Izuchukwu Ubochioma, an Imo State resident, has detailed how N100,000 vanished from his Fidelity Bank account after the bank’s Automated Teller Machine (ATM) swallowed his debit card.

Ubochioma told FIJ he wanted to withdraw some cash via the ATM at the Fidelity Bank located at Ikenugbu layout, Owerri, on November 4, 2022.

He said his card got stuck in the machine before he could withdraw, and the bank’s security officer told him to report the incident inside the bank in order to retrieve his card.

“But when I went inside, the customer care representative surprisingly told me that my card was outside and there was no card stuck in the machine,” he said.

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“I rushed outside but I still couldn’t find my card. I went back inside to notify the bank official.”

However, Ubochioma received a one-time debit alert of the entire N100,000 in his account while he was inside the bank for the second time to complain about the missing card.

“You can imagine my shock because I know ATMs do not eject N100,000 at once,” he told FIJ. “The alert narration showed that the money was transferred via Point of Sale (POS) terminal. I told the bank to do something about it, but I was instructed to write a letter of complaint.

“When I asked if I would be able to recover my card, they said there was no card. I asked for the CCTV footage of the incident that happened, but they could not provide anything.”

The Fidelity Bank customer submitted a letter the same day about the missing card and N100,000, but he has not been refunded since then.

He also noted that the bank never produced the card that got stuck in one of its machines.

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“I went to the bank several times the week after the incident. But I noticed that they were not ready to do anything about it. It’s so painful that I got debited in such a way and my bank is unable to do anything about it,” he said.

“I had to get a new card when it became obvious they would not help me find the missing one. I paid N1,075 for the new card one week after the incident.”

When contacted on Thursday, a Fidelity Bank customer care representative identified as Mary told FIJ that the incident would be investigated for onward resolution.

“Since he has asked for the CCTV footage, we will go ahead and forward this complaint to our fraud desk, then we will request for the details of the incident and the CCTV footage.

“This should not take long. The complaint will also be lodged against the branch he visited so they can give us feedback and contact the customer. We sincerely apologise for all inconveniences.”