Kibkom North Cyprus Forum

The Turk Bank ATM near IlelI Alsancak "swallowed" my UK bank card for no apparent reason. I didn't even get to enter my Pin. The screen went back to "insert your card". I went to the Turk Bank near the Golden Lady in Alsancak to try and retrieve it. The Scottish lady who works there informed me that any card other than Turk Bank one's that are "swallowed" are no longer retrievable. She said that I must cancel the card and order a new one. Fortunately I live here and have other means of drawing cash but what about holiday makers who rely on their one card to draw cash and pay bills. Can anyone confirm that I have been given the correct information. Or is it just the policy of Turk Bank. I am now reluctant to use ATM's.

I have had my uk card swallowed by another bank here. I went into the branch and paid 80tl, they retrieved my card for me no problem. Sounds a bit strange to me. They can get your card if they want too.

Had this in south all ways got it back here. Perhaps they had change of mind. Think other banks might just have got back

Go back to the Turk Bank branch and ask them to retrieve your card, or you will involve the police and the press.

wrogerss, stand your ground and don't put up with any nonsense I have lost my,or had swallowed. cards in about 4 banks over the years, the last one last year and have never been spoken to like that. It is your card and you want it back. I've never paid to get mine back either, just produced passport/driving licence, signed a bit of paper and they were handed back to me. The only time I've had to wait a few days when it was a bankamatic on the side of the road. They are only filled/emptied once a week so had to wait and then go to a branch to have it handed back.

Something stinks in Turk Bank these days I think 1) they refused to change sterling to lira 2) refused to let me pay any utility. I enquired why, as I'd paid in other banks. A really nasty woman said "Do you have an account with us, if not, go to your own bank" With that I drove down to Capital Bank (I don't have an account with them either) and paid without any problems, and with a cashier who smiled, which is more than most in Turk Bank manage to do!!

I had the same issue a year ago with Turk Bank. I went to the Main Branch in Girne and luckily they had the card retrieved and sent there from a Catalkoy ATM which swallowed my card before i could enter my pin. Produce your passport / ID and then they make a phone call to your cards issuing bank to make sure it is ok to hand back to you. They make you sign a form and then the card is handed back.

The fact is the ATM malfunctioned and swallowed your card. Its their problem not yours. You are entitled to your card back ! Stand your ground and stay firm with them.

The Scottish lady has misinformed you , either because she does not know the protocol to follow in these instances or she could not be asked to help out. Shame really

Increasingly difficult to find an ATM that accepts uk cards no one can explain why. I never use a roadside ATM only one by a bank. Credit West took my card so I went in and got it back straight away.

In order to ensure the security of the cardholder whose card has been detained, and to ensure that his / her card and accounts are not the subject of any fraud action, these controls are carried out and customer cards are returned.

the identity and passport of the person applying to our branch is controlled and the applicant must prove that he is the cardholder for the returning of card back to him / her. When this information and documents are presented, it is impossible that the card is not returned.

Only in cases where it can not be proven that the card belongs to him / her, the person is advised to apply to his / her bank.

Turk Bank wrote: ↑

Thu 20 Jan 2022 11:52 am

the identity and passport of the person applying to our branch is controlled and the applicant must prove that he is the cardholder for the returning of card back to him / her. When this information and documents are presented, it is impossible that the card is not returned.

So the original poster was told to produce their passport it was the member of staff unaware of this?

Beware an atm took my card once I phone bank which told me to go to bank next day as this was on a Sunday. Went home few hours later someone started spending on the card. Went back to the atm and yes it was working again card gone. Luckily my bank refunded money but still had the problems of getting new card here. Of course I can’t recommend that atm enough s..t . Transfer wise great

gates wrote: ↑

Thu 20 Jan 2022 12:45 pm

Beware an atm took my card once I phone bank which told me to go to bank next day as this was on a Sunday. Went home few hours later someone started spending on the card. Went back to the atm and yes it was working again card gone. Luckily my bank refunded money but still had the problems of getting new card here. Of course I can’t recommend that atm enough s..t . Transfer wise great

That’s an old scam. Whenever I use an ATM I always pull at the unit in general and the card slot just in case someone has made ‘additions’ to the ATM

With reference to my first post. I asked at the bank if I could bring my passport to prove identity and was told by the lady that there was no point because the new ruling states that under no circumstances are cards returned to owners unless they are cards for Turk Bank members. Can Turk Bank please inform the Alsancak Branch that they are wrong and arrange for the card to be returned to me.

