been out there warning people not to use the machine or, indeed, sticking a warning sign up about the situation. Initiative and a sense of responsibility seem not to belong to Tesco's management training!

ShunGokuSatsu says...
2:00pm Thu 18 Oct 12

Woody G Mellor wrote:
El Clinton wrote: It is very worrying when a cash machine swallows your card. It did spit it out 5 minutes later but I only hung around waiting because a member of the public kindly told me. You then report it to 'customer service' who say that there is nothing at all they can do, that the cash machines are nothing to do with them despite them being on their property and having the words 'tesco' emblazoned all over them. Surely there must be some way of reporting this or sticking an out of order sign over it.
You went to the wrong customer service where they advised you that it was nothing to do with them. End of. Yes it has happened to me at Kings Cross with ten minutes before my train left. In a panic I ran into the cafe where it was situated to be told it was nothing to do with them. Fair enough. Luckily when I went back out my card was there and I caught my train. Without any money.
I'd think that fault only REALLY lies with Tesco's if they didn't report the issue to G4S the second the first complainant finished talking, and the article doesn't mention how long G4S took to get an engineer out. And while Tesco's staff may be powerless to fix the thing, I wouldn't've thought that hanging an "Out of Order" sign on a clearly malfunctioning cashpoint necessarily constituted "interfering", but maybe that's why I'm not an engineer (or a service desk attendant).

m dee says...
2:32pm Thu 18 Oct 12

BigDog-LittleDog wrote:
m dee wrote:
A G4S spokeswoman said: “Although we are not aware of any particular issue with the machines at Tesco, we have sent an engineer to investigate and will obviously alert the store manager if we discover any problem which might be causing cards to be retained.”

Why alert the store manager he already stated he or his staff cannot touch the machine.
erm...because customer are going into the store to ask...??!!
So the store manager would tell them what they already know "its not working"

would the best best course of action not be put out of order sticker on the machine or on the wall next to the machine.??

Gyspsy Power says...
2:36pm Thu 18 Oct 12

"One woman, who did not wish to be named, said her card had been retained by the machine, which would leave her without access to money until it was replaced."

Is this woman not capable of going to Acomb or York city centre and going in branch to draw money out?

king-albert says...
2:40pm Thu 18 Oct 12

Dreadful news

Could be the end of York as a tourist attraction if the Chinese and the Americans find out

I`m not going to York again

Woody G Mellor says...
2:42pm Thu 18 Oct 12

Has anyone taken into consideration that maybe due to strict security guidelines Tesco staff should under no circumstances in any manner whatsoever interfere with the ATMs?

Thought not.

Woody G Mellor says...
2:44pm Thu 18 Oct 12

king-albert wrote:
Dreadful news Could be the end of York as a tourist attraction if the Chinese and the Americans find out I`m not going to York again
Fair point. May I suggest also that Alexander resigns over this?

Kevin Turvey says...
3:32pm Thu 18 Oct 12

‘Woody G Mellor says... 2:44pm Thu 18 Oct 12
king-albert wrote:
Dreadful news Could be the end of York as a tourist attraction if the Chinese and the Americans find out I`m not going to York again
Fair point.

May I suggest also that Alexander resigns over this?’


Well as ‘leader’ of York council, York is almost completely dependent on tourism due to short sightedness on various councils over the years.

James Alexander in another story on this website that we are not allowed to comment on thinks that 16 and 17 year olds should be able to vote!

Is this because they would see him as a grown up and think that he is trust/vote worthy as he is a little bit older than them?

My 16 and 17 year old children cannot even grunt properly never mind make such an important adult decision based upon reasoning and logic as vote on an issue that may well effect their own future!

So I also think James Alexander should resign over this, and indeed many other things!

(the campaign is gathering momentum!)

Rosie51 says...
3:59pm Thu 18 Oct 12

About a month ago my boyfriends card was swallowed in the same cash machine at tesco and we reported a fault with the machine to the owners but they didn't seem to care or do anything about it. They said and i quote "It was probably because of a problem with the card there isn't a problem with our cash machine". But there was nothing wrong with the card.They were not very helpful.

bob the builder says...
8:44pm Thu 18 Oct 12

Shouter wrote:
That's one of the reasons why I refuse to use cash machines. Also because criminals find them an easy target...
Spot on, virtually every outdoor cash machine in York has been rigged in the last 24 months. Supermarket ones are the easiest as they can sit in a car nearby without attracting attention. As they can clone cashless technology on smartphones, I won't have one of those either!

