An ATM deposit is usually a straightforward process: a check slides into the machine, a receipt prints out, and the funds soon appear in an account. But for Marilynn Loveless, a $10,000 deposit turned into a month-long ordeal, only resolved after she contacted WRAL 5 On Your Side.
Loveless had recently received the check after a death in her family. She deposited it at a Wells Fargo ATM, expecting the transaction to be simple. Instead, she said the machine never produced a receipt.
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“I deposited this $10,000 check, and I got no receipt back, which I thought was weird,” Loveless recalled. “I thought, ‘Well, I’ll just go in tomorrow.’”
When she returned to the bank the next day, she said she was told the deposit was being held and placed under investigation.
“I said, OK, can I have my check?” she said. “And they said, no. I said, where is it? They wouldn’t tell me.”
As days turned into weeks, Loveless grew increasingly frustrated. The money, she said, was not just a large deposit. It was part of her late aunt’s legacy.
With few options left, she turned to 5 On Your Side almost by accident. Loveless lives in Southern California and had been searching online for a local reporter who investigates consumer disputes. Instead, her search results led her to the WRAL 5 On Your Side team in North Carolina.
“There was this wonderful form that came up that allowed me to just fill it out and explain what had happened,” she said. “And almost immediately, somebody got back to me.”
WRAL 5 On Your Side contacted Wells Fargo, asking why the bank was holding the deposit for so long and why Loveless had been given so little information. The company did not provide an explanation for the delay, but said the matter had been escalated. Weeks later, after more than a month without access to the funds Loveless’deposit was finally released.
“I really appreciate it,” she said. “Because I don’t think I still would have this money that my aunt left me. My 96-year-old aunt died, and she left me this money. I wouldn’t have it if it wasn’t for you guys.”
While Loveless did nothing wrong, customers should consider using a live teller whenever possible, or at minimum, an ATM located inside a bank branch, where deposits are collected and monitored regularly.
Standalone or out-of-network machines can pose additional complications, especially when something goes wrong.
Federal rules generally require that funds from an ATM-deposited check be made available within five business days, according to guidance from the Consumer Financial Protection Bureau.