No not a scam I actually stood there tried everything for half hour. The machine was flashing card retained atm out of order please use another one. So it was a grave mistake that caused me lots of problems and costs getting the card here during the height of the epidemic

If i were you i would walk into the Turk Bank in Girne town centre. Explain what happened and ask them the whereabouts of all the cards that get swallowed in that particular ATM by Illeli. They get collected and get sent to a Turk Bank nearby. Tell them you want your card back and the usual procedure they should follow is as below

1. Find the whereabouts of the card.
2. confirm you Identity.
3. call your issuing bank to ask if its ok to hand your card back to you.
4. make you sign a waiver / form.
5. They should hand your card back to you.

That is normal banking procedure.......having said that some bank staff here are pretty thick !! please excuse my honesty

They will never let you call the bank as security

Take a photos of back and front of your card and then ask the bank in question to compare the two. That, with your passport should convince them that its yours I would have thought.

gates wrote: ↑

Thu 20 Jan 2022 4:32 pm

They will never let you call the bank as security

let them call your bank or card issuer is what i was referring to

Too late for photos if your card is gone.

The matter has now been resolved. The Scottish lady graciously phoned to say that she had been misinformed by another staff member and I would be getting my card back. Result by the power of the pen.

Glad that the matter has been resolved.

Another thing to be aware of, is that sometimes the ATM can spit out your card again after a good while. Few weeks ago, my card was retained by the ATM at Capitol Bank in Karakum. Went inside and whilst waiting for someone to open machine to retrieve card after showing passport, a customer outside came in with my card. This was at least 20 mins after the ATM had eaten it! What a relief and was so grateful to the honest gentleman for handing it in. Had never thought to stand waiting at the machine for an eternity.
If your card does get eaten, and it's not retrieved, freeze it within your banking app on phone if you can, to be on the safe side.

Dealing with turkbankasi today the gentleman could not be more helpful about a debit from an ATM which decided not to give me my money but debited my account

Yes that happened to me. They told me to contact my bank as could not do anything. My bank said wait few days and it will show back in the account and true enough it did . Good old wise great bank

Well Done wrogers you are an example to us all.

benjaminbutton wrote: ↑

Tue 18 Jan 2022 3:59 pm

…
Something stinks in Turk Bank these days I think

…they …refused to let me pay any utility.
…

I held off commenting until l next visited Türk Bankası in Alsancak as l wanted to first confirm there is a large red PayPoint machine stood in the seating area.

It sure is there. Directly opposite the tellers desks.

You can pay your utility bill at the PayPoint machine. It is as straightforward using the machine as it is to use an ATM or pay over the internet, or via the PayPoint app on a smart phone.

I also noted a large poster promoting the facility offered by Türk Bankası for payment of… wait for it… utility bills, phone and council payments.

BB, maybe you phrased your request incorrectly.

I've been refused to pay for utility bills at a couple of different banks (not Turk bank) in the past, as I wasn't a customer. No skin off my nose, but the attitude of one teller in a bank in Famagusta was absolutely disgraceful. Stupid people, they obviously do not care about losing potential customers. It's far easier to pay online using Paypoint, and saves so much faffing about.

a1sysman, sorry but I didn't phrase incorrectly, the misery knew exactly what service I requested. Problem being, the PayPoint machine was out of order and I gather had been for some time.

Received my card back this morning from the Alsancak Turk Back. It's taken three weeks. I expected some animosity due to the stirrings I have done but received none. The staff couldn't have been more helpful and friendly.

wrogers, perhaps they realised they were in the wrong? Just a thought.

My new Turk bank card was sent to the karakum branch then before I could get there they closed it. It then took 6 months for them to redirect it to Girne. A snail could have done it quicker. I canceled my account so fed up with the quews. Just use my Universal bank now. Never a que

Turk Bank not coming out too well is it?

benjaminbutton wrote: ↑

Wed 26 Jan 2022 8:23 am

Turk Bank not coming out too well is it?

In my dealings with them I wasn’t impressed. It was the first bank I went to when I wanted to open up an account and I found them clueless. Then a couple of years later I needed one of those pre paid credit cards. They hadn’t improved

Maybe they realised who they were dealing with! Don't mess with the best, 'cause the best don't mess!