Woody G Mellor says...
9:23pm Thu 18 Oct 12

bob the builder wrote:
Shouter wrote: That's one of the reasons why I refuse to use cash machines. Also because criminals find them an easy target...
Spot on, virtually every outdoor cash machine in York has been rigged in the last 24 months. Supermarket ones are the easiest as they can sit in a car nearby without attracting attention. As they can clone cashless technology on smartphones, I won't have one of those either!
It be witchcraft I tell thee. Burn em Burn em!!

GreenshawGrinder says...
12:10am Fri 19 Oct 12

The mistake that people make is that the cash machines do not belong to Tesco! It is common practise to get in touch with your bank if you have trouble at any cash machine. Most of the time common sense prevails and Tesco would put an out of order sign on the machine. As for Tesco sticking a member of staff in front of the cash point, it's not their problem!

Hoofarted says...
10:30am Fri 19 Oct 12

As long as people remain addicted to electronic payment and banks, the insecurity of theft, inconvenience of malfunction and exploitation of the banks that over see all this, will continue.

Cash£££ is the answer. Stop being a sucker to the greedy bankers.

YSTClinguist says...
12:33pm Fri 19 Oct 12

GreenshawGrinder wrote:
The mistake that people make is that the cash machines do not belong to Tesco! It is common practise to get in touch with your bank if you have trouble at any cash machine. Most of the time common sense prevails and Tesco would put an out of order sign on the machine. As for Tesco sticking a member of staff in front of the cash point, it's not their problem!
I think the poster meant "stick a member of staff in front of the machine until they could bring an adequate sign to prevent the machines use"

But then, a common mistake listeners make is not listening properly, and using common practise in applying the speech act to the objects at hand.

imk says...
2:18pm Fri 19 Oct 12

withdrew £180 at the same supermarket once and the cash machine kept it, took days **** around to get money back

1howrude says...
2:28pm Fri 19 Oct 12

My sisters card was cloned at that machine, the bank told her its a regular occurence at the Askham site, so needless to say I no longer use that machine!!

IntelXXX says...
3:49pm Fri 19 Oct 12

Must have money to burn if they can afford to shop at Tesco's these days. Should have gone to Morrisons!

Lineker's Lad says...
11:30am Sat 20 Oct 12

I'm outraged about this! Whatever it is.

deathwatch says...
3:25pm Sun 21 Oct 12

North Wales Yorkie wrote:
G4S again!
Yup, G4S, the corrupt scumbags who get taxpayer's money and contracts from their millionaire Tory pals in the government, then f##k the whole thing up, and still have the gall to claim their 'fee'. And the Tories give it to them. Tesco (who are responsible for ruining town centre communities with their hideous hangars full of cheap crap forced from underpaid labour), are also big tory donors. But, as they say: 'every little helps' (to put local shops & farmers out of business).

Bucktrout says...
1:11pm Mon 22 Oct 12

Hoofarted wrote:
As long as people remain addicted to electronic payment and banks, the insecurity of theft, inconvenience of malfunction and exploitation of the banks that over see all this, will continue. Cash£££ is the answer. Stop being a sucker to the greedy bankers.
Exactly. We should take it back to the good old days, where everybody walked around with a pile of cash in their back pockets and stored the rest under the mattress. Those days were MUCH safer. In Victorian Britian, nobody ever stole anything..

AlwaySwilby says...
1:40pm Wed 24 Oct 12

Hoofarted wrote:
As long as people remain addicted to electronic payment and banks, the insecurity of theft, inconvenience of malfunction and exploitation of the banks that over see all this, will continue.

Cash£££ is the answer. Stop being a sucker to the greedy bankers.
Errmm...... They were trying to get cash!

deathwatch says...
6:02pm Wed 24 Oct 12

Bucktrout wrote:
Hoofarted wrote:
As long as people remain addicted to electronic payment and banks, the insecurity of theft, inconvenience of malfunction and exploitation of the banks that over see all this, will continue. Cash£££ is the answer. Stop being a sucker to the greedy bankers.
Exactly. We should take it back to the good old days, where everybody walked around with a pile of cash in their back pockets and stored the rest under the mattress. Those days were MUCH safer. In Victorian Britian, nobody ever stole anything..
Hoofarted should wake up and realise it's 2012. Electronic money transfer is safer than hoarding/carrying large amounts of cash. He is a Timex watch in a digital age...

deathwatch says...
6:04pm Wed 24 Oct 12

In fact, why am I bothering with this? 35 comments about a faulty cahpoint machine... Jeez...!

Even AndyD says...
9:00am Thu 25 Oct 12

Must admit, you do feel helpless when a faulty machine takes your card. Will it re-appear, will someone take it, should I hang around, who is there to ask, etc?

deathwatch says...
10:52am Thu 25 Oct 12

One can always borrow a balaclava, a tractor, a length of strong chain, etc. and eventually be in a position to retrieve your card in the comfort of your own garage.... !!! :)

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