The ATM debited me but gave no cash — who do I contact first?

Your own bank, in all three countries covered here. In the US, Regulation E duties sit on the institution holding your account. In Australia, ePayments Code clause 15.2 forbids your bank from requiring you to raise the dispute with any other network party. In India, your own bank owns the complaint and the T+5 auto-reversal. The ATM owner is your bank's problem to chase, not yours.

How long does my US bank have to investigate an ATM error?

Under Regulation E, 12 CFR 1005.11: determination within 10 business days (20 for accounts within 30 days of first deposit), extendable to 45 days with provisional credit within 10 business days (20 for new accounts). The 90-day figure applies only to transfers not initiated within a state, point-of-sale debit transactions, or new accounts — a standard domestic ATM withdrawal uses 45 days. Your error notice is due no later than 60 days after the statement showing the error.

How long does an Indian bank have to reverse a failed ATM transaction?

Under the RBI circular of 20 September 2019, a failed ATM transaction (account debited, cash not dispensed) must be auto-reversed within T+5 days, where T is the calendar date of the transaction, with Rs 100 per day compensation for delay beyond T+5, credited automatically.

Can my Australian bank send me to the ATM operator?

No. Under the ASIC ePayments Code, clause 15.2, a subscriber must not require its customer to raise a dispute with any other party to a shared electronic payments network, and clause 14.1 says the holder is not liable for loss caused by system or equipment failure to complete an accepted transaction.

The ATM kept my card — is there a deadline to collect it?

No universal retrieval deadline was found in a primary source, so this tool states none. Contact the ATM's bank promptly, ask your own bank to block the card if it will not be returned promptly, and dispute any wrong debit separately under your country's route.

ATM Dispute Route Checker: No Cash Dispensed

ATM Dispute Route Checker: Debited but No (or Less) Cash

The ATM took your money but gave you no cash — or less cash than it debited. Who fixes it, and by when? Your own bank, first, in every country here — never the machine’s owner. Pick your country, what happened, and whose ATM it was, and this checker gives you the route in order, the deadlines, and the exact words to use. No outcome is promised: every window below is an outer limit or a check-in date, not a date by which money arrives.

Not a duplicate: the live Chargeback Deadline Calculator covers card-purchase disputes. This tool covers the different problem of an ATM that mis-dispensed cash — US Regulation E error rules, Australia’s ePayments Code, and India’s RBI failed-transaction framework — plus the separate retained-card route.

How the route works

The route, in order, for each country

One rule holds everywhere on this page: complain to your own bank first. The ATM's owner, the other bank, and the network are parties your bank reconciles with behind the scenes. If anyone tells you to chase the machine's owner instead, that is the wrong route — in Australia the ePayments Code says so expressly (clause 15.2); in the US and India it follows from whose duty the correction is.

Country	First contact	Outer limit / check-in	Escalation
United States	Your own bank, as a Regulation E error (12 CFR 1005.11)	Notice within 60 days of the statement showing the error; determination in 10 business days (20 for new accounts), extendable to 45 days with provisional credit (90 only for foreign, point-of-sale, or new-account transfers)	Written explanation + documents relied on, second review, then a CFPB complaint
Australia	Your own bank, under the ePayments Code (clauses 14/15)	Written outcome or notice more time is needed within 21 days; investigation complete within 45 days unless exceptional circumstances (clause 18, framed for unauthorised reports; card-scheme track under clause 19 replaces these windows)	Internal complaint, then the Australian Financial Complaints Authority (AFCA)
India	Your own bank, under the RBI failed-transaction framework	Auto-reversal within T+5 calendar days; Rs 100 per day compensation beyond T+5, credited automatically; complain within 30 days of the transaction (reported companion rule)	RBI Ombudsman if the bank does not reply within 30 days of your complaint, or its reply does not resolve it

Full non-dispense vs partial dispense vs card retained

A full non-dispense disputes the whole debit. A partial dispense disputes only the shortfall — debited minus received — so enter both figures and the checker computes it. A card retained is a different first problem: get the card blocked or returned before worrying about the money, because a retained card left active is a live risk. If the retained card also came with a wrong debit, the checker attaches the same country money route to the retained-card steps, so neither claim is lost.

What to say, in every case

Give the bank five facts in writing: the ATM's location and operator, the date and time, the amount debited, the amount actually received, and a request for the case reference number and the investigation deadline in writing. The checker's “what to say” block phrases this for your country, with the clause or regulation to cite. Keep every reference number and the date of every contact — the deadlines above count from the day you report, and a phone call without a reference number is hard to prove.

What this checker cannot promise

It cannot give you a refund date. The US windows are investigation limits; Australia's 21/45-day windows are investigation check-ins (and clause 18 is framed for unauthorised transactions, while a failed dispense is a malfunction claim under clauses 14/15); India's T+5 is an outer limit for auto-reversal. A machine's journal may show the cash was in fact dispensed, or a later count may show it was not — the investigation decides that, and no tool can pre-decide it. It also cannot name a bank-specific phone number or portal: none is published universally, and inventing one would send you to the wrong place.

Want the full ATM dispute story?

The same verified rules, the country table, and answers to the questions every ATM victim asks — written as a guide.

Read the ATM dispute route guide

Disputing a card purchase instead?

An ATM mis-dispense is not a purchase dispute. For goods or services, use the deadline calculator.

Open the Chargeback Deadline Calculator

Sources (checked November 1, 2026): Regulation E, 12 CFR 1005.11 (eCFR text) — error definition (a)(1)(ii)/(v), 60-day notice (b)(1)(i), 10/20 business days and 45/90 days (c)(1)–(c)(3), written-confirmation rule (b)(2)/(c)(2)(i)(A), one-business-day correction (c)(1)/(c)(2)(iii); ASIC ePayments Code, effective 2 June 2022 (ASIC PDF) — malfunction liability cl 14.1, network duties cl 15.1/15.2, correction and fee refund cl 15.4/15.5, audit trails cl 16, investigation windows cl 18.1/18.2, card-scheme track cl 19.1, AFCA route p.4; RBI circular DPSS.CO.PD No.629/02.01.014/2019-20, 20 September 2019 (RBI PDF) — ATM auto-reversal T+5, Rs 100/day compensation beyond T+5 credited suo moto, TAT as outer limit; RBI 30-day complaint point as reported by multiple Indian explainers (labelled as summary, not circular text); Reserve Bank — Integrated Ombudsman Scheme 2026 (in force 1 July 2026) as summarised by 2026 explainers — 30-day bank reply window, 90-day filing window.

General information only — not financial or legal advice. Rules vary by account type and bank terms; Australia's Code binds subscribers and covers consumer facilities, and India's framework covers domestic transactions under authorised payment systems. Verify your position with your bank, in writing.

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