Have you ever had a moment when you wished you had cash on hand rather than relying on your trusty debit or credit card? And not even a lot of money; I’m talking about $5 or $10 to have on hand. Well, I sure did this past week.
Now, I try to keep some loose change and a bill or two in my wallet in case I need to buy a little thing along the way, rather than pulling out my debit card. However, I seemed to be short on cash the other day when I decided to wash my truck as I was passing through Neilburg. “No worries, they have a credit union here. I will just use the ATM,” I said to myself.
When I got to the door, there was plenty of signage saying the ATM was temporarily out of service, so I thought I would inquire inside as to where I could find somewhere I could get some cash. I didn’t need lots, just $20. The teller told me I could go down to the Co-op grocery store at the end of the block — they had a third-party ATM. But those ATMs ding you with high fees, plus for using a non-credit union ATM, the bank hits you with another fee. Right now, my $20 is costing me $25.
So now I have a question: because I was forced to use the third-party ATM, should the bank reimburse me for the extra $5 I’m getting hit with?
I had no intention of using the co-op’s ATM when I rolled into town and even asked if I could do a cash-back transaction with a purchase I made at the grocery store, hoping to save myself from the extra fees. And what do the residents of Neilburg do when the bank is not open and the co-op is? Are they all getting their fees reimbursed each time they need to withdraw cash?
I did reach out to Unity Credit Union on the day I made the withdrawal and was told this situation would have to be discussed with a manager. I received a call back the next day and was told only the $2 charge could be reversed, as it was a credit union charge. As for the extra $3, the bank could not refund that, as it was not their fee.
So now I am left with some options on what to do. First, I could reach out to the third-party company, explain the situation and request my $3 back. Second, I could contact the Neilburg branch and see if they would reimburse me the $3 for having to use a third-party machine and suggest they reach out to the company to adjust the fees for the time being until their ATM is back up and running. Or thirdly, I could be happy that I got my toonie back and leave all well enough alone.
All I know is that I will make sure to hit the ATM before leaving town.
