Accy cyclist
Legendary Member
- Location
- The hills of Accrington
Today I put my bank card in the slot, then as I was about to key in my 4 digit number a person appeared from nowhere acting very aggressively, telling me not to use that ATM as it was 'swallowing cards'. I'm not 100 percent sure what happened next, but I think he pressed cancel, grabbing my card and slipping it in his 'man bag' in an instant! I pressed return card, but nothing came out with this person saying "I told you man, it ain't working! Then he ran off! I asked a passing bloke to phone Lloyds bank for me as I was a bit shook up and I have problems talking on telephones. As he was phoning my bank a police car came round the corner, with this bloke waving it over. They pulled up asking what was wrong. On being told one PC phoned my bank, telling them she was a police officer with Lancashire Constabulary who was speaking on my behalf, while the other said he'd have a look round for the suspect, after I'd given him a description of the thief. He came back 10 minutes later saying he'd looked in the Broadway pub (Accrington) but couldn't see anyone fitting the description I'd given him. He'll have looked in that particular pub as it's the main one for thieves selling stolen items etc. Anyway, the bank told the PC on the phone to them that my card had been cancelled and surprisingly it hadn't been used in the 15 minutes from it being stolen, to them looking on their computer to see if anything had been bought on my card, with them adding that if it had been used the bank would cover the loss as I reported it asap and I'd reported it to the police. I did have a little doubt that maybe the ATM had swallowed my card and this bloke hadn't stolen it, but both PC's said it was highly likely my card had been stolen saying 'why would this bloke act so aggressively if he was innocent' adding I did the right thing in calling them over as If I'd have waited til later to report it the thief would probably have gone on a spending spree with my card, making things a little more difficult. I asked them if my card was in the ATM would I be in trouble for wasting their time, with both saying no as it would be classed as a genuine concern, whether I'd made a mistake or not. The police said they'd look through the bank's cctv tomorrow when the bank opens, to see if the thief could be identified, but that would be difficult as he had a bucket hat on covering most of his head, but you never know, maybe he'll be known to the police, with them spotting him in other ways.
