Tesco cash machine in Fellowfield, Manchester just gave away "free money" to shoppers who happened to be around the area on Wednesday night, Dec. 16. People thought that it was an early Christmas present that those who already got theirs quickly spread the word and within five hours, the ATM was emptied of cash!
Apparently, the money dispensing machine malfunctioned and it dispensed twice the amount of what actually was requested. If someone is withdrawing £20, the machine doles out £40! With that discovery, the news spread and in no time, the queue to the machine got so long according to Manchester Evening News.
The Tesco management revealed that the cash machine which is located in one of the stores in Fallowfield started to go awry at about 10 p.m. And since the area is a known hub for college students, many queued up for a Christmas "bonus." Unfortunately, it was only after five hours when the glitch was discovered and how much was taken r emainsunknown.
Locals tweeted about the incident: @wesleygosine posted, "A cash machine in Manchesters student capital, Fallowfield has given out £1000's and it's still going!!" while @joesimms12 said, "Absolute scenes in fallowfield, tesco cash machine is giving out free cash."
@OHARECharlotte also shared what she saw the other night by writing: "No wonder the Fallowfield tesco cash machine queue was so long last night."
A spokesman from Tesco stated that one possible reason for the incident was human error. It was likely that the staff who filled the machine with money may have placed £20 bills in the slot meant for £10, so when people withdrew £10, they receive £20 instead.
Now, for people who took advantage of the glitch, will they be facing any consequence?
Daily Mail UK has learned that individuals who withdrew cash in the machine while knowing that it is dispensing double can be charged with theft.
It added that since every transaction carried out in the cash machine is recorded, plus there are security cameras around, it is not hard for banks to trace the customers who got more money than the amount they are supposed to get.
On the contrary, the Crown Prosecution Service said that in incidents like what happened to the Tesco cash machine, there is really no law that specifically addresses cases where people get overpaid when withdrawing money from an ATM. The organization added that "It would be down to the bank to make a complaint to police, then police would have to investigate."
Finally, British Banker's Association spokesman Brian Mairs stated on BBC News that their advice to people if a cash machine overpays is: "If an ATM dispenses money to you in error, you should take it into the branch as soon as possible. Taking money that is not yours is a punishable crime."
